- Directed by Jon Knautz
- Written by Jon Knautz, Trevor Matthews, Patrick White
- Stars Robert Englund, Trevor Matthews, Daniel Kash
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 25 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQGpCdgoDDE
- Get it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3H1KTEp
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
The script is a little on the predictable side as things unfold, but it’s well written and the two leads do a fine job, as well as the supporting cast. All the effects are practical without CGI, which gives it a throwback vibe at times. With a nice blend of horror with some humor. We liked it quite a bit.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open on a battle in the jungle, with a bunch of natives fighting a crazy one-eyed lizard man. There’s over the top panic in the village. Inside the tent, we don’t see the face of a monster slayer who prepares for battle. Credits roll.
We cut to young Jack, who was always in trouble for his aggressive behavior. He had some crazy anger issues. Before that, he was a normal kid who went camping with his family– until a monster ate them all. Today, he’s in therapy with Counselor Silverstein. Jack is… messed up.
Jack goes to night school, where Professor Crowley teaches Chemistry. The old teacher explains sodium to the class and makes a little explosion. Jack and Eve are a couple, but she’s also into another guy in the class. Jack’s a plumber, and Crowley wants some help with his pipes later.
Later, Jack goes to the professor’s messy old house to work on the pipes. The house has some history, and Crowley bought it cheap. Jack gets to work, and he’s really bad at his job, which leads to a Hell portal opening up in the backyard. Later still, smoke comes out of the Hell Portal and possesses Professor Crowley, whose eyes turn black.
The next day, Jack talks to Silverstein about Eve. Jack needs to find some way to relax. Crowley wakes up outside and finds that he’s been digging. He digs more and uncovers a big wooden crate that he takes inside. The box contains a skeleton and a heart that still beats. Crowley then eats the heart, which is never a good thing.
At the hardware store, Jack talks to old Howard, who orders a part to fix Crowley’s pipes. He knows about that house, “The place is cursed.” He’s got a whole story about his uncle Emmet, who used to live in that house. He bought the black heart of a demon, but it took over Emmet, who started acting strangely. This all culminated in young Howard shooting Emmet and burying him in the backyard.
That evening, everyone goes to Chemistry class, and Crowley comes in, filthy, belching, and not at all himself. He dismisses class and goes home. Crowley soon finds that he’s growing tentacles and cuts one off, which is messy. Then he eats his dog.
In class the next night, Crowley is a lot worse. He suddenly falls down and sprouts many long tentacles which chase the students down the corridors. The professor then turns into a big rubbery puppet and starts converting the students into zombie-minions.
Jack, Eve, and another girl hide in one of the classrooms. One of the demons comes in and eats the other girl. It’s very quickly down to Jack and Eve against the monsters. They get to the car and away, but then Jack decides to dump obnoxious Eve and go back to fight.
Jack goes inside, armed only with a pipe. After a quick battle, he kills two former students and moves on to the big monster, who is still converting people. Eventually, Jack uses the sodium to blow up the monster, but of course, it’s still not dead. He finishes the job and rescues some survivors, and gets a kiss from a woman he’s attracted to.
Jack learns that he felt better after killing monsters, and then he decided to go after the one who killed his parents. After that, he travelled around the world killing monsters everywhere.
We flash back to the opening scene of the jungle and lizard monster. That actually takes place after the main events of the movie. Jack’s ready to fight now…
Brian’s Commentary
There’s no CGI at all in the film, all the effects are practical. The individual humanoid monsters are all really well done, but the big Professor monster was just ridiculous.
It’s predictable, but well done. It’s not quite a comedy, but it’s got lots of silly bits. It’s pretty good.
Kevin’s Commentary
I thought this had a good balance of humor and horror, and I really liked the job the two leads did. I’d seen this previously right after it came out, and I recently purchased it on blu-ray – so that’s a testimonial to how much I like it.