MONSTER SLAYER

Cast: Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund, Rachel Skarsten; Director: Jon Knautz; Producers: Neil Bregman, Trevor Matthews, Patrick White; Screenwriter: John Ainslie; Music: Ryan Shore; Editor: Matthew Brulotte; Genre: Horror/ Suspense; Cinematography: Joshua Allen; Distributor: Epic Pictures Group; Location: USA; Running Time: 85 min.;Technical Assessment: 3 Moral Assessment: 2CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and aboveJack Brooks (Trevor Matthews) has had anger management issues ever since he witnessed his whole family shredded to pieces and eaten by a monster. To this day, he loses his temper over the smallest petty issue. He works as a plumber and takes up night classes upon the insistence of Eve, his whinny nagging girlfriend. After one of their classes, Professor Crowley (Robert Englund) requests him to check the water pump and pipes in his house. While attempting to fix the old house’s plumbing, Jack accidentally unleashes the evil buried in the backyard. Crowley is drawn to the black heart which immediately forces its way inside him. The professor is transformed into a voracious pus-filled octopus-like monster during their chemistry class and eats most of the students who also become flesh-eating monsters. Jack then realizes that he can no longer run from his anger and returns to save the students and kill the monsters. The movie is fairly decent and technically acceptable. Although it takes almost half the movie before something happens, but when the excitement comes, it is able to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. There is a good storyline behind the blood and gore with a well-paced editing and satisfactory camerawork. The acting is so-so except for Englund. Over-all, the movie delivers quite a respectable scare and suspense. Sometimes, our past leaves deep scars in our being that we end up becoming lost, broken and unproductive. In as much as our past shapes us, it should not control us. Our past should offer lessons for growth and improvement and whatever mistakes we might have committed then should be help us become better persons now. Our pain should push us to creatively work around our issues and our scars should be a reminder not of what we failed to do but what we can do better the next time. Only when Jack was able to divert his guilt and pain of losing his family into fighting evil did he learn to control his anger. The movie has too much gore and blood for young audiences. Parents are cautioned against allowing their children to watch the movie unsupervised.