Critique of “Ugly Sweater Party” (2018): A Movie Review

When reviewing horror-comedy, there is tension. If you criticize the more risible parts, there is an inherent “get out of jail free card” in that fact that we are spoofing something that we normally take serious. What is the use of serious criticism? Ugly Sweater Party does not qualify as serious . Aaron Mento’s blooper-reel at the end serves as a good reminder. The blooper reel also shows how much fun the crew and cast had while making the film.

In the prologue, Detective Brolin, played by Brad Potts (” Water for Elephants“), interrogates a suspected murderous maniac, Declan Rains. (Sean Whalen in ” Halloween II“) Brolin kills Rains but not before he has given a nod to a Satan bust, which suggests demonic forces are at work. Ten years later, Cliff (Charles Chudabala from “Escape from Ensenada”), Jody (Hunter Johnson from “Bunnymanvengeance”), and their stoner friends Jody (both played by Hunter Johnson) are invited to a remote forest party by two “slutty girls”. Brolin, a homeless man who is aggressive and threatening, meets the boys on their way. The old detective has an ugly Christmas sweater in his hand — a convenient coincidence as the boys need such a garment to attend their party.

Cliff and Jody arrive at the “party” only to discover that it is actually a Bible Camp, run by a couple of deranged people (Marv and Felissa Blauvelt from “Sculpture”, and Felissa Rosa from “The House That Wept blood”). Cliff and Jody had hoped to have luck with their daughters Susan (Tiffani Festival, “Krampus The Devil Returns”) or Samantha (Emily Dahm “From Jennifer”) but now it seems that the ladies are renouncing promiscuity. Cliff’s demonic sweater will be used to feed on the oddball characters that are at camp. The ugly sweater, also known as “Sweaterface”, “Sweaterhead”, and other names, is possessed and is driving Cliff to collect souls.

The result is an eclectic mix of splatter deaths. Cliff eats a man’s penis, then drinks the arterial spray that comes out of the wound. The jokes get even more gruesome. If you find the name Camp Mandix amusing, you may be able to find more value elsewhere. The humor is varied, from the endearingly irreverent to the dismally cretinous.

Mento’s visual gags are a few and decent — for example, when Father Bottoms (“The Perfect Host” Matt Holbrook) appears to drown in a river, but is actually searching for his wallet after a baptism — but the majority of its efforts are depressingly poor. It’s especially tiresome to hear the constant stream of homosexual jokes. It’s not just wordplay, but the actual sight of two men in an alleged homosexual situation. Maybe 30 years ago. Not even then.

Mento’s visual references to splatter masters such as Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson are obvious, but Troma is the one that has gotten more mileage. It’s a tacky, trashy, and unrefined filmmaking on every level. That is the point. Even before the evil pullover begins manipulating time, the editing is chaotic and nonsensical. The film is not Shane Carruth’s “Primer,” but the editing gets weird and the time changes. This leads to some flashes, such as when the counselors lead the group in a Mambo dance.

A subplot involves a girl called Hanna (Lara Jean from “Anomaly”) who is a “witch”, a psychic, sent to the camp in order to be cleansed so that her parents will accept her. Don’t worry; even this isn’t taken seriously. She makes a deal instead with Jody. If he kills Cliff’s rampaging, she will cure his STI. Somehow.

It’s not dangerous. One scene that made me feel uncomfortable was when a character went on a shooting spree through the camp. This was a bit tone deaf, especially in light of recent US events and the proximity of the film to Erik Poppe’s Utoya and Paul Greengrass’s 22 July. The film in general is too juvenile and stupid to offend.

Ugly Sweater Party isn’t overly long, barely breaking 80 minutes. It’s even shorter if you take into account that live footage from speed metal band Omicida (whom I assume are friends of director) takes up a large portion of the film. The haphazardness of their presence highlights the editing disorder that is evident in the film. It’s a film that appears to be trying to push boundaries but paradoxically, its humor and worldview seem dated. If you’re looking for the savagery of VHS horror, this is a film to watch.