Thom Dunn here at Boing Boing recently shared the trailer for Slotherhouse, which he described as a movie about "a sloth who kills sorority girls." The movie was released at the end of August, and if the trailer didn't entice you to see the movie, maybe this new movie review by Stuart Heritage, writing for The Guardian, will. In the review he asks "Is a horror film about a killer sloth secretly a masterpiece?" Spoiler alert: His answer is a resounding "yes." He explains: "A film about a murderous sloth rampaging through a sorority house is smarter and funnier than one might expect." Here are some gems from his awesome review:
On paper, Slotherhouse (that's right, it's a pun on the word "slaughterhouse", but with sloths) has The Asylum written all over it. It has the potential to be a cheaply made, lowest common denominator Sharknadoalike; a great title and an outrageous premise that, in reality, amounts to a stunt-cast non-actor emoting in a single location for an hour to fill the gap between the three VFX shots you already saw in the trailer. Even if you actively enjoy the idea of watching a sloth murder a bunch of people, Slotherhouse still won't be something worth raising your expectations for.
Reader, raise your expectations. Slotherhouse is a masterpiece. . .
Want to see a sloth stab a woman to death? Watch Slotherhouse. Want to see a sloth deliberately electrocute a shower room full of college students? Watch Slotherhouse. Want to see a sloth embark upon the greatest onscreen massacre since Nat King Cole soundtracked a spate of prison stabbings in Breaking Bad? Watch Slotherhouse. Want to see a sloth take a selfie with one of its victims, and tag it, and put it on Instagram? You know what to do.
In a year full of surprisingly aggressive animal movies (Cocaine Bear, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, the miserable unrelenting parade of vivisection that passed for the third Guardians of the Galaxy film), Slotherhouse deserves to stand on top of the pile. It isn't just that it's a film about a murderous sloth that tears around a building like an adorable Jason Voorhees, but that it's been made with an unnecessary amount of affection for the genre it spoofs. There are subtle nods to Gremlins, The Shining, Fatal Attraction; nothing overt or showy, but just enough to let you know that Slotherhouse is an act of love.
As a giant fan of both horror movies and sloths, this one is definitely on my list!
