Who could a resist a title like this? When I saw said title coupled with some gnarly box art featuring a guy who looks like a redneck Ash wielding a monkey wrench, I was sold. Thankfully, the movie delivered on the promise of the cover and was everything I thought it would be. It even went the extra mile by showcasing a number of creatures created with practical makeup effects. The result was a whole lot of fun and had a comic book spirit like a cross between Slither and Army of Darkness.

Trevor Matthews stars a Jack Brooks, a young plumber who is taking a night school class in his spare time. He drives a pickup truck, wears a baseball cap, and is way too laid-back for the annoying girl he hangs out with. One evening after class, Jack's teacher, Professor Crowley (Robert Englund) , asks him if he can come over to his house to help him with a plumbing problem. He does and, in the process, unleashes a curse which attacks Crowley who slowly starts to undergo changes in his appearance and personality. Jack is unaffected by the curse but is haunted by childhood memories of when his sister and parents were brutally murdered by a forest troll. After a few days, Crowley becomes a full-fledged monster (complete with tentacles) in the middle of a lecture and has the ability to turn the other students into demons. It is up to Jack to save the day and overcome his fears before the monsters take over the school and beyond.

This was how a low-budget movie should be. Rather than try to take on too much, director Jon Knautz limited himself to a few locations and focused on the characters and the fun factor. Jack Brooks has the potential to have his own franchise and Knautz did a great job establishing what this guy is all about and made me want to see more. Not only is Jack a cool cat but he also has a bit of an anger management problem that makes him the perfect monster slayer but can lead to some awkward social situations. This was perfectly illustrated in a scene where a wannabe cool guy pot-smoker kept nattering at Jack. Rather than continue to listen to this nonsense, Jack just punched him out which elicited a cheer from this viewer. I am sure most of us would have liked to have done the same to this type of person at some point in our lives. Matthews played the part like he loved it and has the potential to garner a cult following if this character catches on. I find it surprising that this had a nearly invisible theatrical release and did not receive as much exposure as I would have expected (even in the horror press). I thought genre fans would be all over this one.

The effects were done by Allan Cooke who has worked on Land of the Dead among other things. He did an impressive job with the three main monsters and I do not believe there were any CG-shots in the entire flick. When you see tentacles flying around and a scary-looking Cyclops, you automatically assume they were created on a laptop rather than a workbench these days. It's good to know that there are still some people perfecting the craft that they clearly love to work on. Jack's annoying girlfriend was played by Rachel Skarsten who was one of the leads in the short-lived female superhero TV series, "Birds of Prey", in 2002.

I am proud to say that Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is a Canadian movie from our great land which more often than not unfortunately produces lackluster product. It is exciting to think that the next genre hero could be a Canuck. Rumour has it that a sequel is in the works and I, for one, am looking forward to the further adventures of this crafty tradesman. (Josh Pasnak, 11/12/08)

Directed By: Jon Knautz.
Written By: John Ainslie, Jon Knautz.

Starring: Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund, Rachel Skarsten, James A. Woods.