Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018)

Director: Crispian Mills

Writer: Crispain Mills, Henry Fitzherbert (Screenplay) Luke Passmore, Crispain Mills, Henry Fitzherbert (Story)

Starring: Michael Sheen, Hermione Corfield, Simon Pegg, Asa Butterfield, Finn Cole, Nick Frost, Jo Hartley, Hanako Footman

Plot: An illustrious British boarding school becomes a bloody battleground when a mysterious sinkhole appears at a nearby fracking site unleashing unspeakable horror.

Tagline – Bloodius. Hellius. Maximus

Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Fun Enough Horror

Story: Slaughterhouse Rulez starts when Don Wallace (Cole) gets set to a illustrious British boarding school which has produced most of the world leaders a successful businesspeople, while Don is coming from a hardworking family, he is sharing a room with Willoughby Blake (Butterfield) who is the guy that fills in the gaps and knows the ins and outs of the school.

The school headmaster, The Bat (Sheen) has been taking money from a local fracking company who are working just outside the school grounds, which unleashes evil creatures to the school grounds, with the students that haven’t returned home for the weekend, needing to fight back.

Thoughts on Slaughterhouse Rulez

Characters – Don is the new student being sent to a boarding school, he comes from a common family where he has a close group of friends which he would prefer to be around, he does stick out around the rest of the students, easily breaking the rules around the school. Willoughby is the student that must show Don around the school, he fills in the blanks, has a secret and will be the one that helps Don be prepared for everything in the year. Meredith Houseman is one of teachers, he once attended the school, feeling the pride the school embodies, he will end up helping the students against the evil in the school grounds. The Bat is the headmaster, he has been taking bribes to let the fracking happen and isn’t willing to lose the money coming his way.

Performances – Michael Sheen and Simon Pegg both look like they are having a lot of fun playing the stuck up British stereotypes which are here for the supporting roles. Finn Cole takes the lead in this film and he does all he can because this film does try to introduce too many different types of characters, not giving the lead enough time to shine, Asa Butterfield does well with his role too, getting to become a supporting character for once, instead of having the weight of the film put on him.

Story – The story here follows the time at a private British boarding school which sees monsters unleashed on the students, who must fight to save themselves. The weirdest way to describe this film would be to say this is the British boarding school version of ‘Attack the Block’, I say this because we are trying to play into a lot of stereotypes for added comedy to the situation. When we break down this alone we get to see how the British private school system comes off, with the student classes, the students believing they are better than anybody else and how the teachers are trapped in their own illusions. Add in the monsters which is what they feel like, which again disappoints along with one serious side to the story which is almost played out for jokes.

Comedy/Horror – The comedy only works if you find taking the piss out of upper-class English funny, this is what the film is set around getting laughs from. The horror is what the monsters do to the people, it would have been nice to get more time with them, once we do it does work well for blood splatter.

Settings – The film is set on the grounds of a private boarding school, this is put in an isolated location which does help make the film get added horror elements involved.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are mixed because it does feel like the thrown buckets of blood which for the budget isn’t what you want to see, though the creatures do look frightening at times.