Shudder Saturday: Monster Party (2018)

There's a fun idea at the centre of Monster Party, but it's also just a bit too silly. Murderers who are trying not to keep murdering get themselves some support network, in the same way as alcoholics use the AA. That should allow them to stay "dry" and keep everyone safer. A bunch of these murderers are gathered together in one house, while Casper (Sam Strike), Iris (Virginia Gardner), and Dodge (Brandon Micheal Hall) are trying to rob it. The robbers are obviously unaware of the deadliness of the party guests and home owners, but they'll soon discover it.

Written and directed by Chris von Hoffmann, his second full movie after numerous shorts and the feature Drifter (which I have not seen), Murder Party is, as mentioned at the start of the previous paragraph, a fun idea that ends up being a bit too silly. And I'm not sure if the material would have been better-served by making it a more subtle piece of work or by leaning harder into the fun of the premise.

It's a film that feels hard to say too much about, because none of the extra elements around the main thrust of the plot are worth the time spent on them. A lead character who needs the money to help his in-debt father to pay off someone he seems to regularly owe? Don't care. Characters acting upset that they are breaking their non-murdering time? It doesn't work. An extra house resident who turns up and looks like they've just escaped from The Funhouse? It's one additional scene that adds nothing. In fact, it ends up changing things for the worse.

The cast do okay, but it's a shame that Von Hoffmann places us alongside the three leads and younger members of the household when he has also managed to procure the talents of Robin Tunney, Julian McMahon, and Lance Reddick. The latter two are particularly fun, but Tunney is excellent as a woman tired and fed up of those not strong enough to avoid bloodshed. Strike, Gardner, and Hall aren't bad, they're just not good enough to keep rooting for. And very few of the other young cast members even make an impression, aside from Erin Moriarty (a member of the deadly family who may be different from the others). Kian Lawley stands out for all the wrong reason, he's neither threatening enough, nor is he enough fun in his role, and the same can be said for both Chester Rushing and Jamie Ward, both of whom you'd be forgiven for even forgetting they were actually in the film.

There are one or two good moments dotted throughout this, but they actually come along at the very beginning and end of the film. And those are the scenes bookending the "monster party" itself, which is surely not how Von Hoffmann intended things to seem. Perhaps he'll do better with his next feature. Maybe it will help him to work from a good idea developed by another writer. Or he'll just work harder to make the leads more worthy of your time and attention.

5/10

Leatherface (2017)

There are some people that like Leatherface, the . . . . eighth instalment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise (unless I have miscounted). Some people liked Texas Chainsaw. Some people like iced coffees. And pineapple on pizza. And these are the people that I will sit and silently glare at. Yes, ALL of them.

Once again attempting to show audiences the "birth" of Leatherface, this is arguably the tamest film yet for the franchise. There are a few good gore moments, I won't deny it, but it all lacks a certain edge, instead opting to give us a plot that's typical "criminals on the loose" fare, with the addition of an attempted rug pull so entirely predictable that it wouldn't even fool either of my two cats, even if they were watching the film while catnipped out of their tiny cat minds.

Most of the cast do a decent job, despite having such weak material to work with. The youngsters include Sam Strike, Vanessa Grasse, Sam Coleman, James Bloor, and Jessica Madsen. None of them make a very strong impression, but they're only really there so we can find out when the chainsaw was first put to good use. As for the adults, Lili Taylor does the coddling mama act just fine, Stephen Dorff is excellent as an angry lawman who might be confusing revenge with justice, and Finn Jones is present in some scenes.

Written by Seth M. Sherwood, the script is even more forgettable than so many other insipid horror vehicles from recent years. Some very minute characterisations help, and the opening and closing sequences are better than anything we have to muddle through in the middle, but it's certainly not enough to keep you caring, even for what should be quite a perfect runtime.

Sherwood at least has the excuse of inexperience, which cannot be said for the talented co-directors, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury. Inside and Livid are two of the finest French horror movies from this first part of the 21st century. How the two decided that this project would be a good use of their time and energy is beyond me. It isn't, and their considerable talents are hidden so deep here as to be practically invisible.

Completists will watch this film. Fans who believe that "the saw is family" will watch this film. Undemanding horror fans will watch this film. But I suspect it is only the last group that will end up enjoying it. It's a below average film, hence my rating (as generous as it is), but it's a TERRIBLE Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.

4/10

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