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Review: ‘Monster Party’ Is A Soirée Of Carnage

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Desperate times call for desperate measures. With his father owing thousands to a violent loan shark, Casper (Sam strike) and his fellow thief friends Dodge (Brandon Michael Hall) and Iris (Virginia Gardner) need to make a big score. Opportunity strikes when Iris scores a job catering a rich family’s mansion in Malibu. The Dawson Family, including patriarch, Patrick (Julian McMahon), matriarch Alexis (Erin Moriarty), son Elliot (Kian Lawley), and daughter Roxanne (Robin Tunney) seem friendly, if a bit snobbish and quirky. They’re having a celebration with some other aristocrats led by Milo (Lance Reddick) in celebrating their sobriety. But not from drugs or alcohol… but from mass murder. And when somebody gets back on the kill wagon, the party goes straight to hell, with the caterers marked for death!

Image via Youtube

Monster Party is the sophomore feature by writer/director Chris von Hoffman, and in spite of a telling smaller budget, his style and ability really shines through. The build up to the inevitable party massacre is decently paced, with enough tension building to keep you hooked. The story deals with themes of wealth disparity and how the rich prey on the poor much like other socially conscious horror films such as Society and They Live, but doesn’t go too deep into them. The satire is apparent, but it felt more face value than anything.

Image via IMDB

The ensemble cast stands out, especially the three would-be thieves. The opening establishes their relationship well and shows the dire situation that brings them out of the frying pan and into the fire in the quest for money to save Casper’s father from his own greed. On the other side, the family and associates of killers were all right for the most part. The ones that caught the most attention were Kian Lawley and Lance Reddick’s characters. Elliot is an obnoxious and short-tempered psychopath who doesn’t care for their group’s homicide sobriety while Reddick’s Milo acts as a calculating leader to the patchwork group of millionaire maniacs. His character able to see the consequences of their actions and trying to rein them in with a charisma that leashes the others in… or at least, tries to keep them in check.

The cinematography of Monster Party by Tobias Deml is a highlight, showcasing the beauty of Malibu Beach and the Dawson Estate in parallel to the abject horrors taking place. The scares are low for the most part, operating more as a thriller like Green Room and Don’t Breathe but lacking quite the same punch. There are a few decent twists and turns by the end, but the plot line unfolds fairly straightforward once things go to hell.

Image via IMDB

While not the strongest modern thriller, Monster Party is a well made lower-budgeted thriller with a good sense of class and carnage.

Monster Party is in limited theaters and VOD/Digital starting November 2nd.

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Netflix Doc ‘Devil on Trial’ Explores The Paranormal Claims of ‘Conjuring 3’ [Trailer]

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What is it about Lorraine Warren and her constant row with the devil? We may find out in the new Netflix documentary called The Devil on Trial which will premiere on October 17, or at least we will see why she chose to take on this case.

The Devil On Trial Official Trailer

Back in 2021, everyone was holed up in their homes, and anyone with an HBO Max subscription could stream “Conjuring 3” day and date. It got mixed reviews, maybe because this wasn’t an ordinary haunted house tale that the Conjuring universe is known for. It was more of a crime procedural than a paranormal investigative one.

As with all of the Warren-based Conjuring movies, The Devil Made Me Do It was based on “a true story,” and Netflix is taking that claim to task with The Devil on Trial. The Netflix e-zine Tudum explains the backstory:

“Often referred to as the ‘Devil Made Me Do It’ case, the trial of 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson quickly became the subject of lore and fascination after it made national news in 1981. Johnson claimed that he murdered his 40-year-old landlord, Alan Bono, while under the influence of demonic forces. The brutal killing in Connecticut drew the attention of self-professed demonologists and paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, known for their probe into the infamous haunting in Amityville, Long Island, several years prior. The Devil on Trial recounts the troubling events leading up to Bono’s murder, the trial, and the aftermath, using firsthand accounts of the people closest to the case, including Johnson.”

Then there’s the logline: The Devil on Trial explores the first — and only — time “demonic possession” has officially been used as a defense in a US murder trial. Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.

If anything, this companion to the original film might shed some light on just how accurate these “true story” Conjuring films are and how much is just a writer’s imagination.

