*Review* Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

I had the pleasure last week of watching Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer on Netflix instant Q. After seeing so many terrible low budget B horror movies as of late (Hatchet, anyone?) I was expecting the worst with this.


Plot: Jack Brooks (Trevor Matthews) is a highschool student suffering from anger problems after watching his family get murdered by monsters on a camping trip when he was a child (who can't relate to that?). His unbelievably high maintenance bitchy girlfriend (Rachel Skarsten) only makes matters worse for him. After his professor (the beloved Robert Englund) asks him to fix a plumbing issue at his creepy old house he unknowingly unleashes an ancient evil that only Jack Brooks can defeat.

My thoughts: For a low budget horror movie the creature effects and make-up/prostetics are top notch here. The acting is quirky and surprisingly well done specifically the three actors I mentioned above. The dialogue is pretty well crafted given the plot, and there's not a whole lot of things to complain about here. I really was expecting a terrible movie but I couldn't help but have fun watching this. After watching Robert Englund in Hatchet, I felt terrible for him because not only was his role small and insignificant, it was terribly written and executed. In JB: MS, they let him shine, and he doesn't disappoint one bit. Running in at about 85 minutes the pacing never slows down. Granted, it does take a little while to get going but the payoff is worth the wait. I can't stress enough about how good the creatures looked for a low budget movie. This just goes to show you that you don't need millions of dollars to waste on bad CGI that comes off as cartoony. It felt refreshing to see a B movie that actually pays off with the recent movies that I've seen. It left me wanting more, and was pleased to hear that they are planning a sequel. I recommend this movie to any horror fan looking for an hour and a half to put your feet up and have a good time.



Rating: 8.2/10