Nollywood “The Party” on Netflix delivers suspenseful intrigue with strong performances and clever red herrings, but the three-episode series ultimately frustrates with an unresolved killer and motive

Netflix’s latest three-episode series,”The Party,” produced by Judith Audu and directed by Yemi “Filmboy” Morafa, thrusts viewers into a suspenseful murder mystery from its opening moments.

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The series kicks off with a chaotic house party scene where Akinbobola, also known as Bobo (played by Kunle Remi), tragically falls from a balcony into a pool, dying despite efforts to revive him.

His father immediately calls the police, setting the stage for a plot driven by the hunt for the killer.

Detectives Olaitan Moshood (Yomi Fash-Lanso), Etim Caleb (Kelechi Udegbe), and Habiba (Eva Ibiam) pursue clues and interrogate guests, prompting suspects to delve into their relationships and memories with the deceased.

Through effective use of flashbacks, the series allows the audience to intimately experience Bobo’s complex personality and affairs, revealing both his admirable qualities and significant flaws.

Character Portrayals and Commendable Acting

Kunle Remi imbues the character of Bobo with an inscrutable demeanor, a captivating asset also seen in his previous roles, such as Saro in the Anikulapo franchise. Bobo in “The Party” is depicted as an intelligent, tranquil, carefree, and sociable young man with a thriving career.

However, he’s also shown to be mischievous and treacherous, having cheated on his wife Motunrayo, engaged in a sexual relationship with a friend’s partner, and impregnated a neighbor’s daughter.

The series features commendable acting performances, notably from Femi Branch as the quarrelsome neighbor Quadri Borokini.

Kehinde Bankole infuses her character, Motunrayo, with a characteristic sense of grit and discipline, while Shaffy Bello delivers an emotionally charged portrayal of Chief Mrs. Balogun, the deceased’s distraught mother.

A Glimpse into the Whodunnit Genre

“The Party” fits squarely within the whodunnit subgenre of crime drama, a narrative style focused on investigating and solving a murder.

Typically, audiences are given clues, a cast of suspects, and cleverly placed red herrings to help them infer the perpetrator’s identity, which is then revealed in a surprising and satisfying manner at the story’s climax.

“The Party” incorporates all these elements effectively. The suspects are Bobo’s close family and friends, with red herrings intricately woven into the plot to divert audience attention.

For instance, Motunrayo is arrested and falsely accused of her husband’s murder due to his infidelity.

John-Paul (Uzor Arukwe) is also suspected of pushing Bobo due to a betrayal of trust. Misleading clues emerge from side conversations between the Baloguns and Moshood, eventually unearthing the story of Chief Balogun’s (Bimbo Manuel) secret family, almost convincing viewers that he killed his son over a disagreement.

While Nollywood has a rich history of crime drama productions—from classic home videos like Issakaba and State of Emergency to more recent cinematic releases such as King of Boys, Shanty Town, Gangs of Lagos, Tokunbo, and Black Book—the pure whodunnit subgenre remains somewhat marginalized.

Earlier this year, Prime Video released Katangari Goes To School, a whodunnit thriller starring Segun Arinze as Katangari, a retired police inspector.

While that film showed potential, it often lacked grace, intrigue, and intensity, with the investigator’s strategies sometimes appearing rather drab.

In comparison, “The Party” feels better structured and treats its red herrings with more seriousness.

Missed Opportunities in the Climax

However, this “seriousness” can sometimes be overdone and even detrimental. Detective Moshood’s professionalism, for instance, veers into laughable phoniness when he hastily and unduly tries to influence his junior colleagues’ judgment.

Here, the series misses subtler ways to portray the senior officer’s compromised integrity and more effectively mirror the realities of Nigeria’s flawed criminal justice system.

The final act of “The Party” ultimately deals a significant blow to what could have been a fairly taut plot.

While Chief Balogun’s marital issues and secret family are eventually exposed, the revelation occurs in a rush, leaving the secret wife, Mrs. Sanusi (Mide Martins), as an insufficiently developed character.

Furthermore, there are visual clues and signs hinting that a workplace colleague is responsible for Bobo’s death. Yet, the filmmaker doesn’t pursue this thread, leaving the culprit at large with an unknown motive, reducing the resolution to mere speculation.

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This unresolved ending detracts from the satisfaction typically expected from a well-executed whodunnit.