Book of Monsters vs. Slaughterhouse Rulez

It’s a horror comedy creature double feature, and one of them features comic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. So which of these two films would I prefer to have in my private collection?

BOOK OF MONSTERS (2018)

Book of Monsters is such a teens vs. monsters gory comedy party flick that it is only somewhat hindered by horrible sound mixing that leaves everything—dialogue, sound effects, music—sounding flat and presented at the wrong volume levels, which tends to spoil the effectiveness of the non-stop action.

Getting past that issue, this is still worth a watch if you appreciate practical monster costumes and makeup.

Especially notable is that the main girl, who is celebrating her eighteenth birthday, is a lesbian looking for love.

With a quick setup introducing the main players, we get right to the birthday party—and a male stripper. Wahoo!

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a chance to take much off or play with his toys because…

All hell breaks loose within minutes! Hellish monsters crash the party, body parts fly, kids run screaming, and it becomes a roller coaster ride of kids, creatures, and kills.

There is an occult book, demon possession, axe fights, and a backstory concerning the main girl’s family, but really, it’s all about the monster madness with this one.

SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULEZ (2018)

You would think Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in a movie about underground creatures coming up from a sinkhole to terrorize kids at a private school would be like, I don’t know, maybe…Shaun of the Dead with underground creatures instead of zombies.

It happens eventually….59 fricking minutes into the film. I don’t understand how anyone involved in making this film did not decide while screening the finished product that it needed to either be edited or have more scenes shot to prevent the agonizing first hour from happening. There isn’t even a lone monster kill teaser in that time, such as some throwaway character coming across the sinkhole and getting pulled in to give us a taste of what’s to come.

It’s merely an hour of dealing with the students and their issues, and not in a fun, entertaining way.

I was afraid my hubby was going to call it a night and go to bed rather than see it through with me.

It does finally kick in big time, in a good Attack the Block way, with kids being torn apart in over-the-top massacres by cool four-legged monsters.

But don’t expect Pegg and Frost to take the lead in the fighting. They are both minor characters used to draw name recognition, Frost even less present than Pegg.

The first hour of this film should have been edited down to 30 minutes to bring on the monster party earlier. There’s no reason for it to run an hour and 43 minutes.

I blind purchased Slaughterhouse Rulez on DVD to add to my already kick ass Pegg/Frost horror/sci-fi comedy collection, but if they weren’t in it and I had seen both of these films before deciding to purchase one, I would have gone with Book of Monsters.