When a possessed pair of jeans begins to kill the staff of a trendy clothing store, it is up to Libby, an idealistic young salesclerk, to stop its bloody rampage.
When a pair of jeans from an “ethically sourced” company turns out to be the ghost of a child worker, a new girl on the job must survive the night. Evil jeans attack. Stressed out retail workers abound. Every character is a personality more than anything fully fleshed out, and they’re all getting cracked in half. “Slaxx” hits that niche world of small-budget, out-of-this-world horror movies with ridiculous plots and equally ridiculous gore to match.
Directed by Elza Kephart, this movie centers around the ethos of an ethical company. While the entire movie heavy-handedly harps on lax labor ethics in the clothing industry, that’s not really why we’re here. Instead, we’re gifted a look into a clothing store with ridiculous personalities where the only thing real is the stress casual retail workers experience while on the job. This movie finds a moral center through its protagonist Libby but quickly dives deeper into darker and darker territory as Libby’s innocence is ripped off like a band-aid.
The movie finds firm footing in its violent sections and imaginative puppetry. Sure, it’s ridiculous to watch a pair of jeans dance a Bollywood dance, but even attempting such a move speaks to the enjoyment we get from such absurdity. The movie has fun with its evil jeans and teases out several gruesome deaths, leaving a good half of the violence off-screen. We think we’ve seen it all and still, an evil pair of jeans manages to surprise.
The cast in this movie looks like they’re having a blast. Between Brett Donahue’s performance as the villainous general manager and Kenny Wong’s high-strung retail worker, we’re gifted a plethora of stereotypes and clichés that work to highlight the absurdity of the movie. Romane Denis and Sehar Bhojani, play the serious figures in the film, reacting to every twist and turn with plausible thought. It helps anchor us from time to time as the movie swings wildly into grotesquerie.
Still, very little about this movie sticks, and at a brisk seventy-seven minutes, it can easily be forgotten. It’s certainly an entertaining way to pass the time, it might also serve just fine as something to put on while doing something else. Tuning in from time to time will most certainly not detract from the film’s viewing. “Slaxx” pulls its punches by failing to go for broke and in a movie where jeans come to life and murder people, going for broke is the only move. I certainly wished I’d gotten more out of a fun premise, but I’m comfortable saying this movie scratched a small itch I get from time to time to watch something charmingly comedic. Perhaps a sequel, with more violence and over-the-top murders, would suit this idea because, as of right now, it sounds much better on paper than it does in practice.
Now available to stream on Shudder
