School of the Dead (Slaughterhouse Rulez review)

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back together again! While only playing supporting roles on screen, Pegg and Frost are also Executive Producers on this debut film for their Production Company ‘Stolen Picture’. It’s clear why they chose this project. Owing the start of their career to Shaun of The Dead, Slaughterhouse Rulez echoes the British Horror Comedy roots they bloomed in. While this film never reaches the dizzying heights of the ‘Cornetto’ Trilogy, it could definitely qualify for the ‘Aldi Own Brand Ice Cream Cone’ Trilogy.

Set in Slaughterhouse Academy, the action sees the kids and their professors trying to go about a normal school year, despite the fact that clearly things are going awry. Michael Sheen’s headmaster is hiding a secret, Nick Frost’s drug selling Hippie fears the end is nigh, and Simon Pegg’s cricket loving professor can’t get over his ex. As well as this, the kids are all facing their own problems; relationships, depression etc. And on top of all that, they must also fight off a heard of monsters coming for the school.

Admittedly the film does take on quite a lot, and with its short run time and evidently small budget, is not always successful. The CGI, while good, pales in comparison to what is expected in today’s modern cinema. As well as this, some of the darker themes of depression and suicide are quite quickly dealt with, and not always in the most respectful way.

HOWEVER…these are the negatives to what otherwise is a properly enjoyable film. If you want to see Shaun of The Dead meets Attack The Block meets St. Trinians, then this is the film for you. It packs in a lot of jokes and enough of them land to qualify it a ‘funny film’. Simon Pegg, as expected, is utterly fantastic, and while Sheen and Frost are also great, those two aren’t given quite as much to do.

The main kid, Finn Cole, is a bit of a Northern Personality Void, but over the course of the film his character will grow on you. The supporting cast are the usual band of boarding school misfits; the posh boy, the hot girl, the geek, the nerd, the jock etc.  Nothing is that original, but the film uses the classic troupes pretty well.

Overall, it’s a really enjoyable, if predictable, Brit-Com Horror. For all its flaws, it’s an enjoyable night that is bloody good fun.

Oh, and one key thing to look out for; there’s a surprise cameo from a HUGE star that clearly was brought in by Pegg after working with them on his film ‘Terminal’.