Michael Alig: Did the former Club Kid finish ‘Party Monster 2’ before his death?

The autopsy report is in: the cause of death for Michael Alig, infamous Club Kid and party planner & promoter, was an overdose on heroin & fentanyl. The overdose was ruled accidental. 

Alig died on Christmas Eve 2020 in his New York City apartment after living quite an infamous life. Alig was a club promoter in the 80s & 90s and planned parties where drugs were notoriously sold. In the 1990s, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served twenty years in various New York State prisons, including a stint on Rikers Island. 

While it wasn’t out of nowhere that the former Club Kid possibly relapsed – bags of heroin were apparently seen near him when his body was discovered – rumors are circulating that Michael Alig may have had a sequel to his biopic, Party Monster, in the works before his death. Is it possible this cult indie hit could spawn a sequel? Here’s everything we know so far. 

Party Monster

If you’ve seen Party Monster, the 2005 indie film starring Macaulay Culkin & Seth Green – and featuring disgraced shock rocker Marilyn Manson – you, like us, may have one word to describe it: schadenfreude. The film is slow-paced, but the antics of New York City’s Club Kids – complete with violence and drug-fuelled debauchery – won’t let its viewers look away. 

The movie follows the story of two Club Kids, promoters James St. James (Seth Green) and Michael Alig (Macauley Culkin) as they rise to fame in the club scene and fall from grace as the law catches up with them. After (drug) dealings with club owner Peter Gatien (Dylan McDermott), the film culminates in depicting the death of Andre “Angel” Melendez (Wilson Cruz), who Michael Alig was convicted of killing. 

While the film debuted at Sundance & Cannes in 2003, it received mainly lackluster reviews and currently holds a 28% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Even though Roger Ebert called Culkin’s performance in the movie “fearless”, he concluded he was “not sure what the movie accomplishes, except to portray an extreme and impenetrable personality type”, elaborating: 

“They (directors Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato) find no insights into the humanity of their subject, but that may be because Alig was a cipher known only to himself (if that). The movie lacks insight and leaves us feeling sad and empty–sad for ourselves, not Alig–and maybe it had to be that way.” 

The reported sequel

According to Page Six, a source close to Michael Alig said he was working on a sequel to Party Monster in 2020. “Michael told me he probably wasn’t going to make it through the year. He started making ‘Party Monster 2’ movie, which was . . . footage of when he got out of prison”, the source said. 

The source further elaborated the sequel was shot “documentary style”, and Michael Alig claimed he would “never see money from it”, citing his stated belief he wouldn’t live to see 2021. 

After Michael Alig was released from prison in 2014, Page Six noted he continued to chase his glory days as a Club Kid in the late 80s and fell back into drugs. 

Michael Alig’s remains

Earlier this year, Page Six reported there was a battle for Michael Alig’s ashes between Alig’s mother Elke and Alig’s fellow Club Kids. After the Club Kids set up a GoFundMe for Michael’s funeral, Elke stated she previously agreed to split Michael’s ashes between herself and the Club Kids, but declined, explaining she felt pressured by some of the Club Kids. 

“I felt uncertain about the plot at Green-Wood cemetery. Rachael (Cain) purchased a two-person final resting niche at Green-Wood cemetery. When I decided that this was not the final resting place I want for myself or my son, Rachael assured me that this was ‘already paid for’ and Rachel said to others that if I ‘came to her senses,’ I and my son could ultimately reside at Green-Wood-cemetery.” 

Rachael Cain, an original Club kid alongside Michael Alig, told Page Six she was shocked at Elke’s allegations, elaborating: “I have witnesses and text messages to document that she thought the niche was a wonderful idea at first.” As for the double-plot, Cain explained “the niches are sold as doubles”. 

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In lieu of their old burial, the Club Kids have prepared a virtual memorial for Michael Alig. Cain added: “We are at peace with Elke having Michael’s ashes because we have his spirit. It’s a mother’s right and all of us, especially me, wish her love.”