Review: Slaxx (2021)
Directed by: Elza Kephart
Starring: Romane Denis, Brett Donahue, Sehar Bhojani
Written by: Patricia Gomez, Elza Kephart
Music by: Delphine Measroch
Country: Canada
Not available on Blu-ray/DVD
IMDb
If there’s one thing that Peter Strickland’s 2018 killer dress flick In Fabric taught us, it’s that items of clothing can make intriguing horror villains. Slaxx co-writer and director Elza Kephart tackles vengeful pants this time, as the new designer jeans from Canadian Cotton Clothiers, set to make their debut with the fashion-hungry Instagram masses, take on a life of their own and begin violently dispatching the hipster store’s dipshit, trend-desperate employees. Of course, Kephart realizes the premise of her film is a big ol’ slab of silly and keeps things light with over the top practical gore and broad characters. The satire of influencer culture and micro-trends isn’t remotely subtle, but it’s well-done anyway. However, in its attempt to skewer the petty transience of it all, you’re forced to spend nearly too much time with some truly abhorrent people before their throats are slashed by zippers or their torsos are strictured by a belligerent waistline. Romane Denis plays a decent hero, but even she ultimately aspires to be one of these assholes and isn’t given a whole lot of depth. Slaxx makes an interesting choice to toy with concepts of supply chain ethics and labor exploitation, but stops short of really getting into the discussion. Of course, I get it — this is a movie about possessed pants that feed on human blood. But I appreciated the attempt to target something meatier, and I ultimately wish Kephart and co. would have really taken their shot at the hypocrisy of hype-drive companies that flaunt their ethical sourcing in pursuit of additional revenue. But in the end, though Slaxx is funny and has its heart in the right place, it feels like punches were pulled, to temper both its absurdity and its levity. Still, this is a movie could have easily been a train wreck and is instead fairly sharp, fairly weird, and very watchable.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10
