Setting out its stall early (the punning title says it all) Matthew Goodhue’s film is not trying to be The Birds, Jaws, Arachnophobia or even Lake Placid, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Imagine if you will something more akin to the daft delights of Eight Legged Freaks or Zombeavers, crossed with Mean Girls.
The plot follows Emily Young, a technology obsessed student battling the dual wars of college sororities and social media influence, in a bid to become House President for senior year. She reasons that a recently adopted poached pet sloth (resembling a shrunken Peter Stringfellow) may increase her chances but, as Election Day draws near, the in-fighting ramps up at Lambda Omega Omega house and so do the bodies. Who, or what, is behind these gruesome accidents? Could it be the slow and cuddly furball that’s been inducted as the new House Mascot? Who, if anyone, will survive The Slotherhouse!
British actress Lisa Ambalavanar plays Emily well, but perhaps a little too needy and desperate to be truly likeable, which is unfortunate. Game support, however, comes from Sydney Craven (as Queen Bee and nemesis Brianna), Bianca Beckles-Rose (as feisty Zenny), Olivia Rouyre (as voice-of-reason Madison), and Andrew Horton (as token male Tyler). Special mention must go to Tiff Stevenson (as Ms. Mayflower), who brings the majority of the laughs and pathos as a blousy, regretful House Matriarch. Slotherhouse is a film that knows it’s ridiculous and leans into that with a few good one-liners and some silly deaths. Production values are quite high for a film of this nature and direction and acting uniformly good. The only real downsides are a tendency to underplay the humour and an unwillingness to showcase the deaths when they should have been gloriously, visibly OTT. Also the sloth is very obviously a puppet, which could have been played way more comedically but, that said, a small slow rainforest inhabitant who can internet-surf, use touch-screens, post selfies, and drive a car is, in itself, stupidly amusing.
As a modern ‘crazed-animal-on-the-prowl’ comedy horror Slotherhouse ticks many of the boxes of a fun, brainless Friday night watch, but perhaps it just lacks the wit and guts of the more celebrated entries in this sub-genre.
Slotherhouse is available on digital download from 12 February.
Review: James Hurp
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