Matthew Goodhue’s insanely titled Slotherhouse seems like another horrid slasher flick that may not be able to deliver on its excessively whacky idea. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey were like sweets gone bad. The Grinch’s Christmas slasher debut The Mean One was as sparkling as a rock of coal. But don’t be scared! Slotherhouse is just what you need after Sharknado to get your Mad Libs monster mash-up going.
However, Goodhue departs from the sorority-slasher template of Black Christmas or The House on Sorority Row with the inclusion of a killer sloth in the context, trying to push it beyond usual boundaries with surprising care. Bradley Fowler, however, writes not only a crazy midnight snack for when-animals-attack but also a plausible college comedy that can stand up on its own feet. Syfy Originals with perfect yet misleading titles such as Lavalantula tell us to expect swimming down below the ninth circle of Hell but every rough has its diamond. This is how Slotherhouse goes into silliest mode and keeps our laughter going like hyenas.
In this movie, Lisa Ambalavanar takes on Emily Young’s role, one of those seniors belonging to Sigma Lambda Theta fraternity who can definitely use some competitive edge in their bid for house presidency during an upcoming school year. To boost her chances she adopts an adorable sloth poached from its natural habitat in Panama whom she turns into an online-famous mascot for her sorority – think animal craziness ensues. However, this aspect of Slotherhouse cannot be overlooked because it points out how tongue-in-cheek Emily’s plan really is: There are montages showing a slow-moving mammal named “Alpha” becoming part of the group by joining them at poolside parties and playing dodgeball among other Greek activities (Goodhue, 2016). Thus, Goodhue goes far outside of the bounds of rational storytelling and to a place where we can remove ourselves from pretense and accept that Slotherhouse is pure schlock entertainment. Remember that when Alpha starts murdering sisters and posting photos of their bodies on Instagram or driving around expensive sports cars as a three-toed Mario Andretti.
As mentioned earlier, comedy has an overbearing presence compared to horror with a ratio of 2:1. Slotherhouse will never contend for the Best Horror Kill of the Year nor will it strike fear into viewers’ hearts – but then again, this was not Goodhue’s objective. For instance, there are flavors of Fox’s Scream Queens or CW’s Riverdale where sorority stereotypes from “backstabbing queen bee” to “MMA tomboy” go about Greek life business as usual while their sisters vanish one after another without a trace. It is an absurdly Hollywoodized version bordering on genericism, with chatty Thetas running through immense university grounds. Yet it is more often than not refreshing and organically funnier: The cast is all bubbly and sassy in their way of mocking Greek life via extreme characters acting like frat boys only now they are women (Goodhue, 2016).
With regard to the horror factor, anticipate something along the lines of M3GAN (adolescent version) with a sloth. Goodhue’s puppet usually makes its deadliest gashes just off the edge. As for Slotherhouse, it Squirts blood on either camera or bedroom décor, but that is a wise move especially when it has a limited budget not to jam the mutilations in front inside of out-of-frame shots. Otherwise, it would be an unattractive diversion that needs money and as a result, both Goodhue and Fowler choose to mock animal-attack movies and girl slasher films for instance Alpha’s first kill who advances menacingly under lightning flashes that show how near she is creeping through and her concealed bursts of speed. A satirical slasher bad guy like Jason Voorhees or Chucky in Alpha as well as although the body count doesn’t make this film go down among all-time goriest delight reels, she almost becomes an icon such in between M3GAN meets Grogu.
Goodhue recognizes what type of a movie Slotherhouse should be if it was to satisfy people who adore horror: emphasis on practical effects. This may look more lifelike than Paddington; however, Alpha blossoms into life as separate puppeteers manipulate various facial expressions or act out her wilder attacks. So much fun way before Mr.Mayflower gets home from work at midnight when Ms. Mayflower dances around with Alpha sitting atop her head –take for granted that it must have been enjoyable for Stevenson during the shoot because there was something tangible to engage with. Often times a movie like Slotherhouse will depend on crappy computer animation by producers who found some change lying around in their pockets after digging up their sofas. Not so right here; this time round whether it’s Alpha taking selfies or squaring up against someone with katana blades feels like muppets gone mad- which is great.
Slotherhouse has the full package and is not only intended for fans of movies that are so bad they turn out to be great. Similarly, Mark David’s cinematography skillfully captures the pastel decadence of Sigma Lambda Theta while also embracing horrifying horror shots when Alpha stalks the corridors at night. It uses an anti-poaching script that condemns animal cruelty and the keeping of exotic pets. Even in the credits, there is a song about Alpha, which warns against following fads on social media like Emily did when she made her poor attention-seeking decision. Goodhue does not want to create a cult classic or some memorable cheap stuff – he just wants an eye-rolling pun that will give him the funniest film experience possible and that is where he far surpasses everyone else in terms of punning.
Verdict
Slotherhouse is what many knowingly awful B-movies as well as wannabe cult classics strive to be at their core. Part sorority comedy, part wildlife slasher, Goodhue perfectly amps up a party-horror vibe tailored for trashy-movie-club friends during weekend watches. Kill sequences beg for a smidge more gore, and the characters are a touch stereotypical, but a star is born in Alpha. After all, one should appreciate Slotherhouse if they fancy having good laughs throughout this movie especially when it involves the film’s slothy slaughterer wiping out territorial sisters who get easily distracted by contests over popularity. The title may fool you; Slotherhouse doesn’t have only one musical note to offer.
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