How to Kill Monsters

Director Stewart Sparkle's 2023 feature film is a kind of follow up to his earlier film 'Book of Monsters'. On Halloween Jamie (Lyndsey Crane) is found in a cabin in the woods with a chainsaw, covered in blood, and with her friends chopped up all around her. Taken to a police station for questioning she claims it was a monster from the beyond wot done it. But then - with police laughter still ringing in her ears - strange things start happening. Written by Sparkle with Paul Butler this is a gore filled supernatural monster horror comedy, which fortunately doesn't take itself too seriously. Hokum, with some rather annoying cops - one of them played by Johnny Vivash (him again!).

HOW TO KILL MONSTERS is thunderously good fun. It's hilarious, gory and insanely entertaining. And the creature designs are fantastic. It's fresh and original but also filled with nods to some of the cult classic horror films we all love (including, I think, to my delight, GHOULIES). There's a ton of energy in this low-budget gem and the film thrives on its b-movie roots. Much like its predecessor, BOOK OF MONSTERS, it entertains thoroughly with a great cast of human characters plus a great cast of slimy, dripping, tentacled creatures. If you liked EVIL DEAD 2, TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL and IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS then you'll love HOW TO KILL MONSTERS.

This was the second movie that I watched at Nightmares Film Festival. I got to see the United States premiere of this film. What intrigued me was that at a previous year for this festival, I watched Book of Monsters. It features the same creative team and actors. I thought this might be a sequel of sorts, but this is just using a similar title. Ahead of this, I followed the Instagram page and was excited to check this out.

Synopsis: the sole survivor of a blood-drenched massacre must team up with a rag-tag bunch of rookie cops and lawbreakers to defend a police station from an invasion of monsters from another dimension.

Here we start in a cabin in the woods. We see the ending of a ritual that results in everyone being killed, except for Jamie (Lyndsey Craine). She cuts her way out of the door with a chainsaw and is then taken into custody. She doesn't realize this at first. After getting cleaned up, she is then interrogated by Dara (Johnny Vivash) and Melvin (Daniel Thrace). They don't believe her story and think that she killed everyone there. She is taken to a holding cell and shares it with Big Jenny (Rebecca-Clare Evans).

In these cells, we see her being joined by a bachelorette party. Blair (Fenfen Huang) is the bride. Her maid of honor is Chelsea (Michaela Longden), but they're not getting along. She has a shadow who agrees with everything in Crystal (Louella Gaskell). There is also Ruth (Juné Tiamatakorn) who is vomiting. In another cell is Tinny G (Nicholas Vince). Helping here is Dennis (Arron Dennis). He believes that Jamie is innocent but can't prove it.

What we learn later is that Dennis and Melvin are brothers. Together, they go to visit Casey (Yvonne Okyere) who is the lab tech. The 'eldritch blade' artifact that was used in the ritual is brought here and she is analyzing it. Jamie tries telling the cops that they need to stop or it is going to spell their doom. That is what happens when Casey reopens the door and monsters attack this police station. It is another fight for survival for Jamie. Not everything is as it seems though as this place is plunged into another dimension.

That is where I'm going to leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this movie doesn't have the deepest story. It also doesn't need one either. It's built on the practical effects of the monsters. These are on point. I was warned before this started that this goes bloody and gooey, which it doesn't disappoint there. We are even getting heavy Lovecraftian vibes which also had me smiling in the theater.

Where I want to start delving a bit more into would be this being a standalone and not a sequel. I'm not going to hold it against the movie by any stretch. How they ended that first one though made me want to see the adventures of Sophie. There are elements that seem like cross-overs though. Something happens at the end that I think is a connection with certain individuals. I did like that. What I will give credit to though is that it allowed Craine to take on a different character, Jamie, develop it and give a good performance.

Now that is out the way, let's get over to the best part of the movie in my opinion and it is the Lovecraftian stuff. We are dealing with elder gods and they are considered demons here. We have the eldritch blade that is used to bring these entities forward. Eldritch is part of the Lovecraft mythos. I'm pretty sure I saw a Cthulu sighting in this movie. I'd also say that the monsters that attack in the cabin and holding cells area fits that vibe as well. I'll bring up once more that they did all they could with the practical effects and they look wonderful. Special credit to that. Even the CGI used wasn't bad. It was used for things that just couldn't be done and that's how it should be in my opinion.

The last parts of the story is just that I love using this police station in the United Kingdom as our setting. They don't have guns to fight back with, which is interesting to see as an American. I like the fact that they find weapons in the evidence room and things that you'd find in buildings like this as well. There are ritual elements and even a bit of a cult, which are things that I love to see as well.

