Movie Review: "Ugly Sweater Party" (2018)
Ugly Sweater Party Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Ocular Migraine Productions / Amazon Prime
Written and Directed by Aaron Mento
2018, 81 minutes, Not Rated
Released on November 23, 2018
Starring:
Sean Whalen as Declan Rains
Felissa Rose as Mrs. Mandix
Hunter Johnson as Jody
Charles Chudabala as Cliff
Emily Dahm as Samantha
Tiffani Fest as Susan
Marv Blauvelt as Counselor Mandix
Jared Degado as Roberto
Brad Potts as Detective Brolin
Jennifer Nangle as Sister Nipps
Review:
It’s been a long ass time since I got my sleaze on. I’m a card-carrying citizen of Tromaville from back in the day, and there has been a noticeable lack of low-brow blasphemous filth in my viewing habits for some time now. It feels like the right time to rectify that, so I couldn’t resist the chatter I heard about writer/director Aaron Mento’s 2018 Christmas horror-comedy, Ugly Sweater Party. With pull quotes such as “The sacrilege quotient of this film is off the charts…choose wisely” (HK and Cult Flim News) and “Proceed with extreme caution…what the FUCK is this movie?!” (Flickering Myth), I felt as if my name were being called from out of the void of cheerfully bad filmmaking. Hence, it’s time to exorcise the last of the lingering holiday spirit and see what all the fuss is about.
Let’s just say I feel like the most depraved parts of my soul have been refilled. Also, how did I miss this in 2018?
Declan Rains (Sean Whalen; The People Under the Stairs) is a serial killer who kills four families on Christmas (children definitely included) while wearing one seriously ugly Satanic sweater. He’s captured by Detective Brolin (Brad Potts; Butt Boy) and promptly has his brains bashed in. Unfortunately, his ugly sweater soaks up his blood and becomes a possessed item. Cut to ten years later, and brain-dead buddies Jody (Hunter Johnson; Verotika) and Cliff (Charles Chudabala; The Gallows: Act II) are preparing to attend an ugly sweater party at a remote wooded camp being thrown by two slutty fraternal twin sisters, Samantha (Emily Dahm; Death House) and Susan (Tiffani Fest; Circus of the Dead). These morons take possession of the sweater (convenient, right?) and join the party. Unbeknownst to them, the twins are born again, and this is a bible camp known as Camp Mandix (get it?!). Cliff becomes possessed by the sweater, and all manner of bloodshed and blasphemy ensue.
Trust me, that’s really all the synopsis you need.
The worst thing about a film that’s made with this much manic energy and blatant disregard for anything resembling good taste is that it’s virtually impossible to review in any traditional sense of the word. The best thing about a film that goes this far into “what in the actual fuck?!” territory is that you can just sit back and enjoy it for exactly what it is- inspired lunacy and pure indie heart. Ugly Sweater Party is absolutely as tasteless as advertised…and that’s exactly what I was looking for!
The star power of the film is bolstered by meaty roles from genre legend Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp, A Nun’s Curse) and the aforementioned Sean Whalen. Rose leans into the part of oversexed camp counselor Mrs. Mandix for all it’s worth; even a bag of hotdog buns isn’t safe from her gyrations and rubbings (because weiners, get it?!). For that matter, everyone in the cast goes pretty fucking hard in the paint with what their roles had to offer in a collection of loony-ass characters that mainly serve as fodder for a splattery smorgasbord of practical SFX gags and surprisingly competent CGI.
As I said, I’m not going to analyze the script structure and evaluate the writing because it seems the film is meant to be a bit of a madcap mess. Ugly Sweater Party isn’t a Troma film, but it might as well be. The spirit of that wonderful company is alive and well here (and clearly a heavy influence). It’s one of those films where everything is thrown against the wall to see what sticks. Most of it does, too. There’s castration complete with erotic blood drinking from the stump, graphic ball shaving, shit spraying, exploding heads, one seriously lethal death ray, a precognitive witch, a perverted priest, a full-on dance number that’s so cringe it becomes a thing of twisted beauty, a cheeseball theme song, gratuitous heavy metal cut scenes, and more blasphemy than you can shake an upside down cross at. It’s a lot to handle, but let’s face it- if you’ve gotten this far into the review, then it’s right up your trashy little alley.
Ugly Sweater Party is my favorite kind of film- unpretentious, unapologetic, and completely unhinged. There are no fucks given here. Aaron Mento set out to make a movie that revels in its batshit craziness, and he succeeded. It’s the perfect film for that impromptu Christmas hangout where you and your peeps are more than a little lit and looking for some true WTF entertainment. Does that make it a “Christmas classic”? I’ll leave that up to you.
I can say with certainty that you won’t walk away from this movie in the same shape you walked in. It’ll change you. Make of that what you will.
Grade:
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
