Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

Cheerfully gross, deliberately retro horror picture pays tongue-in-cheek homage to the kind of genre movies Charles Band and Roger Corman's companies turned out in the 1980s.

Harks back to the drive-in classics of yesteryear with unapologetic nostalgia and undisguised affection.

Harks back to the drive-in classics of yesteryear with unapologetic nostalgia and undisguised affection.

Matthews is supposed to be the star here, but it's Englund's hilarious, over-the-top performance that keeps Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, by director Jon Knautz, from becoming another forgettable exercise in horror.

Indie effort evidences more energy than wit, and spends too much time on set-up before a slam-bang pay-off.

As a horror-comedy, it boldly declines to scare or amuse.

As a horror-comedy, it boldly declines to scare or amuse.