Let’s be honest for a second before I jump into this review of Slash and Chill’s latest escapade into the realm of blood-splattering mayhem – mainstream horror movies suck. Like every movie these days, it doesn’t feel like a human is sitting behind a keyboard with their desk cluttered with empty wine bottles and an overflowing ashtray, putting their best foot forward to create something original. Something fresh. Something we horror fans can sink our teeth into like a zombie and a fresh leg. It’s always a soft reboot packed with legacy characters for cheap fan service and jump scares and bullshit galore. If it weren’t for the independent horror scene and studios like A24, the horror landscape would be as dead as a staked vampire roasting in the Texas sun.
With that out of the way, let’s review TAPEWORMZ by Slash and Chill Productions. I’ll avoid spoilers in this review, but I will talk about the plot and some characters so you, dear readers, understand what to expect from this 2-day-old Sushi roll. As much as I love and respect the cast and crew of Slash and Chill, I will be honest about this film by focusing on the pros and cons of this flick.
The first thing I want to mention is the soundtrack for the film by Console Clone. I tried to google him for additional information and couldn’t find anything, which sucks, because if you’re a fan of dark synth or anything like John Carpenter, you are going to love the music here. It adds this intense sense of doom to the film and adds a ton of atmosphere – so a massive kudos to Console Clone and the production of Slash and Chill for not downplaying the importance of a killer soundtrack.
The movie is like another creature feature classic, Critters, as a group of space hunters arrive on Earth to stop space worms. Just like in Critters, they must work with locals – too bad for them; these locals are yokels. On paper, this sounds like it would be a blast, and in parts, this movie handles this fantastically, but overall, it falls a little short of a potential homerun.
The first part of the film is a slow burn as we get introduced to a handful of characters. This part of the movie is boring, especially since some of the jokes fail to hit their mark. And if you’ve already seen Tapeworm 2, you know where this is going. Some of the beats are the same, making me think I was watching the wrong movie at first. Thankfully, Jake Perry, the film’s director and writer, starts firing on all cylinders during the 2nd act.
There is a fantastic subplot involving a space hunter and a yokel named Luis (played by the excellent Michael Ochotorena). Ochotorena’s comedic timing is great, and he really has all the best lines in the film. Every time he’s on screen, he steals it with his charisma and delivery. The space hunter he works with is solid, and they end up having excellent chemistry – making this, hands down, the best part of the movie.
The rest of the film is sadly a mixed bag. The film’s climax is very disappointing, with the movie jumping into a strange filter, and the final encounter with the Worm Queen and the hunters left me scratching my head and dissatisfied. It doesn’t help that there is so much inconsistency involving the infected – who sometimes act like brainless zombies and other times like ordinary people who can talk, laugh, and have super strength. Another issue with the film is just how stupid the characters are. Most of the deaths caused by the worms in the movie could have been easily avoided with simple common sense. I understand they aren’t supposed to be the brightest – but that shouldn’t excuse a total lack of logic in their decision-making. Another issue with the film is the plot holes – there are so many that they kept taking me out of the movie. For example, the hunters look exactly like humans. Why? In Critters, we see the hunters change their faces in a pretty creative scene – here, it isn’t explained at all.
For me, Tapeworms 2 is a superior film to this one. However, that’s not to say there isn’t some fun to be had in Tapewormz – Ochotorena is fantastic, the special effects and kills are fun, and the soundtrack is incredible. There are some laugh-out moments and some great lines and gags, too, but the pacing and the third act really bring the movie down. If I were going to give it a traditional ranking on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), I’d give it a 3.
Hall of the King 