Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)

A troubled young man still mourning the childhood loss of his family now has to deal with his professor being turned into a monster.

Director:

Jon Knautz

Writers:

Jon Knautz (story), Trevor Matthews (story)

Stars:

Robert Englund, Trevor Matthews, Daniel Kash

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Englund	...	Professor Gordon Crowley
Trevor Matthews	...	Jack Brooks / Forest Troll
Daniel Kash	...	Counselor Silverstein
David Fox	...	Howard
Dean Hawes	...	Emmet
Rachel Skarsten	...	Eve
James A. Woods	...	John
Ashley Bryant	...	Kristy
Stefanie Drummond	...	Janice
Chad Harber	...	Pat
Patrick Henry	...	Trevor
Meghanne Kessels	...	Suzy
Meg Charette	...	Erica
Kristyn Butcher	...	Celia
Andrew Butcher	...	Raymond

Storyline

As a child Jack Brooks witnessed the brutal murder of his family. Now a young man he struggles with a pestering girlfriend, therapy sessions that resolve nothing, and night classes that barely hold his interest. After unleashing an ancient curse, Jack's Professor undergoes a transformation into something not-quite- human, and Jack is forced to confront some old demons... along with a few new ones.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | vomiting | monster slayer | uncle | teacher | 

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Taglines:

All work and no RAGE makes Jack a dull boy

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence and gore, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official soundtrack site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 2008 (Philippines)

Also Known As:

Cazador de monstruos

Filming Locations:

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brookstreet Pictures,Sound Venture Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Ainslie wrote the screenplay to this movie while renting a basement apartment in the house of Aircraft Pictures Producer Andrew Rosen. Craig David Wallace rented the same basement apartment and wrote parts of Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (2010) there.

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Goofs

The sign on the desk of Dr. Silverstein, Jack Brooks' shrink, misspells "counselor" as "councilor". (Despite various international spellings, a "councilor" is still someone who works for the council, and a "counselor" is someone who counsels.)

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Quotes

[Howard has just told the story about how he buried his possessed uncle after he bit off his hand as a child]
Jack Brooks: So he... he ate your hand?
[Howard shows Jack that he has a hook instead of a hand]
Jack Brooks: How did you dig the hole?
Howard: Well goddammit, it wasn't easy!

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Crazy Credits

No Animals or Monsters were Harmed in the Making of this Film.

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Soundtracks

Beyond the Sea
(La Mer)
Music by Charles Trenet
French lyrics by Charles Trenet
English lyrics by Jack Lawrence
Performed by Bobby Darin
Courtesy of Warner Music Canada Co.

User Reviews

Mad, Mad Monster Party!

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.