‘Monster Party’ Star Julian McMahon Likes the Idea of a Prequel

Julian McMahon, who plays the twisted Patrick Dawson in Monster Party, describes the film as one of a handful of scripts he has ever read that felt exactly right for him — and he would be open to revisiting the world in a prequel that explains how his character and his onscreen wife (played by Empire Records standout Robin Tunney) got to where they are at the start of the film.

The couple’s chemistry, as well as the dynamic each of the two have with their charismatic guru played by John Wick‘s Lance Reddick, is a centerpiece of the film, and McMahon told ComicBook.com that he would be interested in exploring those relationships.

“I think that would be very interesting,” McMahon said. “The three of us really clicked on set and I loved what she was bringing to her character, and I enjoyed the [improvised] stuff. It was fun playing in this kind of atmosphere, because you kind of give yourself an ability to go where you wouldn’t go in other films. It was such an odd relationship between those two, the husband and the wife, and then I really liked Lance’s work. I think he’s a strong character, and I love his voice and his delivery. It was a pleasure working with both.”

Although there were parts that were embellished upon by the actors, McMahon said that the short timeline of shooting (the whole film was done in about three weeks) meant there were few opportunities for improv.

“You have to be careful with [improv],” McMahon said. “Chris and I had this conversation a few times. His writing is really nice, so it wasn’t like we had to create stuff that wasn’t there. There were a couple of moments that were maybe improv-ed a little bit, but most of it was scripted. Because of time constraints and budget constraints and those kinds of things, you’ve got to be careful about riffing on something. I also find that ad-libbing works better when you really know.your character pretty well and I find that that happens after a period o time with the other actors and some comfort with the characters, and we just didn’t have that kind of time. Chris was really open to suggestion, but you do have to be careful because you can get swamped in a place where you don’t really have time to go.”

Monster Party is in theaters in select cities. The film can also be purchased or rented on VOD services like Movies Anywhere and iTunes right now.