The road to Halloween is paved with good films. Wherein we countdown to the spirited season with a hundred doses of horror. 87 days to go.
“Trojan Horse Films” is an underground sub-genre that is hardly discussed. These are movies that are represented as broadly as possible to fit initial expectations, only to subtly change its tune to be more of an extension of itself. Most of these projects are undercover as general genre fodder before the script starts lining up ironic punchlines, but not in the case of Broken Lizard’s Club Dread.
This 2004 sophomore effort from the jokers behind Super Troopers promises to be a horror-comedy, which it obviously is. The trick to Club Dread, however, is how the film disguises itself as a straight-up slasher flick before it turns itself inside out.
Club Dread is certainly a tongue-in-cheek project that wears its carte blanche privilege on its sleeve. Instead of sporting modest indie aesthetics, Club Dread is lavish with postcard-worthy Mexican scenery and fun under the sun. Almost as if Broken Lizard decided to sell out and swing for the fences, firmly believing their first major motion picture was a fluke and surely Hollywood was going to come to their senses sooner than later. But the atmosphere plays a big role in Club Dread.
Despite the movie beginning with a classic example of slasher horror ala Scream, the sun-kissed charisma displayed immediately after distracts audiences from any horror qualities. The audience occasionally receives hints of tropes and red herrings, but these moments are usually followed up with a funny sight gag or immature teasing reminiscent of the comedy in Super Troopers. The film uses familiarity and charm as devices to carry out its clever sleight of hand.
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Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske – all five members of Broken Lizard – fill out a roster of outrageous staff members who work at Pleasure Island, an adults-only resort founded by half-baked musician Coconut Pete. Pete is played by Bill Paxton who steals every one of his scenes as he embodies the same carefree spirit as Jimmy Buffett.
Although, don’t bring up Buffett around Pete. He’s still sore about people confusing “Margaritaville” with his hazy ditty “Piña Coladaburg”. Brittany Daniel and M.C. Gainey play other key workers on Pleasure Island, while Samm Levine, Jordan Ladd, and Nat Faxon play vacationers who will soon make perfect prey for the hooded killer that stalks Pleasure Island.
Club Dread wasn’t well received at first but, like most of Broken Lizard’s work, the underrated film has garnered somewhat of a cult following. In my opinion, this initial disconnect has to do with the film’s brave willingness to stray away from its comedic rhythm to act as a horror movie, which includes intense showdowns, chases, and grisly deaths.
It isn’t an uneven mixture, but the film is constantly bouncing between two extremes – spine-chilling fear and vulgar absurdism. However, Club Dread is consistent in its varying tone and in its comedy. Because the movie doesn’t lose its pacing, the film ends up working as a creepy entry into slasher horror and as a wacky satire of the same horror sub-genre its populating.
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