Both 2017 and 2018 have been treats for horror fans, as we’ve seen many solid genre releases within the short time span. There were a few horror films that flew a bit under the radar, despite deserving their own spotlight, and one of those films is Monster Party.
Directed by Chris von Hoffmann (Drifter), the film follows three older teenagers — Iris (Virginia Gardner), Dodge (Brandon Micheal Hall), and Casper (Sam Strike) — as they infiltrate a swanky dinner party as caterers at a mansion in hopes of scoring big. Although they are experienced in home burglary, this payout is crucial to helping one of their family members in a life-or-death situation. What they don’t realize, however, is that the party-goers and hosts are all recovering serial killers…who are prone to relapses.
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While Monster Party takes longer than expected to get into the gruesome party action, learning about this serial killer recovery group, which is cult-like and only for the elite, is actually quite interesting. That is coupled with strong performances from a cast which includes Robin Tunney (The Craft, The Mentalist), Julian McMahon (Charmed, Nip/Tuck), and Lance Reddick (American Horror Story, John Wick). The actors playing the teens clearly brought their all as well, with Sam Strike being a standout. Horror fans may recognize Strike from Leatherface and Netflix’s Mindhunter.
Once the action is in full swing, it really doesn’t let up until the credits roll. The gore is well-done and the intensity builds at a great pace. The only thing that took me a bit out of the film was a character who was introduced later in the movie. He was brought in to up the fear factor, but felt out of place and unnecessary. However, it did lead to a fantastic and unexpected death scene, which I appreciated.
Monster Party has a familiar theme if you’ve seen 2016’s Don’t Breathe, but it still has enough original elements to hold its own. Overall, it goes down as another superb horror film 2018 has gifted to us. Monster Party is now available on VOD, Blu-ray, and DVD from RLJE Films.
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