The Frightfest coverage continues!

The last film of Sunday night, but the next film I’ll mention here, was one that I’d been looking forward to since I saw the trailer.

It could all have gone horribly wrong. Pulling of this sort of tongue in cheek comedy horror isn’t easy, and the results can be absolutely excruciating when it doesn’t work. The trailer shows that the film doesn’t look cheap, and does a great job of getting across exactly what Jack Brooks is trying to deliver: fun.

And for the most part, it really does deliver. The monster make-up is great across the board, Robert Englund is having serious amounts of fun, the giant rubber demon he eventually becomes manages to nail the Brain Dead style perfectly, and – perhaps most importantly – the film is genuinely funny at times. Largely thanks to “Howard”, but we’ll come back to him.

The titular character is a down on his luck plumber with serious anger management problems. His girlfriend is intensely irritating, he’s haunted by the memory of his family being slain by some sort of forest troll while he was a little boy, and cannot escape the guilt induced by running away while said troll had his family for dinner. The fact that they were slaughtered to the sound of Bobby Darrin’s Beyond The Sea probably has some bearing on Jack’s mental state too.

When his girlfriend suggests that Jack start going to night-classes, he agrees, and it’s here that we meet Englund’s Professor Crowley. It’s nice to see him in a role that he can really get his teeth into for a change, and while he’s playing for laughs throughout he does a superb job. When Crowley invites Jack back to his house to fix his plumbing, Jack’s handiwork manages to unearth the black heart of a demon, who’s hellbent on returning to Earth and turning its people into bloodthirsty creatures.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out what happens next.

The film’s only real problem is that it takes a little while to really get into gear. In many ways it’s an origin tale in the tradition of recent superhero movies – Jack doesn’t start the film as the titular Monster Slayer (unless you count the opening sequence flash-forward) and it isn’t really until the final stages of the film that he realises he destiny. What we get along the way are some funny interactions between Jack and his anger management councillor, and Crowley’s transformation which, thanks to Englund, is even funnier.

I don’t know if it’s at all fair, but I can’t help but see a little of Jason Mewes in star Trevor Matthews. He’s admittedly far less chilled out than Silent Bob’s partner in crime, but I couldn’t help but see a similarity. He’s a charismatic lead, and pulls off the fight sequences convincingly. The rest of the film’s cast also do what they’re required to do: Rachel Skarsten is annoying as Jack’s girlfriend, James A. Woods is entertaining as Jack’s fellow classmate, and Englund is, as mentioned, gloriously over the top. But it’s David Fox, as Howard, who really steals the film.

Howard works in the local hardware store. When Jack pops in to order a new part for the Professor’s plumbing system, Howard warns him off with the demon heart’s back-story. And he’s absolutely magnificent. Howard is, without any doubt, the number one reason to see this film. If you don’t find his performance entertaining, you officially have no soul.

In the films final stages, when Jack has his epiphany and discovers his true purpose in life, it’s easy to imagine Jack Brooks as the next Ash. When he’s kicking monster ass and taking names, pulverising demon faces with fire extinguishers, and slicing up tentacles, the potential for horror’s next great action hero is obvious. It was a joy to hear Matthews talk about a sequel after the screening, because with a slightly bigger budget, and without the need to explain the origin, Jack 2 could really be something special.

If you enter into the spirit of things, or make sure you’ve got a few beers in side you, you should really enjoy Jack Brooks Monster Slayer. For fans of Evil Dead 2, Brain Dead, and films of a similar ilk, its a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend 85 minutes of your life.