Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

Dir: Jon Knautz
Cast: Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund, Rachel Skarsten
Canada, 2008

Seen: July 25, 2008 at AMC Yonge & Dundas

Reason to see: Canadian horror movie? Sign me up!

Canadian horror movies, gotta love 'em. How could you not root for our plumber-with-anger-issues protagonist in this against the odds tale of monster slaying? Trevor Matthews plays Jack Brooks, the plumber in question whom struggles with his own inner demons before unleashing his skill on real live monsters. There are many treats in this film, particularly in the performances not only of Trevor Matthews but also horror genre icon Robert Englund as the lonely night class chemistry teacher and David Fox as the grumpy local Howard. I was happily surprized to see such care and attention taken with the character development and plot, so often with horror films you can end with a wafer thin plot and no background on for the characters at all but this isn't the case here. A strong story and lead character guide us through a plumbing good time.

Warnings: Violence, gore, 1 derogatory use of 'gay' and a few instances of humour through the use of cultural/racial references.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it as a fun horror flick

5 minutes of preshow including 3 commercial and 1 previews: Brideshead Revisited

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© Shannon Ridler, 2008