The Movie Review: "The Party" ~ A Must-Watch Murder Mystery Movie

It's so pathetic to see how wicked some people are, especially those who are envious of your success, and not only that, the surprising part is that it comes from a close person whom you never thought could want to kill you.

In the beginning, one would never believe the same person who poisoned the victim (Kunle Remi) would be standing on stage and giving a good speech about him in the presence of those in attendance.

The movie - "The Party" is a Nigerian Nollywood movie that starred Kunle Remi, Shaffy Bello, Uzor Arukwe, Yomi Fash Lanso, Femi Branch and others.

This was how it happened.

The first scene was in a compound where a birthday soiree was being celebrated for Akinbobola (Kunle Remi), fondly called "Bobo" - the son of Mr and Mrs Balogun (Bimbo Manuel and Shaffy Bello). There were large groups of people celebrating and having fun, and all of a sudden, Akinbobola jumped down from the top of the building into the pool - he was dead.

As a top priority case, the commissioner was involved and detectives were called in immediately to come solve the murder mystery. Everyone became prime suspects and weren't allowed to go out or anyone coming in. They needed to know who killed Akinbobola. Everywhere was in a tense mood.

The detectives started their investigation by making sure everything present, including drinks and all sorts, were counted as evidence, and no one was allowed to touch anything. The interview began right inside one of the rooms where everyone close to the victim was being interviewed.

Before then, Bobo's mother (Shaffy Bello) had called her Apostle to come around, and he prophesied that she would know the culprit and the sign would be that the person would walk to her with a spotless gift, and that's how she would recognise such an individual. Aside from that, she would have to do what parents must never do, especially in an African home.

Bobo's friends were interviewed and dark secrets were revealed. Everyone kept pointing at his wife (Kehinde Bankole), claiming she was a bad person and that even before he died, she had turned his back on them and never wanted him around them. To Mr and Mrs Bankole (Bobo's parents), the wife had not been good to them. They all concluded she killed their friend and son claiming they saw her right on the building when he jumped down.

Seriously, I enjoyed the movie (The Party). I love the suspense and how it left me guessing who the culprit might be. I kept asking, who killed him? Because they'd interviewed everyone and they seem not to know who did the job. Bobo's wine, which was a gift presented by one of his friends, was poisoned. I actually thought it was the friend who did it considering how I'd painted him right from the beginning.

He was the kind of friend who would spend your money, but when it was time to spend his own money, he kept giving excuses. Also, he owed Bobo 150 million naira, and the wife had made him sign a form that he must pay the money at a specific time because they really needed it. It turned out he wasn't the one.

Again, I'd suspected his father, but again, I was like, "How would a father kill his only son?" But it's not a new thing, right? There's no new thing under heaven.

Along the line, the suspicion got real to me, especially when Bobo knew about his dad's secret, and he threatened to expose him if he (the dad) didn't sell one of the properties to him. In fact, I got confused at one point. How would a father sell his property to his only son when he has the right to it if eventually, the father dies?

The secret of the father was that he had 4 children outside his marriage for another person. Like, this was the same woman who stood by and consoled Shaffy Bello when her son died, and she acted so well that I never suspected such betrayal. The secret is kept for 20 years until the end of the movie. But it wasn't the father who killed him? Who then? I guessed wrong again!

At the Bobo's burial, something shocking happened. The parents were in their car watching as people were coming and going out from their compound, and then a young man walked in, disguised as an angel and informed them that the Bobo had some documents they needed to come and claim. That was the first sign the Apostle prophesied about. In an African home, it is taboo for parents to claim their dead children's property or even attend their burial. It's always the reverse.

Then he handed the woman a spotless gift of a white handkerchief, and that was when it dawned on her what the Apostle said. He was the murderer. And then the movie ended there.

It was a good movie with just 3 episodes, but I really wanted to see the end of the guy. I wanted him to be arrested and let people know he was the evil one so people wouldn't think it was the wife who was still in police custody.

At this point, the wealth of the victim would be transferred to his wife, which is the normal thing, but I feel for the woman. She would be the one to be hurt by such betrayal and loss, especially how her husband kept such a secret from her.

Where would she start from? It's such a pity!

The party revealed so much about the rich people with lots of wealth and dark secrets.

The movie turned out to be compelling, with lots of twists and turns, making me keep guessing and was filled with suspense. This is the kind of movie that intrigues me, and I would rate it 8/10 because it delivered, especially with the mix of English and Yoruba.

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