Review: Jack Brooks Monster Slayer

Director: Jon Knautz
Writer: John Ainslie
Producers: Neil Bregman, Trevor Matthews, Patrick White
Starring: Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund, Rachel Skarsten, James A. Woods, Daniel Kash, Stefanie Drummond
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 85 min

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a horror comedy that captures the goodness of campy 80’s films as well as Slither and although Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer doesn’t quite reach the level goodness provided by James Gunn’s gem, it certainly comes pretty close.

A midnight screening classic in the making, Jon Knautz’s film is a winning marriage of schlocky horror and comedy. It’s the story of Jack Brooks, a plumber with a short fuse who has been suffering from emotional rages since the grizzly death of his parents at a tender age. He’s making the best of it, or at least trying to, but sometimes, people just push a little too far, leading to incidents where the pushers usually end up badly hurt. When Brooks is confronted with a monster attack at a night class (he’s trying to better himself), he makes the decision to fight back rather than run away and the result is a glorious 20-minute murderous rage of a finale full of zombie-like monsters, gushing geysers of bodily fluids and a monster who looks like a cross between Jabba the Hutt and paper mache.

Shot on location in Toronto on what is likely a stringent Canadian budget, Monster Slayer surpasses its low budget limitations and gleefully hugs its campy-ness. Had the filmmakers tried to make this with a serious tone, the film would have failed miserably but as an entry into the low-budget horror-comedy genre, it works. For the most part, other than the Professor Crowley monster, the practical effects and man-in-suit solutions work with the film’s tone to the point that even the strange looking Crowley monster seems to fit nicely. Though you have to stretch a little to get over some of the less eye popping effects, the main reason the film’s success is it’s lead.

It’s no surprise that the film is being compared to Evil Dead 2. Not only does director Jon Knautz show some of the trademarks of a great director in the making, Trevor Matthews could well be hailed as a sort of second coming of Bruce Campbell. With the same striking good looks, cocky onscreen attitude and ability to make you like him even when he’s being a dick, Matthews is fun to watch and to boot, he shows traces of more than just good comedic timing.

Though necessary, I found the first part of the film a little slow. The story itself was interesting enough but the dialog was forced in places, as were the constant trips to the shrink which were obviously written and included for comedic effect. Once things start to go wrong, the movie picks up steam and the closing is good enough that one can overlook the film’s stumbles.

This isn’t an instant classic but it’s certainly bound to be a cult favourite, one that is loads of fun when seen with an audience. A great distraction for a Friday night and a solid piece of semi-mainstream Canadian entertainment, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer may not appeal to everyone but it will definitely be a hit with fans of the horror-comedy genre.

Links:
IMDb profile
Official Site
Flixster Profile for Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer