Monster Party — Practical Effects & A Crazy Good Time
Monster Party has gone widely unnoticed and it’s time for it to be added to that list you know you think about all the time. The underrated list. Personally, I think this film has title problems. I avoided it firstly because it suggests there are monsters. There’s nothing wrong with monster movies per se. But the pink fluorescent wording on the poster, the inclusion of the word—party and the genre label of horror-comedy could be some of its issues. But don’t be misled. Monster Party is one of those great movies with lots of great surprises.
Add to this the less-than-encouraging star ratings and a straight-to DVD release and Monster Party is easy to skip past.
I’m going to point out straight away that if you’re a snob for special effects, despite the practical application, gorehounds will not delight. I’ve certainly seen worse, but I’m a wuss when it comes to gore and nothing here made me look away. There is even a couple of mistakes you will spot if you have an eagle eye (ask me in the comments, I’ll let you know!.) But you know what? It doesn’t matter, because this is the kind of movie that’s so fun and so kick*ss in the execution of its simplistic structure that you won’t care.
No Monsters In Me
The film begins with Casper. His performance here is so appropriately unnoticeable, that it lifts later scenes with little effort. Maybe you’ve seen Monster Party and wondered why Casper looked so familiar. His character is played by Sam Strike of Leatherface (2017) and Mindhunter TV Series where he gets dirty playing some notorious people. Here, he’s the good guy charged with bad deeds under the sins of his father. Casper is the catalyst that drives the film. The person we get to know the most and the one we’re rooting for to never, ever die.
He’s not the only cast member that caused me to sit up though. Robin Tunney (The Mentalist TV Series), Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck TV Series), and Lance Reddick (John Wick) had me again wondering early on, how this film isn’t celebrated more. Plus the distributor is RLJE Films which many film fans will tell you, represents some solid catalog items.
Where to Watch the Monster Party Movie
Monster Party Now streaming on:
Some Kind Of Monster Movie With Twists
As someone who rarely watches trailers, I recommend avoiding this one. Everything about the opening scene will have you guessing just what kind of monsters Chester and his friends are rubbing shoulders with. The trailer, however, gives the whole game away and also includes some of the more surprising kill scenes.
From a narrative angle writer-director, Chris von Hoffmann has done his due diligence. Not only has he created a character-driven story with Casper — every single person in the film’s structure has a point of interest to them. The pacing is fantastic, giving very little time to think things through. The body count is high and unforgiving and the finale is the type of memorable experience I’m always looking for but rarely find in a horror film. So, the film has interesting characters and dollops on two separate storylines. The people within the mansion and the kids hired as help for the evening are ready to rob them blind.
I wish I’d seen this during its release period (October 2018) because it would have easily made my top ten list. Some countries didn’t get it until 2019, including my own… so can I count it for this year?
I give Monster Party
4.5 samurai swords out of 5
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