Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

Released - 2007
Genre - Horror, Action, Comedy
Director - Jon Knautz
Starring - Robert Englund, Trevor Matthews, Rachel Skarsten, Ashley Bryant, James A. Woods

This is a lightweight monster flick about a guy named Jack Brooks who watched his family get eaten by a monster when he was a kid. Cut to present day and he is working as a plumber and has serious anger issues. He takes night classes but when his science teacher, played by Robert Englund, gets infected by an evil heart and starts sprouting tentacles Jack finds his true calling and embarks on a career of monster slaying. This is quite fun with some nice characterisation, a few comical moments and some gross out scenes but there isn't any tension or horror. The monsters are blissfully free of CG but they are quite cheesy and it takes far too long for the action to pick up (almost an hour). Englund gives a good tongue in cheek performance and I liked Trevor Matthews as Jack, presumably this is intended to be the first in a series, it certainly has that feel, but while it was mildly enjoyable it was far too derivative and lacklustre to make much of an impression.

Monster - there are a few monsters here, some big hungry tentacled thing, a cyclops and a couple of others all done without CG, they look quite good for rubber suits but they are far from scary

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