Editor’s Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on January 21, 2008, and we’re proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
If the first 60 minutes of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer were as much over-the-top fun as the last half-hour, this might have been a new classic in the horror/comedy/makeup-FX-on-the-rampage genre. As it stands, it’s not only a natural for those midnight-show venues still in existence but deserves wider theatrical exposure; here’s hoping an adventurous distributor picks it up following its North American premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival this weekend.
Following a prologue whose specific connection to the main story isn’t immediately clear, but which serves notice that the film is going to spotlight some pretty impressive creature FX, the movie continues on to…another prologue. Here, we’re introduced to the titular protagonist as a young boy, witnessing the slaughter of his family by a humanoid beast on a camping trip. The massacre is accompanied by Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea” on the soundtrack, setting up the film’s mix of grisly horror and cheeky humor (though “That’s Amore” might have been an even cheekier choice, since it was co-written by a real Jack Brooks, but never mind…).
Cut to the present day, when the young-adult Jack (Trevor Matthews) has serious but understandable anger-management issues stemming from that night, works as a plumber and attends night classes with his pain-in-the-butt girlfriend Eve (Rachel Skarsten, late of TV’s Birds of Prey). Following Jack’s latest tardiness to class, their professor, Dr. Gordon Crowley (Robert Englund), asks him to stick around afterward—not to penalize him, but to invite him over to have a look at his faulty boiler. Since his name is Crowley, it’s no surprise that Jack’s attempts to fix his heating system eventually lead to the prof unearthing a crate filled with dirt, bones and an arcane box from his backyard. Meanwhile, Jack’s quest for a new valve leads him to encounter hardware store worker Old Howard (veteran Canadian actor David Fox), who just happens to be a font of exposition about the origins of that crate, whose contents soon take possession of the unfortunate Crowley.
The first two acts of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer are a well-balanced mix of character comedy and horrific tease, as Jack deals with his schoolmates and his own issues while Crowley, under the evil influence, begins demonstrating odd behavior and lousy table manners. There’s an (intentionally?) off-kilter feel to the classroom scenes, since the dialogue and situations are very high-school, yet all the students are quite clearly in at least their mid-20s. These and other eccentricities are presented at a good pace by director Jon Knautz, who also scripted with John Ainslie from a story by the duo along with Matthews and Patrick White, the latter two of whom additionally produced the film with Neil Bregman. That team deserves kudos for the studio-slick veneer they’ve achieved here on an indie-film budget, enhanced by Joshua Allen’s rich cinematography and Ryan (The Girl Next Door) Shore’s equally lush score. On the acting side, Matthews brings both edge and charisma to the conflicted Jack, while Englund has a lot of fun goofing it up in one of his more playful recent genre turns.
If that opening hour feels at times like a very long setup, the payoff is worth it. Once Crowley begins to physically transform into a new, inhuman guise—ending up resembling the Chet creature from Weird Science with Englund-esque features—Jack Brooks really kicks into high gear and delivers a long, rousing round of monster mayhem. I’d never heard of makeup/creature FX creator David Scott and his Form & Dynamics company before seeing this movie, but their standout work herein insures that you’ll be hearing a lot more from them, probably in the very near future. With not only the Crowley critter but a squad of zombie-esque killers running amok, Jack inevitably decides to literally confront his demons and kick some supernatural ass, resulting in action setpieces that are genuinely exciting; kudos to stunt coordinator John Ross and his team as well.
Jack’s hand-to-hands with the rampaging nasties are bound to have big-screen audiences whooping and cheering, and the finale, which suggests that his adventures are only just beginning, has the rare effect of making one actively desire to see a sequel. If it was the explicit intention of this filmmaking group (operating under the Brookstreet Pictures banner) to kickstart a franchise with Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, they’re off to a pretty strong start. But whatever they wind up doing next, this debut feature announces that it’ll be worth paying close attention to.
