UGLY SWEATER PARTY (2018)

Ugly Sweater Party (2018)
Directed by: Aaron Mento
Written by: Aaron Mento
Starring: Brad Potts, Emily Dahm, Felissa Rose, Hunter Johnson, Jared Degado, Jody Barton, Lara Jean, Marv Blauvelt, Sean Whalen, Tiffani Fest

UGLY SWEATER PARTY (2018)
Written and Directed by Aaron Mento

Jody and Cliff have been invited to Susan and Samantha’s party but unbeknownst to them it’s at her parent’s bible group in the woods, Camp Mandix, and it requires they dress in ugly Xmas sweaters. Having only found out the latter detail whilst en-route to the party, the duo are desperate to find some proper attire so as not to look odd ones out. Bumping into a hobo, the guys discover he’s carrying an ugly sweater and when they realise he won’t part with it, Cliff decides to take it from him. Little does Cliff know that the sweater once belonged to a deranged serial killer named Declan who has great plans in store for whoever wears the sweater.

UGLY SWEATER PARTY is the remedy you need this Christmas with its focus on those nasty Crimbo jumpers that have suddenly leaped from being hideous to suddenly quite fashionable in modern society. However, what’s intriguing most of all that the leading sweater of the film isn’t even that Christmassy – hell, it even has a glowing pentagram on the chest! So it’s of little surprise that this Xmas sweater isn’t exactly just a garment but is actually possessed by Sean Whalen’s crimbo killer, Declan Rains who slaughtered families over the festive period some ten years previously. Having been killed during interrogation, Declan has some unfinished business and wishes to continue his murderous rampage with a little help from one of our lead characters.

Cliff and Jody are your average teenage lads. They love girls and sex and often spend time at home either shaving their overgrown pubic region (Jody) or fantasising about performing a stripper routine in front of a horny girl (Cliff). Sexually starved of late and desperate for poontang, Cliff and Jody reckon they’re onto a winner with village bicycles Susan and Samantha who’ve invited them to their party. However, it seems in their absence the girls have been blessed as born again virgins and sworn themselves to Christ. What a bummer! Although all isn’t lost as it seems the girls’ mother, MILF Mrs Mandix (Felissa Rose), is quite happy to get to know Cliff a bit better…

With the action taking place at woodland Christian camp, all sorts of characters come out to play – most we can definitely say don’t belong at a bible retreat! Nearly all have their sins, from a strict Christian viewpoint, and all make quite brilliant comedic characters for Cliff and Jody to bounce off of. These interactions become the basis for most of the comedy, most of which raise some giggles, and we begin to wonder whether they’ll survive the fellow campers, never mind Declan’s possession of Cliff.

When it comes down to it, UGLY SWEATER PARTY is oodles of immature fun. There’s puns aplenty with almost every scene featuring some sort of sexual innuendo with most sexual references being quite in your face (that’s how she likes it). So for someone who cracks dirty jokes all the time, I felt pretty at home with this film. It’s not trying to be serious or smart at any time though its approach showcases some very clever writing. At the heart of it, it’s teenage, puerile banter laced with Xmas inspired camp horror and made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. Well written sex jokes combined with some bloody gruesome effects makes this indie, low budget horror comedy something to be proud of. Of course, having the right cast is paramount to making a script like this work and everyone involve gives it their all. My particular favourites being hornball goof Jody (Hunter Johnson), Mr Mandix (Marv Blauvelt) who’s hardly hiding his obsession over convicted woman beater Roberto’s big biceps, and Detective Brolin (Brad Potts), the police officer who won’t give up in trying to stop Declan/Cliff’s rampage.

UGLY SWEATER PARTY is the only party I wanna attend this Christmas, and guess what? You’re invited!

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