Actors Lil Rel Howery (GET OUT), Billy Magnussen (GAME NIGHT), and Jillian Bell (22 JUMP STREET) team up to feature in a nai biting film full of suspense and drama beginning with a high school reunion, which is, however, brought to a close as the honor of one of the participants is defended through a brutal murder. Finding themselves together in an isolated house surrounded by snow, they are spies in search of a traitor amongst their old school buddies. Other castings include Jamie Chung (GROWN UPS), Michael Hitchcock (VEEP) with the addition of Nina Dobrev (SICK GIRL) and Chace Crawford (GOSSIP GIRL).
Reunion is a quick fix murder mystery film that has some zpunky characters thanks to a great cast in the center of it all; however, it feels like it is lacking that extra oomph. The latest trend of murder mysteries gets in yet again as it seems Apple TV+ fans of the show’s The Afterparty had enjoyed the first season’s suffer the reunion that goes off the rail. Although no, this is not as well sophisticated in its construction as that one, Reunion does succeed in making these seven main characters quite credible enough for the audience to care about them if ever one of them is to be killed off. Unfortunately, while the murderer will raise some eyebrows with its unpretentious ways, the how is the problem as it is a little too quick or straightforward when it comes to the investigation. With a runtime of just 90 minutes, the movie is absolutely gripping and minus the fear of more people getting murdered. That’s a screenplay where the room erupts in chemistry for everyone involved with clear cuts in the mood at various times through the evening. There was everything from a fast love affair between Billy Magnussen’s Evan and Jamie Chung’s Jasmine to a very close friendship between Evan and Lil Rel Howery’s Ray. There are several uncommon relationships which are hard to be answered soon but that of politics and of a rather obscure woman most people remember from high school seems to be key.
In theory the chemistry is believable between all participants and to be honest such participants are up for suspicion in this murder investigation but it is in the comedy that I would have wished it had a bit more zing. Jokes come quite often but the timing is such that by the time they are finished there is enough time to get the audience to laugh and that is a big let down in this film.
As stated earlier, the case itself appears to be going somewhere but there is no intention and the place where the solution finally arrives is quite interesting but the reason one of the characters came about this elaborate solution is quite absurd. Given that Reunion has a distinctive theme to it which is the reunion of a handful of guests that included a woman they once knew, this film only suffers from having a false sense of what a high school really does feel like. The movie embodies more of a house party than a reunion of sorts. The film does know how to use its talented cast members effectively, although it does considerably lessen the impact in comparison to what the cast members normally offer elsewhere.
Reunion really fails to realize its own potential. As a tame murder film where a killer is always in hiding, there are no brutal kills or exposures in the movie. A more talented cast would have definitely added more mysteries to the film, which, as it stands, is simply a good movie in the genre that will sooner or later fade away in the vast wave of the next genre craze.
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