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Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Directed by: Jon Knautz Starring: Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund Synopsis: Ever since witnessing the massacre of his family as a young boy, Jack Brooks has had some serious anger management issues. Now a young adult, Jack works as a plumber and attends a night-school science class with his bitchy girlfriend, Eve. When Jack agrees to help out with his professor’s (Englund) plumbing problem, he unwittingly uncovers a dark secret within the professor’s house...
Whilst this movie works very well as a homage to the horror movies of the ‘80s, and such directors as Sam Raimi, Charles Band, Frank Henenlotter and Larry Cohen, it doesn’t fare as well as entertainment. The problem is basically too much build-up and not enough monster slaying, and when there finally is some monster slaying, there is nowhere else for the movie to go.
I admire the fact that the movie uses no CGI fx, something which is all too rare these days and something the recent “Unearthed” could have benefited from. Unfortunately the main creature that Robert Englund’s character transforms into is pretty dreadful – it looks like something from old-style Dr Who. Part of me is wondering if it’s crappiness was on purpose, a parody of the sort of creations Charles Band was responsible for (eg Troll, Terrorvision), but if so the joke is going to be lost on most of the movie’s audience. At the end of the day, I hope this movie opens up some doors for writer/director Jon Knautz, and actor Trevor Matthews, who puts in a solid performance as the troubled Jack. Both guys are clearly talented and if Knautz can get hold of a decent budget we may see a true shot in the arm for US Horror movies.
Synopsis: A good attempt at doing something a little different to the current horror trends, this is unfortunately a little too uneven – the buildup takes forever and the payoff is over too quick. 5 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)
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