In the horror genre, there’s plenty of odd or even goofy concepts used as plot devices for film, and this flick definitely deploys a bizarre scenario, while attempting to make a dual statement about fashion and corporate viciousness. Director Elza Kephart who also co-wrote the script with Patricia Gomez Zlatar, make sure not to expose the humanitarian aspect revealed in the third act as too preachy, by understanding that the core audience of horror fans want the gore and blood splatter without all the deeper messaging. I must note that this flick may not appeal toe everyone, first if you enjoy the zaniest of Uncle Peckerhead [2020] meets Little Shop of Horrors [1986] while finding pleasure in The Stylist [2020] then this might entertain you for a scant 77-minutes. As this flick is about carnivorous pairs of ‘smart’ jeans attacking employees at a posh clothing store.
The film starts with a stroll for a cotton field which one sees belongs to Canadian Cotton Company (CCC) by a teenage girl, as she heads toward the experimental section, then it switches to a mall-like clothing store, with towers of neatly folded clothing in every shade possible, complete with a sanitized atmospheric, and phony exceptionalism from the employees. However, except for one person, an energic new hire Libby McClean (Romane Denis), this is a dream come true, knowing the corporate motto “Make A Better Tomorrow Today,” but is shocked to learn her outfit isn’t up to code, it’s the previous season, hence forced to spend a few hundred dollars to be in fashion with no corporate discount. Her first day is a long one, as she’s there for a special lockdown, as the store prepares to unleash the special art jeans which are form fitting to your curves, snug stylish fit known as Super Shapers. She meets the store manager Craig (Brett Donahue (Radius [2017])) who has a condescending attitude to poor Libby. Craig tries to keep everything on the high energy and staying positive in the high stress of the new product line, from dealing with snobbish Jemma (Hanneke Talbot (Rabid [2019])) who swipes a new pair of designer jeans and discovers a new meaning to ‘tight fitting’. She’s later discovered by Libby soon on the spot and Craig accepts this as the dangers of body shaming and offers corporate employee discounts and a raise for Libby. Then corporate head Harold Landsgrove (Stephen Bogaert) is too stereotypical as he gives a pep talk which mirrors something from cult-guru leader, and his regional manager Barb (Tianna Nori (Bite [2015])) works to keep Craig beneath her position. It doesn’t take too long for the staff to start dwindling, such as floor manager Lord (Kenny Wong (Killer High [2018])). One might think there can’t be many ways to murder people with jeans, well the filmmakers use many creative methods, such as strangulation to social media influencer Peyton (Erica Anderson), who almost overacts her role and others find themselves torn in half, zipper severed limbs, and just to gobble down another victim, yes you must leave your rational mind behind to understand the second act of the story; which includes a Bollywood musical dance number. It all leads to “Slaxx” who takes control of the mannequin and begins writing in Hindi language from India, which happens to the same one that Shruti (Sehar Bhojani), speaks, how fortunate as the nation is known as the mother tongues of 60, this does not account for dialects. Needless to say, the story goes into a fantasied conclusion, of silliness.
The effects, while effective, some l will have you laughing, as the acting tends to lean to ridiculous proportions. The store contains a variation on the motivation phrases found on many corporate posters and the employees scurrying about all chattering on their headsets, this is comical as the camera angles show how close they actually are to each other. It its subtle hint to excessive texting to people at the same table, and then there’s corporate responsibility cast aside for profit made clearly obvious throughout many scenes.
As the flick is a scant 77-minutes long, and for some the comedy might seem a bit off-beat it does contain many of the typical stereotypes often found in a horror movie. Some have thought of the film as superficial, too preachy, as for the first part that is the director’s intention, to show insight to this corporate world, similar to the characters in Mayhem [2017]. However, the preachiness doesn’t sink the film, there’s the immoral behavior of the corporate CEO herein using cheap child laborers, nevertheless in many horror /sci-fi movies the evil company plays a part; for example, in it’s the Umbrella Corp in Resident Evil [2002] or the Weyland Corporation in Alien [1979] who sacrifices both crew and Marines, etc.…
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9741310/
IMDb Rating: 5.3/10
Baron’s Rating: 5.0/10