A college student takes an adorable wild creature to gain popularity, only to discover it goes on a rampant killing spree. A film by Matthew Goodhue, starring Lisa Ambalavanar, Sydney Craven, Andrew Horton, Olivia Rouyre, and Stefan Kapicic.

Amidst the dense foliage of Panama’s Darién Gap, a cute sloth miraculously survives a crocodile attack, only to be captured by a hunter. Ironically, the crocodile now floats lifeless in the river, slain by the sloth’s very claws.

Emily (Lisa Ambalavanar), a college senior in her final year, harbors a desire to become sorority president, like her late mother once was. In the age of social media, however, she feels like an ordinary young woman, unlike Brianna (Sydney Craven), the two-term president of Sigma Lambda Theta, who is currently running a campaign to become the first three-term president in the sorority’s history.

At the mall with her best friend Madison (Olivia Rouyre), Emily encounters Oliver Welsh (Stefan Kapicic), an exotic animal seller who attempts to persuade her to purchase a sloth that he has recently acquired, arguing that such a unique pet would boost her social media presence. Emily initially hesitates, but later succumbs to temptation upon seeing an image of Brianna posing with a tiger. Emily eagerly texts Oliver, expressing her interest in purchasing the sloth without even inquiring about its price. (A sloth typically priced at $2,000 – $6,500.) Oliver agrees to meet Emily tomorrow, but that night, the sloth fatally attacks him.

Upon arriving at Oliver’s house, Emily finds the front door unlocked and enters, but Oliver is nowhere to be found. Instead, she discovers a charming sloth. Hearing a strange noise and glimpsing a shadowy figure, Emily flees with the sloth in tow.

Emily conceals the sloth in a cardboard box, attempting to smuggle it into her room, as the sorority house rules prohibit anyone from having pets. However, Emily engages in a physical altercation with Briana, who insists on knowing the box’s contents. As the box falls to the ground, a charming sloth emerges, captivating everyone present. Emily cites the exception in the house rules that allows pets as house mascots if the majority votes in favor of it. She also announces her candidacy for president, further infuriating Briana. Brianna later names the sloth Alpha.

At first, Alpha remains calm and content, believing Emily saved its life. Soon after, the news of Oliver’s death reaches Alpha, and it instinctively scrolls through Emily’s social media account with a mouse, discovering an image of Emily and Oliver together at the mall earlier. Enraged, Alpha concludes that Emily is Oliver’s accomplice and devises a sinister plan to kill everyone in the sorority house.

SLOTHERHOUSE is a delightful slasher film that defies expectations. Its original premise of using a sloth as the main villain is enough to pique the audience’s curiosity and make them wonder how a slow-moving, adorable wild animal could possibly kill people, let alone a building full of teenagers.

The first hour of character development is rather clichéd and tedious, failing to elicit any emotional attachment from the audience aside from Madison. When people start disappearing, no one seems to bother searching for them; only a few cursory remarks acknowledge someone’s absence, and everyone simply carries on with their daily lives. The filmmaker could have at least attempted to incorporate some realism, even though the entire film is comically unrealistic.

To enjoy this film to its fullest potential, viewers must abandon all logic and reason. Some of the kills are admittedly inventive and memorable, such as the electrocution in the bathroom. My disappointment is the unremarkable triumph of the protagonist at the end, as I root for the sloth.

SLOTHERHOUSE received a limited theatrical release in the United States on 30 August 2023.