Nature has well and truly been on the loose this year in “Movieland”, with Cocaine Bear, Black Demon, Meg 2 and now the slasher, Slotherhouse (adding to Word’s dictionary) that arrived on DVD last week from Eagle Entertainment.
Desperate to win popularity among her sorority sisters, Emily adopts a sloth that unbeknownst to her, has been poached from the jungles of Panama. After declaring the questionably cute creature as the house mascot, she hopes it will give her the edge and social media following she needs to be elected house president. However, when the sloth is triggered while doom-scrolling, murder and mayhem ensue.
Slotherhouse isn’t winning a lot of praise, as it currently holds an average 4.8 rating on IMDb but you have to credit the film for being forthright and very much in on the joke as our furry antagonist slays in more ways than one, and displays of intelligence that might be making way for a “Planet of the Sloths” scenario.
Upon some quick research, it turns out Slotherhouse was filmed in Serbia, which I gather was cost-effective for all involved, and oddly enough the foreign setting for this very American-style horror movie brings a surreal quality to the picture. It’s almost an imitation, yet everything has been turned to eleven, from the characters to the visuals. Many will argue that it only highlights cheapness, but I think it works in the film’s favour.
VIDEO AND AUDIO
Eagle Entertainment is making great use of the DVD format, which too many of my fellow physical media enthusiasts dismiss with little thought. Presented in 16×9 (2.39:1), region 4 encoded, with a well-mixed Dolby 5.1 track, there’s impressive colour and after upscaling via HDMI, which delivers a solid standard-definition image. With a modest menu and play button, Eagle’s release of Slotherhouse feels complete, and professional while serving nicely as an example of the label’s business model.
With not an ounce of CGI used to bring the sloth to life, horror fans will at least appreciate the emphasis on practical effects here, but overall, the gimmick that is Slotherhouse does entertain between the kills and obvious social media satire, and contrary to the creature’s slow movement, it’s a brisk 90 minutes.
SLOTHERHOUSE is now available to rent digitally from all major digital platforms (AppleTV, Google TV, Google Play, Fetch, Telstra TV and YouTube) and on DVD (JBHIFI, SANITY) from Eagle Entertainment Australia.
SLOTHERHOUSE
(2023, directors: Matthew Goodhue)
★★★
stills courtesy of Eagle Entertainment
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