Three teenage thieves infiltrate a mansion dinner party secretly hosted by a serial killer cult for the social elite.

Being a thief isn’t easy. Being a thief with a heart of gold is downright impossible. Yet, Monster Party, written and directed by Chris von Hoffmann, opens with three of them in the middle of a suburban heist. Their goal is to get enough money to pay a hefty ransom to save Casper’s (Sam Strike) father. In the house with him is close friend Dodge (Brandon Micheal Hall) while the chick in the group, Iris (Virginia Gardner) acts as watchman out front. Despite a hair-raising opening, the three don’t have enough money to save Casper’s father.

Iris, two months pregnant, invites the two guy pals to join her at a catering gig that night at a swanky private party. She doesn’t so much need the help as it is the perfect opportunity to nab the last bit of money they need. The three roll into a mansion where the matriarch of the home, Roxanne (Robin Tunney) welcomes them with criticisms before reluctantly accepting them as the help. The man of the house, Patrick (Julian McMahon), skulks around the kitchen doing his very best Norm MacDonald impressions and being skeevy as hell. Meanwhile, the adult children, Eliot (Kian Lawley) and Alexis (Erin Moriarty) are getting ready for the dinner party upstairs.

The stage is set. The guests arrive, the dinner is served, and then the thieves begin their heist. So what is the gimmick? As the diners around the posh dinner table begin a sort of AA confessional, we realize things aren’t exactly right. Casper, Dodge, and Iris peel back layers of security to get to the money, Gehrig Burnett Jr. and Joe Rosenbloom use savvy editing to ratchet mounting tension and the big reveal. Far be it from this reviewer to take the joy of discovery away, but, suffice it to say, our thieves become trapped in a much bigger pickle.

Chris von Hoffmann has a great idea here. Blue blood types are easy targets and boy does he take his story off into some disturbing directions. I hate to report, however, that with such a fun, disturbing idea, we don’t reach the dizzying heights of satire that we hope for. Yes, the movie is gory, it will keep you guessing, and things play out in ways you might not expect. Yet there is a lack of fun or farce if you will. O, not every horror film needs to be a comedy, but as the dangers mount and our anti-heroes attempt to find escape, the elements never entirely engage us.

Performances are all wonderful here with gold stars going to the women in the cast. In particular, Gardner as Iris and Tunney as Mrs. Dawson are the two actors that hit moments of honesty that pull us in and make us buy into the insanity.

Monster Party is a fun, gloriously gory romp into the fetishes and entitlement of the upper crust. Yet it never achieves total lift off as a bitter commentary or a balls-out horror pic.

Available on DVD and Blu-ray on December 18, 2018