a jaded viewer reviews the world of horror, splatter, gore, cult, grindhouse, trash, b-movie, erotica, indie, asian and exploitation films
Monday, October 27, 2008
Rewind: Truth or Dare? A Critical Madness (Trailer and Short)
We at the jaded viewer love the old 80s slasher horror of old. Remember all the old VHS boxes at your local mom and pop video stores? That's all you had to go by back then when you were in the mood for horror.
It's how I watched some of the classic 80s slasher flicks. Fuck, I didn't know what was good. Cover art, a vague description on the back with a few photos and a killer tagline.
If all of those looked awesome, I rented it.
I'm now probably scarred by watching all this horror (all underage of course) but when I see a 80s horror film dug up on YouTube, I get all nostalgy.
Directed by low budget maestro Tim Ritter, it's so fuckin goofy, over the top gory and outright outrageous, it's everything a 12 year old horror kid wanted.
Let's remember the good ole times shall we? The trailer is below.
Check out the original short that gave birth to the feature film. It's sooooooo freakin hilarious.
I said it once and I'll say it again. Leave it up to the Canadians to reinvigorate the 80s horror-omedy.
Jon Knautz's Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is a dash of Evil Dead, some Weird Science, a tad of Brain Dead, a pinch of The Gate and a heaping spoonful of Robert England.
I've been digging the horror-omedy of late with Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon topping my top 10 Horror movies of 2007.
So it was surprising that I would dig Jack Brooks which despite it's flaws is a pretty fun film from the middle to the end.
As a child Jack Brooks witnessed the brutal murder of his family. Now a young man he struggles with a pestering girlfriend, therapy sessions that resolve nothing, and night classes that barely hold his interest. After unleashing an ancient curse, Jack's Professor undergoes a transformation into something not-quite- human, and Jack is forced to confront some old demons... along with a few new ones
Awesome Review-O-Matic
On a rainy night, Insano Steve and I attended the NY/East Coast premiere of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer. It was presented by Fangoria and the director Jon Knautz and Mr. Jack Brooks himself Trevor Matthews were suppose to be on hand for a Q and A but alas they could not attend due to the bad weather.
But some hardcore horror fans did attend and we all saw some throwback 80s horror homage that we all left us skippy happy. The first thing you notice when you watch Jack Brooks is, is this 1988? Because all the classic 80s horror conventions are in full effect. Let's go through a checklist shall we?
1.) Ordinary, every day guy who has to save the day and becomes our reluctant hero.
CHECK.
2.) His clueless, blonde annoying girlfriend who is a ditz.
CHECK.
3.) Cardboard cutouts of high school streotypes (fat smart girl, stoner guys, nerds, hot punk rock chick, jocks and "Styles like Teen Wolf guy").
CHECK.
4.) The creepy old guy who tells the eerie back story of the evil that is to come.
CHECK.
5.) The professor who discovers a mysterious evil underneath his house, digs it up and gets fuckin posessesed.
CHECK.
6.) An over the top, gross out splatterfest with a boss character at the end that looks like Chet from Weird Science.
CHECK.
What we're initially seeing is an origin story. Jack's origin story and it's filled with classic moments that you can't forget. Trevor Matthews plays Jack as the confused everyday guy (he's a plumber attending night school) who's just looking for his purpose in life. Sorta like Ash, he's been put into a situation that eventually will make him see his true calling.
But it's Robert England performance that makes this classic. He's in vintage form as the night school professor that gets possessed by an evil demon heart (!?) that metamorphizes him into a fat, slobbering mutant big eyed ENORMOUS mouth monster that injects victims into blood thirsty demons. His slow transformation is hilarious as he devours chicken, veggies and his poor dog. Some gross out reversal of fortune moments and the Fly-like transfo is just awesome.
The final epic battle is fought in the school and the POW! BIFF! WOP! battle ensues as Jack battles the demons....using his plumbing tools.....and his wits.
It's all pretty generic but it's still all fun.
We get few camera angles, POV shots and some locker door smashing straight from the Sam Raimi school of directing. Some great one liners and gore and splatter FX that are top notch.
If Slither and Jack Brooks are the evolution of the classic 80s horror reinvigorated for today's audience, we're in good hands. Fuck the remakes. That shit never works. Do it right and make your own movie and franchise it.
Move over Ash, you've got company.
Influences
Evil Dead series Brain Dead Weird Science Night of the Creeps Slither The Gate Troll 80's horror movies
Gore-ipedia (if you want to be shocked don't read)
[It's a mini rewind review here at the jadedviewer.com. These were orignally posted on Netflix before they banned me. Enjoy!]
I was figuring this to be a cheesy B-movie, Godzilla/King Kong like movie...but it didn't have any cheese.
I can appreciate a film where you can MST3K it but this was so bad I was writhing in pain while viewing it. I think it might have had to do with how I can't tolerate David Carradine and how the serpent had like 10% of screen time!
Instead I had to endure a dumb plot revolving around a totally unlikeable character. Larry Cohen made It's Alive and some other B-movie flicks. At least those had good, cheese.
We at the jaded viewer love the old 80s slasher horror of old. Remember all the old VHS boxes at your local mom and pop video stores? That's all you had to go by back then when you were in the mood for horror.
