"Slotherhouse" (2023)

by Mike Imboden

Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Slotherhouse, from Matthew Goodhue and Plaion Pictures.

Synopsis

Emily’s deep desire to become sorority house President leads to her adopting a poached pet sloth in order to use it to help her get elected new house President. But when bodies slowly begin to pile up in the Lambda Omega Omega house, Emily and her sisters are slow to realize the deaths are being caused by their new house mascot, Alpha.

The Good

A killer sloth is a pretty funny premise and Slotherhouse brings exactly what it promises and despite the PG-13 (15 in the U.K.) rating, there’s still a fair amount of blood in the process.

Matthew Goodhue, working from a script by Bradley Fowler and Cady Lanigan, is clearly out to have some fun with the concept, tossing in some novel touches along the way, such as whenever someone first appears in the movie, a “profile card” appears showing their name, social media handle, a picture, and a couple of bits of info. While they don’t stay on screen too long, it’s a fun way of introducing all of the characters.

There’s also a pretty good message speaking out against the cult of personality surrounding social media influencers, although it does seem to get a little muddled as it takes a back seat to the sloth’s shenanigans.

The Bad

The humor in Slotherhouse is pretty hit or miss, with a mix of subtle and truly outlandish. Many of the sillier gags fall flat and considering the PG-13 rating so it’s not a huge surprise that any situation that could have benefitted from a risque or outright raunchy joke tends to land a bit clumsily; there’s only so far you can take the killer sloth gag before you venture into ridiculousness.

It’s that fact that all but ruins the film. It takes more than a suspension of disbelief and a desire for some nutty escapism to not roll your eyes at some of the things this sloth can do.

There’s also the matter of the characters who, aside from the main couple, are all pretty replaceable with one another. And those aforementioned main characters? It’s harder to like them than it is to believe a sloth can drive a car (oop, spoiler, I suppose).

The Verdict

While Slotherhouse is a funny idea, that’s about where the enjoyment for me ended. It’s a well put together film - technically sound with some good camerawork and a few neat touches like social media profile cards that accompany a character’s initial appearance - but the concept runs thin very quickly. The joke of a killer sloth in a sorority house can only go so far, so to stretch the concept out the filmmakers find themselves having to one-up each deed the killer sloth does, rapidly taking the movie into an area of eye rolling ridiculousness. The characters are one note and mostly unlikable, and the message against (?) social media is lost in the proceedings.

Is this worth your time? There’s certainly much worse movies out there, and with a 15 (PG-13) rating it’s certainly something a younger viewer may enjoy, especially considering some of the stuff the sloth gets up to.

Slotherhouse, from Plaion Pictures, is available via all major U.K. digital download platforms on February 12, 2024.