The Cast: Macaulay Culkin (Michael Alig), Seth Green (James St. James), Chloe Sevigny (Gitsie), Marilyn Manson (Christina), Dylan McDermott (Peter Gatien), Wilson Cruz (Angel), Wilmer Valderrama (Keoki), Justin Hagan (Freez), Natasha Lyonne (Brooke)

Money! Success! Fame! And glamour!

The Movie: Based on "Disco Bloodbath", a book based on a true story of convicted murderer Michael Alig. Party Monster chronicles Michael's rise to the top of the club kid underground and his subsequent downfall as a drug addicted murderer by mixing truth and some very odd fiction. As the story moves along, you get a sense that the filmmakers want Michael's character to receive a small amount of sympathy or at least empathy from the viewer, but his bratty actions don't allow for that to happen. The reality of the story outweighs all of the funny and surreal moments that fill this movie, but luckily never gets preachy so it's still enjoy as an entertainment piece.

Outside of the interesting story, the cast is one of the main reasons to watch this film. Macaulay Culkin's performance of Michael Alig is questionable at first, but he pulls it off without a hitch and hits the mark pretty well. As good as Mac was, his performance is out shined by Seth Green's hilarious portrayal of Alig's friend/mentor/rival and Disco Bloodbath author, James St. James. The more and more I watch Seth act, the more and more I like him. With such a large cast and the main focus being on Michael, a few of the other characters, including Wilson Cruz's crucial role as Angel, are underdeveloped. Even with that complaint the ensemble does a terrific job with their roles, playing the over the top moments just as well as some the more subdued or sinister moments of the film.

Throughout the entire movie costumes play a huge part in recreating the club kid scene. The outrageous colors and ridiculous themes of these outfits serve to pull the actual person from the real world into their cartoonish drug filled fantasy land.

While the technical aspects for the movie are great, the use of handheld cameras in some of the slower or less manic scenes stick out like a sore thumb. When used in the large party scenes or ones that depict drug induced effects, the handheld footage captures the chaotic nature of that particular scene perfectly.

The DVD:

The Picture: Available in 1.33:1 full frame and 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, Party Monster's transfer is very nice. Some grain is present in the film, but for the most part is clear and crisp. Compression artifacts do show up from time to time, but aren't something that takes much away from the image. Vivid colors are key elements to the story and tone of the movie and are well represented in this transfer.

The Sound: The audio is a decent two channel Dolby presentation, but a surround mix would have been perfect for this movie. The large party scenes and drug scenes would have benefited from a full surround mix to really create the chaotic feel of these scenes.

Special Features: Director/Producer Commentary, Featurette, Interview with Michael Alig, Actor Interviews, Behind the Scenes Footage, Trailer

Commentary with Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato: This commentary is filled with loads of information about the movie and actual story as well as history lessons on the Club Kid scene.

Featurette: An eight minute short describing the movie, the club kid scene and the murder using the actors' and directors' words.

Interview with Michael Alig: I was very interested in checking this extra out when I first saw it, but after seeing how short it is I was left disappointed.

Actor Interviews: These are set up like the Michael Alig interview and once again a little too short.

Behind the Scenes Footage: Just under nine minutes of random "backstage" shots of scenes being shot, conversations and costuming.

Final Thoughts: Party Monster is a strange mix of good and evil sprinkled with a whole lot of glitter. Anyone familiar with the story will definitely want to pick this one up and those that aren't are sure to find a bizarre true story worth watching.