Murder Bury Win is the directorial debut from Missouri native Michael Lovan, which he co-wrote with John Hart, and in which he also features briefly in an understated cameo. Clearly, this is a project that’s close to the filmmaker’s heart. Whether Lovan plays the kinds of fantasy board games his film is chiefly concerned with is anyone’s guess but, if not, he’s certainly done adequate research to make both the titular game and the world inhabited by those who make and play such things feel real. The mark of a good movie about a game, after all, is that it makes the audience want to play it, and Murder Bury Win certainly has that in its favour. 

The movie starts off on somewhat shaky ground as a trio of lads stalk and kill an unsuspecting figure. The only problem is they can’t decide which method of murder would be best, with an argument ensuing over whether a bear trap can technically be wielded as a weapon. It’s then revealed that, actually, they’re playing the titular game, the stakes of which never become fully clear (likely because the characters haven’t figured them out yet). Murder Bury Win features two people of color, which is nice to see even if all-male casts shouldn’t really be a thing anymore. There are quite literally zero women featured onscreen in this movie; the sheriff’s voice is female, but it’s only heard over a radio.

The creators of “Murder Bury Win” (the game) — ambitious Chris (Mikelen Walker), sweet-natured Barrett (Henry Alexander Kelly) and token asshole Adam (Erich Lane) — are unsuccessfully crowd-funding their dream with just a handful of donations from anonymous backers landing them way below their target when the mysterious and prolific game-maker V.V. Stubbs (Craig Cackowski) summons them to his isolated home and offers them the chance to make it big. Unfortunately, they’d have to sign their rights away to the game forever to do so. A fight breaks out and poor Stubbs gets accidentally killed in the process, thereby setting up a real-life game of Murder Bury Win. 

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At first, it seems like Lovan is going to rely on playing out the various scenarios of the game to tell his story, which would surely become tiresome before too long, but instead he widens the scope while narrowing his focus on the cabin in which his trio of hapless leads find themselves trapped. Clearly, making a deal with Stubbs — who’s like a character Will Ferrell would’ve played back in the day — would be signing their souls away, but the real antagonist isn’t external, it’s internal. Chris, Barrett and Adam may be lifelong friends, but they’re all very different people, and much of Murder Bury Win’s conflict comes from their interpersonal dramas. 

The initial conversation about whether the protagonists should tell the cops what’s happened is true to life while still being funny, as the guys debate over how bad their internet search histories must look thanks to game research, and what the police will do to Chris and Barrett versus what they’ll do to Adam (“I’m white” he points out when Chris accuses Stubbs of trying to steal ideas from people of color). In fact, the sole white dude is the most devious of the three, gamely attempting to dismember Stubbs’ corpse and cheerfully running through various scenarios from the game in relation to how best to dispose of it. Lane is the most well-known actor of the bunch, with credits in the likes of Dear White People and Jane the Virgin, and he plays the borderline sociopath with a barely-contained glee. 

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Kelly, meanwhile, gives an understated, nuanced performance as Barrett, the softest who just wants what’s best for his friends and their beloved project. He cries while trying to remove Stubbs’ fingerprints, and he’s the first to stand up and refuse his offer upon realizing they’ll be cut out otherwise. As the undisputed lead, Walker is charismatic and funny, his character’s motivations are difficult to read. Chris doesn’t have the best moral compass, but he also isn’t completely amoral either. Crucially, both Chris and Barrett recognize the danger they’re in early on, deadpanning “we’re going to get fucking murdered” en route to Stubbs’ cabin which, hilariously, is even more isolated than the classic cabin in the woods setup. 

Murder Bury Win plays with audience expectations throughout, and with plenty of flair. The energy is similar to the celebrated Cheap Thrills, but there is little gore to speak of here, which is perhaps the only real point against the movie. This is, at its core, an indie dramedy with a jet-black heart, and although Lovan has a great handle on the humor, he holds back when it comes to the violence, which prevents the flick from ascending to truly brilliant territory. Still, it’s a minor quibble that likely has more to do with my lifetime spent watching horror movies than anything being inherently wrong with Lovan’s approach. It’s also entirely possible more general audiences won’t see any issue with blood splatters and nothing further. 

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This is a very talky movie, with plenty of rapid-fire back and forth, and thankfully the dialogue is razor-sharp and airtight. There are endless sight gags with the various fictional games that pop up along the way, from Murder Wall, which sounds like one of those true-crime shows elderlies watch on CBS Reality on Sunday afternoons, to Puppies on Fire, the sub-header for which states proudly “a game for sociopaths,” and Penguin Conquest, which is presented purely as a title and is all the funnier for it. Elsewhere, a deep and meaningful conversation plays out between Chris and Barrett while, just out of focus in the background, Adam tests various weapons to dismember Stubbs’ corpse. The humor is irreverent and quippy but, crucially, never feels mean-spirited. 

An upbeat, slapstick-style score by David Rothbaum and Jonathan Snipes, which incorporates both synth-wave elements and metal guitars, is a character in itself, omnipresent but never undercutting the action. It’s a genius creation, perfectly timed to the various story beats. Impressively, much like its wildly inventive score, Murder Bury Win never runs out of steam, remaining consistently witty, unpredictable and super fun throughout. The mark of a good board game movie is how much you actually want to play in real life, from Beyond the Gates to Game of Death and even Knucklebones which, in fact, only had the titular game going for it. Murder Bury Win presents a game that looks genuinely fun and wraps it up in an evocative story about how dreams often only come true at a cost. It’s beautifully performed, frequently hilarious and will easily strike a chord with anyone who’s even a little bit creative. 

Joey Keogh (@JoeyLDG) is a writer from Dublin, Ireland with an unhealthy appetite for horror movies and Judge Judy. In stark contrast with every other Irish person ever, she’s straight edge. Hello to Jason Isaacs.