Matt’s Movie Monday is a periodic blog reviewing one movie that I’ve recently watched. It will usually, but not always, be either a new release or one that I think may not be very well known. I can’t promise they will always be good movies, as I will try to write about movies I haven’t seen before as often as possible. Unless I’m reviewing a new release, there will be no real rhyme or reason for how I choose a given movie. So if you have suggestions, I am all ears. If there are any spoilers, I will make sure those sections are clearly marked.
With the release of the first trailer for Super Troopers 2 I figured Club Dread would be a good choice for this edition, as I had yet to see this one. The Broken Lizard guys are the geniuses behind Super Troopers (2001) and Beerfest (2006), with Club Dread coming in between in 2004.
Club Dread is a comedy horror film, a parody of slasher films. The movie takes place at a tropical resort, Coconut Pete’s Coconut Beach Resort. Coconut Pete is a famous musician in the vein of Jimmy Buffett. Shortly after all the fun begins, dead staff members start showing up. The killer leaves cryptic messages for the resort staff, instructing them to continue on as normal and that they are not allowed to tell the guests what’s happening. Additionally all transportation and communication devices have been destroyed or disabled. It’s up to the staff to identify the killer and save the guests, the rest of the staff, and their resort.
Overall it’s a pretty good movie, but it’s nothing special. There are no big laughs but it manages to consistently produce laughs throughout. There’s the typical Broken Lizard crude humor, which hits more than it misses. It’s really the cast that makes this a watchable movie. The plot is nothing original (just watch Scary Movie again if you want a slasher parody), the script is fine. But these guys are fantastic comedic actors and they squeeze every ounce they can out of the material. I think they maybe believed in themselves a little too much, didn’t put in enough work on the script.
Movie: Broken Lizard’s Club Dread
Starring: Kevin Heffernan, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Bill Paxton, Brittany Daniel
Genre: Comedy, Slasher, Parody
Rated: R for: Violence, Nudity, Adult Language, Adult Content
My rating: 6.5/10
Should you see it? It depends. If you’ve seen Super Troopers and/or Beerfest and liked them, then yes. If you didn’t like those two, it’s doubtful you’ll like Club Dread.
