BOOK OF MONSTERS (2018)

Studio:      Dread Presents
Director:    Stewart Sparke
Writer:      Paul Butler
Producer:  Paul Butler, Stewart Sparke
Stars:     Lyndsey Crane, Michaela Longden, Lizzie Stanton, Daniel Thrace, Rose Muirhead, Anna Dawson, Arron Dennis, Steph Mossman, Samantha Mesagno, Nicholas Vince

Review Score:

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Summary:

A troubled girl’s 18thbirthday party erupts in chaos when a supernatural storybook unleashes five murderous monsters.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

In a nightmare, Sophie relives her mother reading to her from a supernatural storybook called ‘The Book of Monsters’ when Sophie was eight years old. A shapeshifting creature manifests under the bed and kills Sophie’s mum.

Sophie’s father Jonas gifts Sophie with the ancient book for her eighteenth birthday. Jonas then leaves his daughter alone in the house to host a party with her friends Mona and Beth.

Sophie’s rival Arya disrupts the party by inviting numerous people Sophie doesn’t know. Other party guests include classmate Gary, German exchange student Helga, virgin Dave, Arya’s bully boyfriend Brice, and Sophie’s crush Jess.

Pandora, a mysterious woman in a red dress, seduces Dave into coming with her to Sophie’s bedroom. Sophie has a private conversation with Jess to question why she is friends with Arya.

Arya humiliates Sophie by having a stripper named Carl give her a lap dance in front of everyone. Arya further embarrasses Sophie by revealing she stayed in a mental institution after claiming a monster murdered her mother. Sophie punches Arya.

Pandora bites Dave’s neck and draws a bloody pentagram on his chest while morphing into the shapeshifter that killed Sophie’s mum. Dave’s virgin blood splashes onto the Book of Monsters.

A supernatural wind suddenly blows through the house. A creature called Grota appears and begins violently tearing apart partygoers including Brice. Sophie hides with Beth. Arya calls the police after barricading herself in the kitchen with Carl. Gary flees outside with two partygoers. Mona and Jess escape to Sophie’s bedroom.

Impersonating Dave, Pandora knocks Jess unconscious. Pandora does the same to Mona and then reforms in Mona’s image.

A monster wearing a plague doctor mask kills the two people with Gary. Gary sees the plague doctor unleash sentient slugs.

Sophie tells Beth she knows Grota from her mother’s book. Remembering that the creature has a weak spot on its back, Sophie stabs Grota with a cake knife and kills it.

The slugs possess garden gnomes that infiltrate the kitchen. Gary returns to the house in time to rescue Carl from the gnomes. Gary, Arya, and Carl then regroup with Sophie and Beth.

Impersonating Mona, Pandora helps Jess recover. Pandora brings the book to Sophie.

Officers Graham and Keith arrive outside. The plague doctor slaughters Keith and blows up the patrol car with Graham in it.

With notes written by Sophie’s mother, the Book of Monsters reveals that a sacrifice of virgin blood summoned five monsters. Sophie connects that Pandora killed her mum.

A jinn emerges from a painting and begins possessing people one at a time. Sophie manages to trap the jinn inside the painting again, but Carl dies in the commotion.

Having been thrown through a window by Pandora, the real Mona recovers outside. Mona flees from the plague doctor and runs into Helga. The plague doctor kills Helga.

Inside the book, Sophie finds a map leading to a hidden vault. Pandora reveals herself as a monster by beheading Arya. Pandora captures Jess. Sophie, Beth, and Gary escape into vents leading to the hidden room.

Gary points out that Sophie’s mum used the vault to store weapons. Additional information as well as an audio recording reveals that Sophie’s mum was a monster hunter and Sophie was born to be one too. Sophie uncovers that the creatures did not kill her because they need her blood when she turns eighteen at midnight to complete a ritual that will unleash hundreds of monsters from the book.

Sophie, Beth, and Gary arm themselves and exit outside. The plague doctor attacks. Mona joins the others in defeating the plague doctor.

Gary stops to use the bathroom upon returning to the house with the three girls. An amalgamated abomination of sentient victim heads attacks Gary from the shower. Beth and Mona rescue Gary while Sophie goes on ahead to look for Jess.

Sophie confronts Pandora in her monster form. Pandora tries to distract Sophie with a vision of her mum, but Sophie kills Pandora with a chainsaw. Sophie frees Jess from a cocoon. Sophie and Jess kiss.

