Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018)

Directed by: Crispian Mills | 99 minutes | action, comedy | Actors: Asa Butterfield, Michael Sheen, Simon Pegg, Hermione Corfield, Kit Connor, Finn Cole, Nick Frost, Alex Macqueen, Hanako Footman, Isabella Laughland, Tom Rhys Harries

When Simon Pegg and Nick Frost make a movie together, it’s basically a seal of quality. This British comedy duo is so well attuned to each other that you can bet that their participation represents something beautiful. For quality. In the past, their collaboration with director Edgar Wright resulted in three instant classics. The Cornetto trilogy called the trio this series. For example, ‘Shaun Of the Dead’ from 2004 is still a charming and humorous zombie film. Also released in 2007 ‘Hot Fuzz’ remains a genius and funny ode to the buddy films from the 80s. The closing track ‘The World’s End’ was released in 2013 and is a bittersweet film about aliens and the importance of friendship. In these three films, Pegg and Frost showed their range as actors. In the end, the duo decided to make films separately and Wright tried his luck in Hollywood. Five years later, it was time for a reunion, Frost and Pegg thought. Wright made his own plan. Enter ‘Slaughterhouse Rulez’.

‘Slaughterhouse Rulez’ revolves around the boarding school of the same name. In this building, boys and girls are being prepared for power and greatness. Shy Don Wallace (Asa Butterfield) is a newcomer who reluctantly attends this school. He doesn’t feel like it and doesn’t feel like power. However, his life changes instantly when an earthquake occurs, which creates a sinkhole. From the depths of this hole, terrible things emerge. Students and teachers are forced to work together to fend off these horrors.

Not Wright but Crispian Mills is at the helm of this horror comedy and it shows. The direction is not very accurate and the jokes are not played very well. ‘Slaughterhouse Rulez’ plays it safe and aims at a large audience. It is a missed opportunity that Frost and Pegg are seen so little together in this film. Their talent for improvisation could have taken this production to the next level. Butterfield is very colorless in the lead role. It’s not so much because of his playing, but because of the script. Apart from a few nice gore scenes, there is really very little to say about this film. ‘Slaughterhouse Rulez’ potentially has a very cool cast, but makes too little use of it. What remains is a nice looking away film that does not last for a moment.