The Movie: Slaxx
The Director: Elza Kephart
The Cast: Romane Denis, Brett Donahue, Sehar Bhojani, Stephen Bogaert
The Story: When a possessed pair of jeans begins to kill the staff of a trendy clothing store, it is up to Libby, an idealistic young salesclerk, to stop its bloody rampage.
The Review:
First let me just say that this is a movie about pants that kill people. I mean the pants literally murder human beings by strangling them, chopping them up, and other various means of murderous activity. Not sure if it needs to be said, but this is a horror comedy so expect plenty of humor and satire and plenty of social commentary so take it seriously at your own risk. Director Elza Kephart exposes the reality of the modern retail machine by literally pulling its pants down and showing how the most socially and environmentally facing companies can have dark secrets hidden in their darkest hallways.
The entire movie is mostly set inside a retail store called Canadian Cotton Clothiers, yes this movie is a Canadian production, which has a very modern motif complete with of the moment messaging and influencer integrations. Of course, things are never as they seem as the whole thing begins busting at the seams and turns into a tailor made fit for a fashion forward murder fest. You may be asking how does a pair of pants go around murdering people? The reason is unraveled over the course of the movie so it's not something I can explain here without giving spoilers, just know that several threads are finely woven into the story that helps to make murdering pants a good fit.
Being a horror movie about prolifically lethal jeans, there is plenty of blood being splattered around as limbs are torn off, bodies are sliced and diced. and general mayhem is taking place making this one of the most gory movies I have watched this year. Your enjoyment of this movie may depend on how into that type of stuff you are as the filmmakers really don't hold back when it comes to filling their film with buckets of blood and expertly executed practical effects. it's also great to see a movie directed, written, and almost entirely produced by women as the horror genre is typically a male dominated space.
That's also where a lot of the social commentary comes into play so can't really go into that either but the movie does everything it can to rake retail over some cinematic coals and for very good reason. I feel like Kephart, who also co-wrote the story with Patricia Gomez, has some history working in retail and it may not have been the most pleasant experience given how deep she goes into her deconstruction, or maybe it's just destruction, of the inner workings of a corporate branded clothing store. For anyone, myself included, who has worked a retail job and especially any type of clothing store, this movie will be a very satisfying experience.
The Verdict:
Slaxx is a blood soaked commentary on modern retail and corporate greed with a killer (p)antagonist that is a perfect fit for this type of movie. Fans of horror comedies will get a kick out of a story because it knows exactly what it's trying to accomplish without ever taking it too far.
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