Casper, Iris and Dodge are three friends who perform highly coordinated burglaries. After pulling off some literal daylight robbery, they discuss another possible burglary at a ritzy mansion near the coast. Worried about the sophisticated security system at the house, they decide against it.
But then Casper discovers that his father, has been kidnapped by local loan shark, who gives Casper an ultimatum: repay his father's debts, or pay for dad's funeral.
So despite the risks, the mansion job is back on, using the cover of a dinner party to get all three members of the team onto the premises as 'catering staff'.
Unfortunately for Casper, Iris and Dodge, while they're right to be worried about the security system, there are dangers to this job that they never could have anticipated. This dinner party, you see, is the annual gathering of a very exclusive club. So exclusive that you might even say it's murder to get into ...
Also known as Killer Party, which is perhaps a little too blatant a nod to the plotline, Monster Party is a blackly comedic horror-thriller that, if it doesn't quite fire on all cylinders, does at least offer some entertainment along the ride.
It's helped immensely by a talented cast who know their stuff and who generally seem to be having fun with the exaggerated characters and over the top gory action-horror hijinks. Despite the movie's relatively small budget and limited shooting time (it was filmed in less than three weeks), the on-screen talent deliver solid performances.
The decision to keep the run-time lean - the film squeezes in just under 90 minutes, including credits - also works to its advantage. The concept of 'crooks discover their intended victims are much, much worse people than they are' makes for a good mid-movie gear change, but it's not an especially complex or nuanced scenario. The decision to keep the pace rapid and not over-play their hand by sticking around too long was a smart one.
Not every choice made by the film-makers is quite as smart, however. There is some unnecessarily quirky and outré direction, photography and editing. If the titular 'party' had been something like a rave, with loud music and lots of attendees milling around, then I think that this might have worked better. It would at least have felt like it aligned to the atmosphere of the scene. Lathered on top of what (initially, at least) is a genteel dinner party, it just feels a bit gimmicky for the sake of gimmickry.
Then there is the film's violence. As you might imagine from the premise, there is quite a lot of this. The tone of such scenes is generally quite slapstick and implausible. I'm fine with this as a stylistic choice; they're making a black comedy, after all; but there's a balancing act a film needs to maintain when taking this approach. The violence can be stylised and slapstick, but it still needs to feel convincing and plausible within the fiction itself. Unfortunately, I think that Monster Party doesn't quite manage to thread the needle of this challenge. In fact I think it stumbles at the worst possible time: the film's finale. For my tastes, the last ten minutes or so ring hollow and unconvincing.
Despite some missteps, though, I overall had a pretty good time with this movie, and certainly don't regret seeing it. If the concept sounds like your sort of thing, it's probably worth your time to check it out.
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