That should be enough there so then over to the acting. No one is great here, but they don't have to be. The characters are played a bit more on the comedic side which can be harder if I'm honest. I love Craine in this role and we see her get to show a bit more of her talents. Jamie has depth and growth which I didn't see coming. Dennis is good as this bigger cop who is a bit bumbling. He plays well off his smaller brother Melvin. I liked Huang, Tiamatakorn, Longden and Gaskell as this bridal party. It feels like they all have known each other for years and that is coming to a head on this night. The alcohol they ingested before coming to the station doesn't help. I'll also credit Vivash, Vince, Evans and the rest of the cast for rounding this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is the rest of the filmmaking. The cinematography is good. We have that isolated feeling that they can't escape, which is good. That is almost an Evil Dead feel. I've already said what I can about the effects. The soundtrack also works to help build the atmosphere and tension for me. I like the sound design for the creatures as well. That worked.

In conclusion, this is another fun movie co-writer/director Sparke. I've enjoyed both monster movies I've seen from him. He and I have similar taste in films from what he said at the Q and A. He wears his inspirations on his sleeves in the best way possible. This has enough of a story to get me invested and the effects take over from there. The creature designs are great. The ritual, cult and Lovecraftian stuff is on point. The acting helps bring characters to life and I think that this is done well enough. No glaring issues there outside of it just having a lower budget. It can stretch it though. I'd recommend this if you're into movies like this as it feels like a more whimsical The Void.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

After surviving the original massacre, the last woman left is taken into custody by the police and kept with the rest of the inmates at a jail cell until they can figure out what's going on, but when they inadvertently summon a swarm of demonic creatures force her to save everyone again.

This was a fairly fun and enjoyable genre follow-up. Among the better elements with this one comes from the strong opening setup present within here that provides this one with the kind of intriguing connection of preexisting storylines, while also letting it work as a standalone genre effort. Tying into the previous events by showing the actual aftermath of the events and rolling credits in a meta-way makes the connections clear pretty early on about its sequel status, much like the flashback detailing what went wrong in the cabin that resulted in the actual start of the film proper when she gets picked up. The disbelieving staff at the police station who go through her belongings and try to paint her a the culprit for everything despite her insistence on the monsters responsible for everything makes for a fine touch to carry the storyline on, and with this giving a great opportunity to look into the various other incarcerated members of the station coming along for the ride, there's a lot to like here. That leaves the film with a great setup for the strong slew of impressive creature attacks throughout here. With this going for a constantly-changing selection of creatures that continually show up as obstacles to prevent the crew from finding the tool that stopped them the last time, this provides the film with the ability to work as a more action-oriented siege effort focused on clearing the monsters as they encounter the next hurdle in their quest. From the first confrontation in the jail cells giving everyone a sense of what they're up against, the fight to get upstairs to the remaining troops left in the station where they find the creatures have started sealing them off from the rest of the world, or the later scenes in the station where the race to uncover the one sacred object that can stop them brings about a series of different creations on everyone offering a great mix of practical creature effects for the uniquely-designed beings they come across and practical gore. These manage to make for a lot to like here, while there are a few issues that hold this one down. The main issue here is the somewhat underwhelming and unneeded change of pace the third act takes, which is a different entity entirely from what had been previously featured. Rather than focus on a more Action-oriented Horror setup with the way they constantly face off against different creatures standing in their way, the film opts for a series of over-the-top arcane spells and wizardry that tries to paint the use of those powers which are nicely hinted at earlier but just feels out of place in this kind of setup. It still keeps the rest of the gore and practical effects here but there's a different type of tone and atmosphere that stands out compared to the rest of the film, and manages to accomplish the other main issue in dragging the film out longer than it should trying to bring about a series of different revelations and storylines that this brings up. It's all a part of what makes the ending a bit underwhelming, and with the somewhat obvious low-budget limitations featured here, is what holds it down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Stewart Sparke is one to watch. Mixes British humour into American style comedy so well.

Made on a small budget this looks pretty cool, it lightheartedly homages the type of movies I grew up loving in the 80s and 90s without making fun of them. Some fantastic practical effects and cool puppets. Very little c.g.i used but what is also manages to look retro so doesn't look out of place.

Bonkers plot, fun characters and a likeable cast who are enjoying themselves.

A fantastic Friday night Movie.

Perfect follow up (but not sequel) to Book of Monsters, another movie all B-movie/horror fans need to check out.

I'm really looking forward to what he does next.

Watched at the Dead and Sudburied horror marathon.