Product Description

After witnessing the brutal murder of his family when he was just a young boy, Jack Brooks is
left with an unquenchable fury. Now working as a plumber, Jack attempts to fix his Professor s
plumbing, only to unknowingly awake an ancient evil. Prof. Crowley becomes possessed and
starts a slow, gruesome transformation into the depths of evil. Only then does Jack realize that
he can t run from his past, and quickly discovers the true purpose of his inner rage.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22113 in DVD
• Brand: STARZ/SPHE
• Released on: 2008-10-07
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Amazon.com
A delirious performance by horror vet Robert (Nightmare on Elm Street) Englund and the filmmakers' predilection for old-school monster suits over CGI help to make the Canadian indie horror-comedy Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer an enjoyable and entertaining alternative to the current rash of relentlessly grim fright fare. As played by co-producer Trevor Mathews, Jack Brooks is no barrel-chested pulp hero, but rather an aimless small-town slacker with a hair-trigger temper (the result of childhood trauma involving his family's death at the hands of a monster). Plagued on all sides by a nagging girlfriend, a hapless shrink and a dead-end job as a plumber, Jack seems destined for mediocrity--until his night school professor (an terrific, unfettered comic turn by Englund) unearths an ancient evil and begins to change into a ravenous, slobbering creature, thus giving Jack both a purpose and an outlet for his anger issues. Director Jon Knautz's feature debut pays loving homage to all manner of boyish pop-culture touchstones, from Marvel Comics and Ray Harryhausen epics to the early works of fellow do-it-yourselfers like Sam Raimi, and if his set up feels belabored in its telling, he delivers the goods once Jack straps on his plumbing toolkit to square off against the monster-fied Englund. Inventive and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, Jack Brooks is one potential franchise series that actually deserves a follow up film. The DVD includes commentary by Knautz, Mathews and members of the production team, as well as lengthy featurettes on the film, its soundtrack and the monster FX. Deleted scenes, conceptual art galleries and the original trailer are also included on the disc. --Paul Gaita

Stills from Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Jack Brooks isn't the only one who needs a counsellor, I'm conflicted too.
Perhaps if I had stumbled over this film as a rental first instead of buying it outright sight unseen, brand new at Best Buy I might feel more kindly disposed towards it. "WTF?" you are no doubt saying at this point. "You've given it 4 stars and you're saying that you don't like the film?" Well yeah, kinda sorta. I made the mistake of buying it on impulse based on the rave reviews on the cover, the blurb on the back, and some cover art that made it look like the greatest thing since RE-ANIMATOR, EVIL DEAD 2, and ARMY OF DARKNESS. And I can't afford to throw my money away like that, but I took the chance anyway. Needless to say the film didn't deliver what I had been expecting/hoping for, which was something along the lines of a story built around a character like the one John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin from CHEERS) played in HOUSE 2. You know, the electrician who is also an "adventurer" on the side? He takes one look inside the walls of the house and drawls matter of factly, "Yeah, it looks like you have some sort of alternate universe in there." Of course I know better than to go into any film with preconceived notions like that, but in this case my mind just ran away with me and I couldn't help it.

The film stars Robert Englund in one of his best performances in ages as a night school science teacher, Professor Crowley, who has in his class our title character Jack Brooks. Now Jack (played by Trevor Mathews who also co-wrote the story on which the screenplay is based) is just loaded with History. It seems at a very tender age he witnessed his whole family's slaughter at the claws and fangs of some sort of man/monster while they were out camping in the woods. The only thing that saved little Jack's life was the fact that he ran. Running wound up taking control of the rest of his life. He ran from all of the important things in life only to have his pent up rage at his own perceived cowardice erupt at unexpected moments. Anyhoo, one night after class the kindly professor asks Jack (a plumber by trade) if he could possibly stop by his house and help him with a problem he's having with his pipes. (Get your minds out of the gutter, that's not the kind of pipes I meant.) Jack's got nothing better to do, so that very night he checks it out. It seems simple enough at first, but isn't that the way it is with every plumbing problem? Before you know it all matter of disgusting matter is hitting the fan and Jack has to order a new gasket and come back in a couple of days. But by then it will be too late! For no sooner has he left than than a noxious ooze seeps from the ground and its fumes start turn the sweet ol' professor into a meat craving monster!

