When reviewing microbudget films, it’s important to consider the shortcomings they may face. Low budgets can limit location times, dictate time spent on applying prosthetics for practical effects, and affect the number of takes due to the aforementioned time constraints. When watching a film like The Sluagh Awakens (aka St. Patrick’s Day: The Sluagh Awakens) you must try and accept that they are working with what they have, and little else. With all that in mind, The Sluagh Awakens still manages to push the audience away with overwritten scenes, sloppy editing, and non-existent direction.
Standout Performances and Practical Effects
There are a few positives that do need mentioning. Firstly, filmmaker (not of this movie) Roger Conners does his absolute best with this mess of a script. Conners is huge in the micro/low-budget/indie horror scene, and seeing him in this was a breath of fresh air. Even if Conners may not know what the kickback of an AR is like, he gives 110%. Secondly, most of the practicals look pretty solid. Lastly, the finale. So many moments in this finale look good and work for the story. I just wish we would have gotten a bit more of this fun folksy horror, rather than a ‘horde’ of Irish zombies zooming around this backward town.
Being negative isn’t fun, and it’s clear many people poured tons of heart and energy into this movie. That doesn’t mean there’s carte blanche to make an intrinsically bad movie that sits at nearly one hour and 45 minutes. Script-wise, The Sluagh Awakens raises some interesting ideas, before padding them with an Oli London amount of filler, and unfollowed through Chekhov’s guns. Toward the film’s beginning, Olivia (Morgan Paige) refers to a fencing class she is taking and even brandishes a sword! You know what that means folks, we’re gonna get a gnarly scene of Olivia slashing her way through a ‘horde’ of Slaugh! Well, no. There is no effective payoff for this “character trait.” Interestingly enough, synchronicity strikes the film world again as this character setup for Olivia is nearly identical to the setup for Sienna (Lauren LaVera) in Terrifier 2. Since both films came out in 2022, it’s hard to say that this is one of the many things Terrifier 2 has stolen from other movies.
Oh, and whoever rolled that joint they smoked during the rock music montage scene needs to watch a YouTube tutorial on how to roll a joint.
Final Thoughts on The Sluagh Awakens
Awkwardly written characters, unrealized directing, and just an overall overly, yet somehow under, written script make The Sluagh Awakens a slog to get through. Roger Conners and Morgan Paige work hard to pull this movie out of the mud, but end up getting stuck themselves. There are worse movies out there, and I can enjoy getting a few friends together with some beers and putting this one on. It just didn’t work its Irish magic on me.
The Sluagh Awakens is available to watch on VOD.
