Desperate for money, a group of teenagers takes jobs catering a lavish dinner party in a Malibu mansion in hopes of getting more than their pay out of it. Once inside, they quickly discover that the elite is much different than they expected.
Writer/director Chris von Hoffmann creates a film here that starts off as a heist type thriller and quickly turns into a horror movie with increasing levels of blood, gore, and mayhem as the film advances. The story takes a bit of time to get to the meat of the action but not too long. However, that set up gives it a bit too much time before it really gets going and the character development feels like something is missing until the action starts. That being said, it is most likely due to wanting to keep some things as surprises, but it makes the first part come off odd and missing something. That being said, once the twist is revealed, pretty early on at that, the film goes into full blown mayhem quickly and blood and body parts start flying everywhere in a delightful manner.
The cast for this film is fantastically varied with known faces, newer faces, people coming from every which source. Fun to watch as the matriarch Roxanne Dawson is Robin Tunney turning in a somewhat subdued mother who has a few secrets but keeps her cool throughout wanting only to protect her kids. Her performance is like that of a guiding light for much of film, keeping calm and giving an example to all the mayhem going on around her. Playing her husband and a man who does not keep his cool is Julian McMahon as Patrick Dawson. His performance is a lot more expressive, bordering on the cartoonish as he just pushes things as far as he can and then some. His maniacal performance is one that is entertaining to watch and balances Tunney’s. Playing the teens lost in this are Sam Strike, Virginia Gardner, and Brandon Michael Hall, giving performances that are just on that edge of desperate and showing the fear they have once things get going in a different manner each. As they have specific ways and their characters have different needs, leading the viewer to think that one of some of them might make it to the end when in fact, the film has a few more surprises in store. Standing out from the bunch at the dinner party is Dawson daughter Alexis played by Erin Moriarty who has a magnetism about her that works great here and allows her to get involved with getting things turned around. Her performance here is fun and sneaky in a way that cannot be fully described here. Playing the dinner party guests are a varied bunch of actors, all giving varied quality performances with a few going a bit over the top at times.
The film has special effects to enhance the bloody sequences that are done with talent and a good dose of realism. These are plentiful from the mid-point on or so, giving horror fans and gore hounds quite a bit to enjoy. A few pieces of effects feel a little off, but considering the amount of blood and everything else, these are easily forgiven. These are shot in great ways, giving the right angle to be best seen and best showcased. The film in general is well shot and gives the action center stage and the actor the room they need to perform. The cinematography Tobias Deml gives the film this capacity and shows how proper framing and a stable camera can let the story tell itself.
While Monster Party seems to want to come off as something else than a horror movie at the start, but once it gets fully into horror territory, it becomes really fun and full of insanity. A few moments will makes some question the logic of things, but in the end, it’s a fun horror film filled with blood, guts, and mayhem.