... I used to be a plumber.
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is a Canadian Comedy Horror film starring (and produced by) Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund, and Daniel Kash. Matthews plays Jack Brooks, a plumber prone to sudden bouts of extreme rage. Englund is his professor, Crowley, who unearths a terrible evil. Jack Brooks must face his tragic past and find a way to channel the darkness inside of him.
This film exhibits the following tropes:
- Affectionate Parody: Of Hillbilly Horrors and unlikely protagonists.
- Alien Blood: The Crowley creature and it's minions bleed dark green blood.
- All Trolls Are Different: In this case, they're bloodthirsty, blue-skinned, fairly average-sized humanoids. It is worth noting that this troll seems to be entirely unrelated to the demon that serves as the film's primary antagonist.
- "Anger Is Healthy" Aesop: After becoming the sole survivor of a forest monster that kills his family, Jack has trouble with his short temper and resorted to seeking therapy to help manage his anger. After Crowley mutates into the demon, Jack learns to utilize his anger and uses that anger to slay the demons and kill Crowley as he didn't want to run away again and be powerless to save others.
- Asshole Victim: John is the first of the students to be turned into a monster by Crowley.
- Also, Howard’s uncle Emmett, who was an abusive jerk even before getting possessed.
- Battle Trophy: Near the end of the film, Jack hunts down the creature that killed his family and takes a souvenir from it.
- Beat Still, My Heart: One of the signs that the demon is still active is that its heart starts to beat in Dr. Crowley's hand.
- Blood Knight: By the end of the film, Jack has embraced this role.
- Body Horror: The various mutations Crowley goes through after being possessed.
- Chekhov's Classroom: The sodium in the lab.
- Combat Tentacles: The creature slaps Jack around with the tentacles quite a bit.
- Cyclops: One is seen terrorizing a small, South American village in the prologue and epilogue. Its origins, nature and goals are never hinted at.
- Dark and Troubled Past: As a child, Jack's family was slaughtered by a beast in the forest while he ran. It's implied to be the source of his anger problems and it's the reason he chooses not to run in the end.
- Deadpan Snarker: Counselor Silverstein.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Dr. Crowley's dog is well aware of where the evil in the house is.
- Evil Uncle: Howard’s uncle Emmett was an abusive jackass long before he got possessed.
- Face–Monster Turn: Crowley, Emmett, and the students Crowley turns into other monsters.
- Harmful to Minors: The crux of Jack's problems stems from watching his family ripped apart by a forest troll when he was a small child.
- A young Howard was forced to kill and bury his possessed uncle after having a chunk of his hand bitten off. Besides the bad memories, he seems to have come to terms with it in his old age.
- Hook Hand: Old Howard, as the result of his uncle being possessed before.
- Horror Hunger: Crowley is ravenous after he eats the heart of the demon.
- Jerkass:
- Howard’s uncle Emmett, even before he was possessed.
- John, who uses Condescending Compassion to insult Jack and takes perverted joy in watching Crowley’s slow possession.
- Mauve Shirt: John and Janice get the most characterization out of the students, but are the first to be turned into monsters by Crowley.
- My Car Hates Me: Jack's van regularly stalls out, even when he's trying to escape from the monsters.
- Nice Guy: Crowley, before being possessed.
- When he's not dealing with his temper, Jack is a fairly amiable fellow.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Matthews keeps slipping into his native Canadian accent.
- Practical Effects: Only two very minor shots rely on CGI.
- Role Called: His name is in the title.
- Skewed Priorities: Janice is more concerned that Crowley will mess up their grades (and even filed a complaint!) instead of him being clearly violently ill from being possessed.
- Sliding Scale of Comedy and Horror: Heavily on the comedic side.
- Tentacle Rope: How the monster keeps the students in one place.
- There Are No Therapists: Averted. Jack was assigned a therapist after his traumatic childhood experience and he sees him several times throughout the film.
- Unstoppable Rage: Jack is prone to bouts of rage. They come in handy once he's facing monsters.
- Villainous Glutton: The demon that possesses Crowley is horrifically obese and the initial stages had Dr. Crowley eating everything in sight. Initially all the food in his kitchen and then his dog before fully transforming into the demon, which itself munches on one of its captives.
