Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer Blu-ray delivers great video and decent audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
After witnessing the brutal murder of his family, Jack Brooks is left with an unquenchable fury
that he is constantly fighting to control. Now working as a local plumber and struggling in a
relationship with his girlfriend Eve, Jack's life has become a downward spiral. One night, Jack
attempts to fix Professor Crowley's old, rusted pipes, but unknowingly awakens an ancient evil.
Lured by this demonic power, Professor Crowley discovers a monstrous black heart that quickly
forces its way inside of him. Possessed by the heart now beating in his chest, the Professor
starts a slow, gruesome transformation. It is at this moment that Jack realizes he can't run
from his past, and quickly discovers the true purpose of his inner rage.
Make no mistake, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is worthless drivel, but it's good
worthless drivel. A preposterous movie all around, there's no redeeming value to be found here,
except in the filmmakers' insistence on making a so-bad-its-good mindless romp through the world
of plumbing, night school Chemistry classes, monsters, and mutated humans. Absurd acting and
predictable developments -- not to mention buckets of slime, gore, and creature tentacles -- define
the
film's third act, a solid payoff to an otherwise slow-to-develop but never dull or unproductive first
hour of fun. Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is the complete package for a movie of this type,
a B-grade Horror outing that knows its place and never once aims for some false self-importance
that keeps from the fun of the moment and the quality of the entertainment value found within.
JBMS.
Simpleton Jack Brooks (Trevor Matthews) is trying to make ends meet as a plumber and
attempting to
better himself by taking night classes in the field of Chemistry. Jack's traumatic past has defined
his life; he's a bitter and angry man, taking much of his frustrations out on his therapist. One
day after class, his Chemistry professor, Gordon Crowley (Robert Englund, Behind the Mask: The Rise of
Leslie Vernon), asks Jack to fix the plumbing in a decrepit old house he's recently
purchased.
Jack obliges, but his work accidentally unearths a mysterious gas that overpowers Crowley and
leads him to unbury an old wooden crate from deep beneath his yard. Inside, Crowley finds the
remains of a human body and a gray but still beating heart, the latter of which he immediately
consumes.
Crowley finds himself a changed man, devouring everything in sight and coming to class
disheveled and bloated. As he transforms into a grotesque monster, Jack Brooks must choose
fight or flight and, just maybe, put his aggression to good use.
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is the perfect example of simple entertainment. It's a
B-grade flick that
the producers of most of the unbearablybadmade-for-televisionmovies could use as a
guidepost on just how to handle low-budget and preposterously-storied films. Indeed, Jack
Brooks: Monster Slayer is no better in theory than any number of generic, forgettable, and
borderline unwatchable drivel that populates late-night television and the bargain bin of the local
video store and chain emporium. However, the filmmakers behind Jack Brooks: Monster
Slayer
acknowledge the absurdity of the film in every scene, the picture always playing with a
not-so-subtle but certainly not completely overt wink-and-a-nod that distances the movie from
any hint that
the audience is meant to take even a single frame of it seriously. It's that all-too-serious tone
that hinders the epically-bad Syfy Channel sort of movies that might be fun if they weren't so
stuck on themselves, stringent and serious about every little plot and character development, all
of which add up to a
big pile of nothing. Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer avoids this deadly trap, and the audience
is free to go along for the ride without any excess baggage that otherwise hinders the ability to
enjoy gross-out simpleton absurdity and its finest.
Making the film all the better is a standout performance from the relatively unknown Trevor
Matthews; "standout," of course, a relative term taken here in the context of similar B-level
films. Matthews takes the whole experience in stride; he never overplays the character or
becomes some superman that takes away from the charm of the film. He's particularly good as
something of an invisible man, an ordinary guy struggling through his own little corner existence,
using what he knows and what he has to his advantage, whether tools or his deeply-ingrained
anger, the latter handled particularly well by the actor during the therapy sessions where he
seems to lash out more in his counselor's office than he does in the real world. Matthews gives
the character a dry wit and an approachable and believable front that makes him all the easier to
cheer for, as if it's hard to cheer against the slayer of monsters as ugly as the ones seen here.
Speaking of, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer enjoys quite the cheesy yet stomach-churning
villainy; the special effects department definitely earns their keep, and the monsters' vile
appearance makes the movie all the more whacky and fun. Finally, Director Jon Knautz and
Writer John Ainslie keep things moving along rather briskly, even considering it takes a full
two-thirds of the film to get to where it's going. The film's lengthy exposition and jaunts into
character backstory are nevertheless entertaining and attention-grabbing; unlike a Syfy movie of
the week, there's never really a dull moment here, even when the screen isn't covered in slime
and gore.
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer serves up a dependable 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. The
image
offers a fair sense of depth throughout, whether in the jungle locale as seen at the beginning of the
film or the poorly-lit classroom setting that features prominently in much of the movie. Fine detail
is rather good; whether frays on Brooks' well-worn cap, various grasses and weeds as seen in
daytime outdoor shots, or the gruesome details of the creature effects, this Blu-ray renders most
every object handsomely enough. Color reproduction, too, impresses, whether the aforementioned
greenery or a blue shirt worn by Robert Englund's character through much of the film, a bright and
pleasant shade until it falls victim to blood, slime, vomit, and other assorted nasties. Additionally,
background noise is kept to a minimum, flesh tones exhibit no push towards an undesirable shade,
and blacks are fairly inky if not a bit overly absorbing. Considering the film's low-budget nature and
the flesh-and-bones Blu-ray release, Starz has given Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer a rather
good 1080p transfer.
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer hacks into Blu-ray with a fairly strong, albeit lossy, Dolby
Digital 5.1 soundtrack; no lossless or uncompressed options are available. The film's open
features
a solid atmosphere as a monster fights a tribal peoples in a jungle setting; the constant hum of
insects, warriors scattering about in preparation for battle, and a monster breathing ominously as
it
tackles lesser opponents makes for an enjoyable listen. Additionally, a good low end accompanies
both several musical cues and the beating of an exposed heart in one scene; never does the track
offer an overpowering
thump from the subwoofer, but what's here is enough to be noticed and adds a decent amount of
heft to the
proceedings. Directional effects, too, are nicely done, particularly in a scene featuring Jack
attempting to fix Crowley's plumbing; creaks, cracks, and spraying water are heard all around the
listening area, creating a good sense of space, the track taking advantage of the entire 5.1
configuration with a surprisingly rich cacophony of sound. Additionally, dialogue is consistently
stable and easy to discern. All said and despite a couple of half-second audio dropouts (confirmed
via two players), Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer delivers a solid and active
listen, even in the absence of a high definition offering.
So maybe there really is one redeeming lesson to be found in Jack Brooks: Monster
Slayer: always pay attention in Chemistry class; who knows when it will come in handy against
evil monsters. All kidding aside, this budget Monster flick is perfectly-pitched, allowing all of the bad
movie elements to entertain rather than bore, the film taking itself as seriously as it should: not at
all. Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is simply really good at being really bad, and the result is a
fun, somewhat gory, and never tedious 85-minute Horror/Comedy hybrid romp into the life of a
simple man who finds a
purpose in slaying monsters. Go get 'em, Jack. This Starz Blu-ray release features a decent
technical presentation (despite the absence of a lossless or uncompressed soundtrack) and no
extras. Still, fans of bad moviemaking done right will absolutely want to add this to their collections,
particularly considering the cheap asking price. Recommended.
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