Gothic Slayers

When I stumbled upon this 2025 horror comedy titled "Gothic Slayers", I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch it. Sure, I virtually didn't know what I was getting myself into, as I had never heard about the movie. But the synopsis for the movie sounded interesting enough.

The storyline in the movie, as written by Dylan Eshbaugh and Ben Getz, whom both also had the leading roles, just wasn't all that great. Isn't that usually the thing when a movie is written and starred by the same person or persons? I really wanted to like this movie, but the script was just too bland and generally devoid of funny situations, making it rather boring to sit through.

The acting performances in "Gothic Slayers" were certainly fair, despite the fact that the script was somewhat limiting the performers. The only familiar faces on the cast list, for me at least, was actor Jayson Bernard.

The movie doesn't really use a lot of special effects, but what effects were utilized were certainly fair.

My rating of director Caleb Harris's 2025 movie "Gothic Slayers" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.

Not a horror comedy but more like a straight comedy with some light horror inspired themes. This movie doesn't take itself too seriously and that's a big strength. It's really well shot and acted (except for the cult dad character). It can be childish but that's a theme of the movie with the two main characters being in their 20s but having failed to truly grow up. A few jokes don't land but most do and I really laughed out loud at some bits. It's clear the people who made it had a lot of fun and that came through. Don't get the low rating! It's not groundbreaking but it's a solid, silly, fun time.

Working in a local minigolf resort, a pair of slacker friends slowly begin to discover a series of disappearances around town are connected to a deadly cult targeting their friends and neighbors for their purposes and must use their unique skillset to stop their plans and save the town.

This was a fairly fun and goofy feature with a lot to like. One of the main aspects to be had here is the wild setup that manages to focus on the wild series of events that take place when the story starts to unfold. The way that this one starts to bring up the idea of the cult and its purpose comes along rather nicely with the starting point of their lives at the minigolf club where their lackluster motivations and reactions to everything set this up rather nicely so that the disappearance of their friend feels that much more impactful. That means the way the guys discover the outcome of the cult coming to life and spreading throughout the town forcing them to stop their plans which is quite fun involving how the different objects required to stop them and spoil their plans come about. This allows for a really fun pace where their slow-on-the-uptake mentality brings about some intriguing scenes that go about fighting off the various forces trying to put a stop to their mission while the comedic nature of everything is handled quite well so it plays quite nicely. It has the problem of highlighting the fact that this one doesn't do much to make the impact of scares that impactful though. The whole plan of the cult is never once presented as a threatening ordeal with the series of encounters stealing victims, trying to prevent them from getting wind of their plans, or carrying out tactics designed to stop them once that has occurred never once played up for anything other than laughs even though it's implied the fate of the world is at hand. There's no stakes of threat to anything here with the film's degeneration into laughs than anything which causes this to lack that kind of feel which also brings about the secondary issue in the immensely obvious series of cliches present which come about due to the style of presentation featured here involving the slacker friends who are stuck in dead-end jobs where one wants to advance in life. At the same time, the other doesn't until they get called to save the world. This causes the film to get dragged out during this part where it feels quite familiar and is what brings this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Language and Violence.

Feels like a light hearted movie from the 90s and so much better than the comedies being churned out today!

Great acting by the cast and reminiscent of a mix between dude where's my car and movies like Pineapple Express.

Getz is a natural and both he and Dylan have great comedic timing without it seeming forced.

The support cast also provides some memorable characters and it feels like a great group of friends made this movie and enjoyed every minute of it.

Comedy horror is not usually a genre I watch but glad to have stumbled upon this one for something different from what's out these these days !

Incredibly moving tale about two best friends with a passion for mini golf who rescue their friend/manager from becoming the incarnate of a demon! What more could you want from a horror-comedy.

Imagine the Scary Movie series crossed with Superbad ruled by the threat of a demonic lord, with a touch of Happy Gilmore - to me that is Gothic Slayers.

The film, acted with the utmost sincerity, is filled with ridiculous circumstances - thus expounding upon its comedic elements. You have no choice but to fall in love with each and every quirky character; I found myself charmed even by the archetypal supporting characters (the soothsaying jailbird, the sage crazy man, the air headed parents, etc.)

It perfectly toes the line between absurdity and authenticity. Funny with paranormal and occult activity, it never felt like I was a child being walked through the plot (and if one does you probably have to do some inner work and find the humor in it lol). I hope those who stumble upon this movie find it as endearingly delightful, funny, and spooky as I did.