Sophie, Jess, Mona, Beth, and Gary regroup. Sophie vows to study the book and become a monster hunter. The others agree to help her. Jonas comes home to find his house covered in blood.

Six Months Later – Sophie, Mona, and Beth prepare to faceoff with another creature.

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Review:

On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Sophie remains haunted by nightmares of a time ten years ago when her mother read from a supernatural storybook. Somehow that tale conjured a creature that killed mum, although whispers around town claimed Sophie was crazy and wondered whether her father really did the deed.

Troubled emotions stir when dad innocently gifts Sophie with the Necronomicon-like book as a memento of mum. Sophie has little time to reflect on murderous memories however. She and her best friends Mona and Beth are busy hosting a party attended by all of the standard stereotypes. Sophie can’t keep flitting eyes off her crush Jess. Boorish buffoon Dave attends too. So does Gary, the good guy so unnoticeable, no one can remember his name. Snitty rival Arya brings her bullying boyfriend Brice, as well as an army of strangers intent on wreaking havoc in Sophie’s home.

The rowdy randos have to wait their turn when Pandora, a mysterious seductress, gets the jump on turning the party into pandemonium. Shapeshifting into a hideous form, Pandora taps poor Dave’s veins to splash virginal blood on the ancient tome. A strange wind suddenly summons another monster. Then all Hell literally breaks loose as the beast begins bloodily ripping apart partygoers. An otherworldly plot borne from the book’s pages has its sights set on Sophie. To find out what it is, she’ll have to survive a night full of monsters, and hopefully save as many guests as possible along the way.

Being a horror-comedy, “Book of Monsters” never sets out to take itself too seriously. Exactly what degree of seriousness it means to be taken with however, is difficult to discern.

For starters, an eyebrow has to be raised over the ages of the lead actors. I realize it’s crass to speculate how old a woman may be. But to not comment on apparent ages would be turning a blind eye to the biggest elephant in the movie’s room.

A kind guess might put the average age of the actors somewhere around 27-28. A daring estimate might creep into the thirties. Either way, some of these women appear old enough to pass for mothers of 17-year-olds. The only realistic response to being asked to believe them as high school students is a wet “pfft!” reflexively spat from the mouth. Even Aaron Spelling would roll over in his grave if he saw this overly optimistic “teen” casting.

Normally, one might assume this to be part of the movie’s intent to be cheekily campy. Except so much of its comedy comes across with such stale stiffness, you can’t be sure “Book of Monsters” is always in on apparent jokes or just a victim of rolling with whatever limited assets were available. Maybe “Book of Monsters” really wants the audience to think these women are teenagers. Maybe it’s only a gag. The fact that we can’t tell how the film means to frame our mindsets presents a problem with immersion in its frightful fantasy.

Cutting to the chase, having this slippery grip on a throwback tone stops silliness from sizzling. We’re talking about a movie where a male stripper uses a dildo to defeat a demonically possessed garden gnome. We should be crying with laughter, not from confusion, but “Book of Monsters” gets cold feet when it has opportunities to go over the top with irreverence. Instead, the movie mutes itself with lukewarm laughs and licks of horror that can be more cheap than they are charming.

Unexpectedly, “Book of Monsters” grows strangely endearing as it goes on and honestly, I can’t precisely pinpoint why. Acting is often awkward, particularly from Nicholas Vince as Sophie’s father, who demonstrates why “Hellraiser” kept him quiet under a head full of Chatterer makeup. Moths in the movie’s wallet also eat up visual value, although the practical effects department still goes for broke by dumping as many blood buckets and body parts onscreen as pennies will permit.

Perhaps that earnestness in such efforts is what allows director Stewart Sparke’s low-budget production to still shine through pedestrian cracks. Cast and crew were evidently having fun that doesn’t always make it to the audience, but enough of it does that the film can eke out a modest amount of entertainment. In this regard, the movie’s intent is clear. These upstart filmmakers merely mean to make a simple horror homage out of elbow grease and good intentions, and those aren’t goals anyone can hate on.

Provided you can ride out the sterile first act until exposition extinguishes most yawns, the last hour puts a big blast of energy on the table. As long as you’re okay with watching a mildly goofy gorefest shot on a shoestring, “Book of Monsters” at least offers explosive eviscerations, mutant creatures, and countless torsos torn in two. Just remember to adjust expectations above underwhelming, but well below uproarious good time.

NOTE: There is a mid-credits scene.

Review Score: 60

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