The perils of popularity and competition are graphically portrayed in the wonderful new horror comedy Slotherhouse. Here, Emily (Lisa Ambalavanar) joins a sorority at the beginning of her senior year and. In a fit of impetuous competition for house president, Emily adopts a sloth. Yes, the animal. The result is a refreshingly funny and self-aware horror comedy that had me cackling in delight. With a story by Cady Lanigan and Bradley Fowler and a screenplay by Fowler, director Matthew Goodhue guides a silly but smart examination of the cost of popularity. While light on the gore, Slotherhouse is a spirited horror-comedy that knows exactly what it is doing, all the while peppering references to other movies along the way for die-hard genre fans. In short, this one is for the fans and fun as hell.

It’s move-In day and queen bee nemesis and resigning house president Briana (Sydney Craven) arrives to assume her position as sorority house president. With over 37,000 followers on social, she is the heir apparent to guide a house of sisters to greatness. Meanwhile, our dear Emily lands on the scene with bestie and moral compass Madison (Olivia Rouyre) at her side. Initially, Emily is fine with just living on the sidelines for her senior year, yet her competitive nature gets the best of her. In an act of desperation, she reaches out to Oliver (Stefan Kapicic) aka O-Exotic and ends up adopting a sloth from him. This isn’t just any sloth. No, this is a sloth whose vicious nature is kept at bay through the use of sedatives.

Nicknamed Alpha, Emily brings the sloth to her sorority and immediately the two are the talk of the house. Briana sees the threat and is determined to uncover Emily’s shady strategies. Meanwhile Alpha is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Yes, she goes off for sure. Alpha even learns the value of popularity, not to mention the nuts and bolts of social media.

I haven’t had this much fun with a movie since Steve Rudzinski‘s CarousHell. Slotherhouse is a smart, competently produced slasher that plays with convention. Starting with Mark David’s work as DP we have a wide aspect ratio, recalling the likes of Scream and Halloween. His referencing to Dean Cundy’s work in the original Halloween is phenomenal with a key moment that induced uncontrollable laughter. That’s not to mention the oblique visual referenced to The Shining and its symmetrical POV shots. We also need to consider the wonderful puppetry that brings Alpha to life. This isn’t photorealistic work, but more of an expressive bit of animation that lulls you into belief. Muppet rules apply here and we are here for it.

What it all comes down to is that director Matthew Goodhue has a deep appreciation for the absurdity of the genre that we love. Horror is a surreal funhouse mirror where we can accept that a sloth would go on a rampage in a sorority if it means that we will learn that popularity isn’t everything.

7 Out of 10