Slaxx Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Slaxx Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 2, 2025

“Slaxx” is about a killer pair of jeans. Of course, there’s more to the feature than that, which may surprise some viewers settling in for a weird slasher film set inside a clothing store. Co-writer/director Elza Kephart hopes to attract attention with her oddball premise, which joins equally strange inspirations for horror entertainment (e.g. “Rubber,” “Death Bed: The Bed That Eats”), and she delivers all sorts of bloody violence with the endeavor, looking to keep up with audience demands for this type of B-movie escapism. “Slaxx” does well with the little it has, but it aims for a different type of awareness overall, gradually replacing silliness with a more sobering assessment of business ethics, adding some thought-provoking material to the effort’s satirical interests.

It’s a special time of year for Canadian Cotton Clothiers, with the upcoming Monday Madness introducing a new seasonal collection, including the debut of Super Shaper jeans, the hottest addition to the company. Hired to help with the store changeover is Libby (Romane Denis), a young woman eager to impress tough boss Craig (Brett Donahue), joining the building’s complete lockdown as the staff prepares for the arrival of social media influencer, Peyton (Erica Anderson), who could make or break the collection. Eager to make a positive impression on everyone, Libby goes above and beyond with her enthusiasm, trying to befriend co-workers, but as the overnight frenzy continues, she begins to sense something isn’t right, tasked by Craig to figure out what’s happening to employees as they gradually disappear. Emerging as a threat is a pair of Super Shapers, with the deadly jeans quickly devouring anyone who dares to put them on, forcing the survivors to decode the ultimate plan of the pants as it uses the lockdown to feed.

“Slaxx” introduces viewers to the experimental cotton fields of India, where laborers collect the fiber that goes into the creation of Canadian Cotton Clothier offerings. The company projects an ethical business model, promoting fair employment and non-GMO materials, and they pride themselves on fashion world importance, with the changing of the seasonal collection a major event, causing all sorts of anxiety for Craig, who’s looking to move up in the company. The screenplay (by Kephart and Patricia Gomez) creates an audience surrogate in Libby, a fresh-faced teenager embarking on a prized job, joining the Canadian Cotton Clothier team during a hectic evening where the building is completely closed off to outsiders, keeping the workers locked inside for maximum efficiency, briefly joined by owner Harold (Stephen Bogaert), who’s there to give a pep talk before leaving control of the building to Craig.

“Slaxx” is a horror film, but there’s plenty of insider-y material aimed at clothing store employees, who will likely recognize the faux kindness of management and the surly attitudes of co-workers, who don’t hold their corporate amiability for long. The retail hell aspects of the writing appear to be lived-in, with Kephart creating a H&M-style thunderdome for Libby to navigate as she reaches out to bitter, manipulative people. However, viewers are coming to “Slaxx” to see a massacre, not “Clerks,” and the production delivers compelling oddity as a pair of Super Shapers comes to life, with the thermal-activated jeans taking their first victim in an employee getting an early jump on the new line, soon struggling with a crushing waistband inside a bathroom stall. More wage slaves eventually perish, becoming food for the pants, which chomps on flesh and soaks up blood. Kephart uses decent visual effects to bring the threat to life, and she keeps a sense of humor to the picture, as the jeans, made with Indian cotton, respond to the Bollywood music favored by employee Shruti (a charming Sehar Bhojani), working in some body-less dancing along the way.

Slaxx Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The visual presentation (2.38:1 aspect ratio) for "Slaxx" struggles with compression issues. Banding and posterization are spotted throughout the viewing experience, with some major flare ups in the warehouse finale. Detail is acceptable, examining the fibrousness of clothing options, including the killer jeans. Skin particulars are present, and gore zone visits textured. Store interiors are dimensional. Color is decent, especially around clothing collections, which register with defined primaries. Blood red is distinct. The cool blueness and greeness of backroom/bathroom action registers as intended. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory.

Slaxx Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix provides clear dialogue exchanges, exploring dramatic intensity with heightened characterizations. Scoring offers compelling support, examining changing moods and horror escalation with defined instrumentation. Musical moods offers pleasant surround presence, and atmospherics are mild. Low-end offers some power during the listening event, handling heavier beats and scenes of intimidation.

Slaxx Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet offers an essay by Tori Potenza.

• Commentary features co-writer/director Elza Kephart, co-writer/co-producer Patricia Gomez, and co-producer Anne-Marie Gelinas.

• Behind the Scenes Segments (HD) include "The Story and the Message" (1:44), "Visual Effects" (2:43), "Producing 'Slaxx'" (:54), "Death Consultant" (:42), "The Cast: Brett Donahue" (:42), "The Cast: Romane Denis" (:53), and "The Cast: Sehar Bhojani" (:51). These are merely slices of production information, collecting interviews with cast and crew (who aren't identified) to better understand the creative effort put into the making of the feature. Perhaps most interesting is an examination of the visual effects, highlighting how the killer pants are brought to life.

• And a Trailer (1:32, HD) is included.

Slaxx Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Slaxx" is strange, but it never evolves into the romp many might it expect it to become. There's a body count and plenty of visits to the gore zone, but the writing is heading somewhere beyond a low-fi slasher, trying to highlight the use of child labor to create disposable fashion, and expose clothing corporations selling false messages of responsibility to boost sales. Such examination of real-world ills doesn't bring the feature to a boil, but it does manage to do something different, creating a killer jeans movie with a conscience, which is most unexpected. "Slaxx" tempts with a concept that's ripe for a cartoon take on genre extremity, but it doesn't go there, offering a smart twist on a potentially (and gleefully) dumb idea.