Jack Brooks: Tueur de monstres

Found out about this movie from a top 10 movies of 2008 list I found on the web. Having been sorely disappointed with other movies on the list (like the french torture porn Inside) this was a welcome choice to an otherwise weak list (maybe it just wasn't a good year for horror movies...).

With a title like that you don't expect to be really truly scared out of your shoes. Essentially what you expect is some comedy and entertainment packed with some decent gore. To boot this time around you actually get a decent story, if somewhat predictable, and some very decent acting from the cast.

As to the plot: Well the title essentially says it all. Jack Brooks is a monster slayer. And this is his Origins.

This flick pays homage to the best traditions of movies like Braindead and Evil Dead. There may not be a single real scare in this movie, as the whole premise ridicules any such possibility. But who really cares? Especially since Robert Englund plays a significant role in this no-fun barred movie.

Worthwhile watch for anyone looking for good clean entertainment with no intellectual strings attached (that said this movie is far from being dumb).

Tightly wound plumber Trevor Mathews has serious anger issues due to the fact that his parents were killed by monsters when he was just a wee lad. When his college professor played by Robert Englund unleashes an ancient horde of evil creatures, it is up to the plucky plumber to realize his destiny as a monster slayer and save humanity. The ranting of Trevor Mathews in the title role is very amusing but it is really Robert Englund who steals the show. He is clearly having a ball with the material and his enthusiasm is contagious.I laughed quite a bit.The SPFX are pretty good and refreshingly old-school.Lots of gore and prosthetics as opposed to lame CGI. I wouldn't mind watching Jack Brooks slay monsters thru a whole series of films like this!

i've heard lots of people go back and forth about this flick, so I decided to pick it up. I must say, I was EXTREMELY impressed. Newcomer Trevor Matthews (Jack Brooks) has the potential to be the next Bruce Campbell. I think the plot and action sequences, while they've been done before (for the most part), were still done in an original way. The best part of this film would be the brilliant performance of horror vet Robert Englund.

This film is honestly a refreshing step back in to the glory of days of mid-80's gore. It is definitely in the same vein of modern gems such as Feast, and is even comparable to solidified classics such as Evil Dead, and Dead Alive.

All-in-all, I highly recommend this flick to anyone who wants to have some fun, and ACTUALLY be entertained while watching a movie.

I hope the sequel gets made soon.

I know this is a bit late in the review category, but I thought it was worth saying that this was a fun and sometimes monster-movie scary.

It's not jump out of your seat scary, but I felt monster-movie dread anticipating what's to come as monster(s) begin wreaking havoc. I thought Jack Brooks was hilarious, understandable, and real. He is someone I would like to know and the hilarity comes from his Happy Gilmore reactions to every day annoyances from unresolved issues. His character is believable in crazy, surreal circumstances and it was entertaining throughout. My favorite movies are those with characters for whom I am rooting whatever the story or how it's told, no matter their flaws or good-guy, bad-guy personas as developed(much like Ash's), and the character's humor when well written/played. I felt Jack Brooks fit this bill to a T. Loved him!

Don't look for an Evil Dead comparable; let go of pretense and limited expectations and just enjoy. This was, in my opinion, how we all first came to know and love Evil Dead movies to begin with, and how Ash and his exploits continue to entertain to this day...

The ambitions of director Jon Knautz and his entire cast & crew were obviously limited, but nevertheless admirable. All they ever intended to do was bring homage to the glorious horror decade of the 80's and make a nonsensical movie with clichéd themes, stereotypical characters and over-the-top gooey make-up effects reminiscent to the movies the young filmmakers grew up with, like "The Evil Dead" and "Demons". I saw this film at the Belgian Fantasy Film Festival, were it fulfilled the role of ideal midnight movie crowd-pleaser. "Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer" offers plenty of splatter, absurdly crude humor, identifiable anti-hero characters, silly story lines and – last not least – Robert Englund himself in another terrific supportive B-role. Jack Brooks is an ordinary twenty-something man, working as a plumber during the day and attending chemistry classes in the evening in order to reach a more valuable certificate. He suffers from one major problem, though. Ever since he helplessly witnessed his family getting butchered by a forest monster as a child, Jack can't control his anger and regularly suffers from aggressive outbursts. When his teacher, Professor Crowley, gradually transforms into a monstrous entity after a plumbing job gone awry, Jack comes to realize the monster slaying business is exactly the type of anger management he needed. "Monster Slayer" is pretty weak in the plotting department, as you can see, but this widely gets compensated by the enthusiast spirit and determination of everybody involved in the production. The film starts off a little slow and hesitant, but once Prof Crowley starts undergoing his transformation, there's no more stopping the camp and cheese! You can clearly notice how genre veteran Robert Englund enjoyed helping out the young crew and the make-up department seemingly just received a carte-blanche. The monster designs and demonic grimaces are delightfully cheesy and gross, just like they were in the 1980's, and the film constantly remains comical and light-headed in spite of the gory bloodshed. Trevor Matthews is terrific as the reluctant Bruce "Ash" Campbell typed horror Savior and he receives good support from various other young and (still) unknown players. "Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer" is a totally unpretentious and entertaining throwback to B-cinema, and even though it'll never be regarded as a classic, it's warmly recommended viewing for all fans of the genre.