Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer Reviews

Really really underwhelming.

Another movie I expected more from after seeing the previews. Have had it on my desk in a pile of DVD's for about 8 months, after finally getting to it I was disappointed, as the best monster was the last one where the sequel will pickup in 2010. Jack is just a good old boy who has put up with enough shi* and he finally faces his demons. Its not really a horror film, more of a horror Comedy. Its a long way from Evil Dead or Cemetery man. but its worth 3 stars, Sorry Jack you disappointed me.

A pretty cheesey B movie comedy horror. It's good in places but I started to get bored, it feels long even at 75mins. Slow to start but with a good end but not much to the story or plot. I was hoping for a lot more than this. On the plus side it has some very good old school make up effects and creature designs look good. One more for the horror fans, others may find it a little to slow.

Fun, low budget, knowing B-movie with some great (if unbelievable) effects. Most of the action resides in the beginning and the end of the film, but it's short enough that aficionados won't mind. Englund is wonderful.

If you go into this thinking of it as an "homage/spoof" of every bad horror films from the 80's...then you might enjoy this.

The premise is fun but (intentional or not) the bad acting and cheesy special effects go from "kitchy fun" to annoying, fairly quickly.

Really makes you appreciate the introduction of CGI into film, which (when done properly) can do wonders for a film.

This is actually pretty good stuff :) the main character does slowly turn into an Ash type towards the end of the film but thats ok it still works. The whole thing is a cheesey, tacky monster mash with hammy acting...yet its really good fun. The effects are good in places but dodgy in others...the best being the makeup on the freshly turned monster zombies and the worst being the huge blob demon that Robert Englund turns into ;)

The film does take time to get going...it can be boring to be honest, with only the last 30min being the good stuff, but its worth the wait and I wouldnt mind seeing a sequel :)
A modern day evil dead style horror.

The story is about a 3 star (for horror), but the production effects are so great that I HAD to give this four stars.

This is a FUN creature feature with some wicked awesome monsters and an interesting protagonist who is not annoyingly cocky, but instead empathetically emotional. This is a fun get smashed Friday night movie for gore freaks, and it would scare the crap out of a kid or lightweight. I imagine if I saw this before I developed my scare immunities, I wouldn't sleep comfortably for a few days - that's how great the makeup is.

I'm a huge proponent of practical effects, which is probably why I like this movie so much. The first two acts are mostly exposition, and then the concluding twenty-five minutes is all monster fighting. During the fight, Jack does some foolish things like discard his weapons constantly, then when the next monster attacks him, has to struggle to find another makeshift weapon (and this gag is pulled at least three times). I thought compared to earlier outbursts, the actor didn't showcase Jack's rage when it came to fighting the monsters, and it's not just because the monsters dwarf his aggression with their growls. I think the actor was trying to inject some fear into Jack, but it just came off as Jack wasn't in his uncontrollable anger mode.

I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel and hope they don't lapse into using loads of CGI, as the practical makeup/fx was the meat of the movie. I like how bits of the creatures' anatomy mimics the aesthetic of plumbing and pipes, which is Jack's porfession (in particular, their blood looks like dirty pipe sludge).

Also worth mentioning is Robert Englund's performance. He does a great eccentric professor. Once his character is affected by the monster heart, his body language is just astounding as if I was watching a person actually possessed.

The make-up and monster FX are completely amazing featuring NO CG at all (and if there was it was so minute I couldn't tell).
The production design, score etc are all above par but the problem lies in its pacing. After a solid first 20 minutes it sloooows...way...down and doesn't pick back up again until the last 20 or so.
Still it's better than most and both director Knautz and the FX team should be sought after because they show alot of promise and skill.

"Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer" is a completely unpretentious and entertaining throwback to B-cinema, and despite the fact it'll never be regarded as a classic, it's warmly recommended viewing for all fans of the horror genre

If it were made in the '80s, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer would be a cult classic by now.

I definitely had a fun time with this low budget but high production value monster flick. While it was clearly very cheap, nothing from the performances to the cinematography to the effects are notably bad. Some of the effects seem a little silly, but I am easily able to forgive them because they are inventive and fun, not to mention PRACTICAL. I'll take a goofy puppet over some retarded CGI any day. I don't know if this will be a classic like Evil Dead, but I look forward to a sequel and maybe a franchise.
P.S. This is not a guilty pleasure. It is a genuinely good film.

I bought this on a whim just because I thought the premise was cool, and I love Robert Englund's work, and I was pleasantly surprised!

This is a definite must see for anyone who truly enjoys the horror genre, as the film reminds me a lot of The Evil Dead films, in that it is a gory, funny, and great thing to watch over and over again.

When out on a camping trip with his whole family a young Jack Brooks watches them get brutally murdered by some kinda monster fast forward now and Jack is now a young man but with alot of problems a grilfriend that wont stop buggin him, therapy sessions that lead to nowhere and stuck takening night classes that dont even hold his interest that is untill his professor unleashes a ancient curse and turns into something not so human now Jack must fight to keep him and his classmates alive by confronting his past and unleashing his inner anger. This movie was really good not to be taken serious at all has some of that comedy/horror feel too it but a nice way to waste sometime

Old School 80's style B-Movie comes direct to DVD in 2008 with obvious Evil Dead influences. The movie slows down too much after the opening scene, but the last 20-30 minutes rock! Horror/comedy that pays homage to the movies I loved (still do) and goes totally retro as if CGI didn't exist. LOVE the makeup on the possessed students and laughed at how bad some of the other FX were (just like my fave 80's horror). I realize now how much I missed real makeup and effects and THAT is why I appreciate this one!

I felt a little mislead initially, but in the end it unfolded the best it could have.
All in all it's cheesy monster flick that loves and is inspired by the great cheesy horror flicks that came before it. Think early Jackson and Raimi type stuff, only slightly toned down.
Robert Englund, really played his part well.
It bums me out however that parts of this were filmed in Ottawa, the city I live and I had no idea... missed a chance to meet Freddy. eff!

My favorite horror/comedy in recent years. It really does the genre justice by using practical effects in a time when horror movies are laced with bad cgi that just ruins it all. Jon Knautz and his crew clearly love what they're doing here and take a cue from all the great horror films from the 80's. Which by the way is the peak of horror cinema.

I rented this movie since it was listed as a comedy. An hour into it I gave up after not having laughed once.