Review of "Monster Party” by The Headless Critic

Monster Party – 2018

Production by: Automatic Entertainment, Defiant Studios, Kodiak Pictures, Dark Web Productions, Exhibit
Distribution by: RLJ Entertainment



Three young thieves walk into a den of murders. A night of bloodbath ensues. Criminal couple Dodge (Brandon Michael Hall) and Iris (Virginia Gardner) with their friend Casper (Sam Strike) infiltrate a dinner party at a mansion with intentions of robbing a safe in the master bedroom. This isn’t just any yuppie scum gathering of socialites. The members of this party all have a monster living inside them. A secret gathering of a group of recovering murderers are tempted to betray the instinct they’re all fighting when three easy targets step into lives, trying to take something that isn’t theirs. It’s time to party.

An excellent cast headed by veteran actors Robin Tunney and Julian McMahon is also joined by co-star of the newest Halloween, Virginia Gardner with the star of the newest Leatherface Sam Strike in an unholy combination. The only performances I don’t enjoy come from Kian Lawley and his character Elliot Dawson’s young friends. Their performances are too over-the-top bad guy. Their characters are too obnoxious to be fun. They’re the kind of bad guys that make you want to turn the channel, not see get their just dues. That could partially be due to direction or the script.

The Continental Hotel or Hotel Artemis gathering spot mansion for killers never quiet succeeds in becoming grandiose. The very talented Lance Reddick delivers awful dialogue that’s meant to be emphatic but fails to resemble any kind of realistic conversation. Even the most talented actor can’t get across the impact of the words which are lost. The bloodbath that follows is just as eccentric losing meaning in the crimson mass. Production values are top notch and the cast largely impresses but writer and director Chris von Hoffmann tries too hard to copy what’s been seen in other films, failing in originality and reality in what otherwise looks like a big budget studio production.

Available Now on Shudder

2 out of 5 Headless Critics