This flick has an awful lot going for it. For one thing there is (as far as I can tell) absolutely no CGI anywhere! Everything is done the good old fashioned way--with prosthetics, puppets, and men in monster suits. Professor Crowley literally erupts into a tentacled creature from hell that sucks the life out its victims and turns them into flesh eating beasts themselves. MONSTER SLAYER is, as it claims to be, a tribute to some of the best flicks from the 1980s, but yet it just doesn't do it for me. The humor it claims to have simply isn't there for one thing, and for me that is a very, very big point indeed. The 1980s was the Golden Age of horror comedy and a large part of the appeal of those flix WAS the humor, whether it was the droll wit of RE-ANIMATOR or the "splat-shtick" approach of Sam Raimi in EVIL DEAD 2. And what's worse JACK BROOKS is a very bland hero! I think the role practically screams for someone who can portray an ordinary everyday man and then rip away all that blandness and channel the comic book spirit of Bruce Campbell when the situation calls for it!

I don't know, I just don't know. Perhaps when I watch this film again in a few months all the wonderful parts, the old school effects and so forth, will triumph over my disappointment. That's why I've given it 4 stars instead of 3. Perhaps they intend to make a series out of this character. That has some great possibilities. Oh no! Don't start thinking about what COULD be again, it will only lead to disappointment.

This "Monster Slayer" Delivers Unexpected Suspense And Great Perfomances--Really!
As someone who has watched countless "bad" horror movies through the years (many DVDs packaged by Troma and Anchor Bay leap straight to mind), I've come to know what to expect. Just because they're "bad" doesn't mean they aren't enjoyable on some level--they usually play as dumb fun. But, there is a certain laziness inherent in many of these films. It's as if everyone involved knows they are making a stinker, so they go for the cheap laughs and gratuitous gore. They don't take themselves seriously, so the scripts and the actors can be groan-worthy. What do you think I expected from "Jack Brooks Monster Slayer?" (Yes, Anchor Bay). I expected a whole lot less than this nifty little film delivered.

Yes, the plot is a bit silly. (I won't even go into it, the title of the film is sufficient). Yes, the creatures are superficially more laughable than scary. Accepting these limitations, however, "Monster Slayer" was a big surprise. The biggest surprise was in the performances. This film is filled with believable actors--most noteworthy being Trevor Matthews. Matthews, as plumber Jack Brooks, delights with a deadpan humor and actual character development. Brooks has a bit of an anger management problem, and Matthews nails the intensity to give early scenes a real impact. When he kicks into hero mode, I was right there with him.

The film builds to a climax involving a dozen characters trapped within a high school, and this is done with genuine suspense. The score is terrific and adds to the drama. In this half of the film, in particular, the screenplay excellently balances silliness and horror. I laughed when appropriate, but the film also delivered effective action sequences and a sense of real danger. I am genuinely surprised to be recommending "Monster Slayer," but I most certainly am--particularly if you're a fan of the genre. So give this unassuming film a try. And I hope to see Matthews again, I see real breakout potential! KGHarris 10/08.

Above average horror flick.
This movie was fun and entertaining but I think people are getting a little ahead of themselves in some of these reviews. It's not the horror movie of the year, I purchased this on the strength of all the internet hype surrounding it and to be honest I just thought it was average, no big deal. Jack Brooks's nagging girlfriend thought that night classes might improve her plumber boyfriend's career options. But that was before his professor (horror legend Robert Englund) turned into a horrific monster and freed a legion of his beastly demons; now it looks like Jack's job will be taking out the monsters one at a time. Newcomer Trevor Matthews stars as the tool-slinging hero of this horror comedy. The film was sort of like an homage to 80's horror which for me personally was the best decade ever for horror films. The only problem is that unlike those great horror films from the 80's this film seemed to be lacking, it wasn't as funny or enthusiastic as something like the Evil Dead series or Night of The Demons and the ending was very disappointing to say the least it was very anti-climactic, however it does seem like the director made an effort. Some of the monster fx also looked quite impressive with the big tentacled beast that looked abit like Jabba The Hut and I was impressed by the fact that no cgi was used. Robert Englund was terrific in his role as the possessed professor and Trevor Matthews as the constantly angry Jack Brooks did a good job for his first role (not sure about the other actors though, they were pretty bad). Jack Brook's angry tirades were quite amusing during the beginning of the film but they do tend to get old as the film goes along. Anyway Jack Brooks really wasn't that bad but I wouldn't say that I would want to watch it again and I was dissapointed to find out that there was very little action and most of it happens at the end of the film, it's probably better if you rent this to see if it suites your taste.