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[First Photos] ‘The Strangers’ Reboot is Already Made; It Consists of Three Movies

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Director Renny Harlin (Deep Blue Sea, Exorcist: The Beginning, Cliffhanger) has been a busy man. He is rebooting The Strangers franchise with a trilogy that he has already completed according to Entertainment Weekly.

Harlin says he shot all of the films in Slovakia at the same time, and production was, “the challenge of a lifetime, but I also really embraced it. On a Monday morning, I could be shooting the second chapter, and Monday afternoon I could be shooting the first chapter, and Tuesday morning I could be shooting the third chapter. it was incredibly demanding for the actors, for the continuity in terms of the make-up and wardrobe, and for my director of photography, because we wanted to create a visual language that develops so that the movies get bigger, more epic, as we go [on]. It just kept all of our juices pumping all the time.”

‘The Strangers Trilogy’| CREDIT: JOHN ARMOUR/LIONSGATE via EW.com

He remembers the Bryan Bertino-directed 2008 original Strangers which he says impressed him so much that he never forgot it.

“I remember the experience of seeing it,” says Harlin, “I didn’t really know anything about it when I saw it and I just loved it. I thought it was fantastic and it’s stuck in my mind as one of my favorite horror films.”

He adds: “When this opportunity came to me, the idea of not doing a remake or a reboot but doing a trilogy based on the original film, I thought it was an incredible opportunity.”

Froy Gutierrez and Madelaine Petsch in ‘The Strangers Trilogy’ | CREDIT: JOHN ARMOUR/LIONSGATE via EW.com

As for what Harlin’s version is about he says the first movie The Strangers: Chapter 1 pretty much follows the set-up of the original: a couple is terrorized by sociopathic home invaders, and Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 will “explore what happens to the victims of this kind of violence and who the perpetrators are of this kind of violence. Where are they coming from and why?”

The targets in Chapter 1 are played by Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez (Teen WolfCruel Summer).

The Strangers Trilogy is set for release in theaters next year. Harlin and producer Courtney Solomon will be participating in a panel about the three films at New York Comic Con on Oct. 12.

‘The Strangers Trilogy | CREDIT: JOHN ARMOUR/LIONSGATE vis EW.com

Original 2008 Trailer:

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‘Terrifier 3’ Teaser To Play Ahead of ‘Terrifier 2’ Theatrical Re-Release

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Terrifier 2 is returning to theaters nationwide beginning November 1. 

Director Damien Leone will give a small on-screen introduction that will include the first public showing of the teaser from Terrifier 3. In addition, the first 100 audience members will receive a Terrifier 3 poster.

Terrifier 2 was the little indie(gogo) movie that could. It turned its shoestring budget of $250k into an $11 million windfall.

“This year has been unlike anything we could have imagined,” says Leone. “To see all the love Terrifier 2 has received and the excitement this release has inspired from fans new and old, is truly beyond words. As a thank you to our fans and the many people who worked tirelessly on this release, we want to bring it back to the big screen where it belongs. And more than that, while fans eagerly await the release of Terrifier 3 next year, we want the chance to share what we’ve been working on for the third installment because a year is just too long to wait.”

As for why the film is getting a re-release after Halloween, Brad Miska, Managing Director of Bloody Disgusting/Cineverse, says it’s a fitting adieu to the holiday.

“Terrifier 2’s return to theaters is the perfect farewell to the Halloween season, an event that will have audiences clinging onto their barf bags once again, “said Brad Miska, Managing Director of Bloody Disgusting/Cineverse. “This exemplifies the pinnacle of horror cinema, an experience that etches itself into memory. Between the exclusive Terrifier 3 scene that will only be shown in theaters to the exclusive poster, this is a night you won’t want to miss out on.”

For those who haven’t seen Terrifier 2, here is a brief description:

“Set one year after its predecessor, Terrifier 2 continued the gruesome story of Art the Clown and his insatiable thirst for murder. When a sinister force resurrects Art, he is once again upon the unsuspecting residents of Miles County. Back for another Halloween, Art sets his sights on a teenage girl and her little brother, portrayed by LaVera and Elliott Fullam, respectively, delivering a chilling and relentless tale of horror.”

Tickets are on sale now wherever movie tickets are sold – Fandango, the official website and Atom Tickets.

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