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The Story: The sands run red with blood as a masked, machete-wielding maniac stalks staff members at a hedonistic island resort in Broken Lizard's slasher spoof.

From Mel Brook's comic masterpiece Young Frankenstein to the abysmal Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th, the horror genre is no stranger to spoofs; however, many fans will agree that the majority of horror-spoofs fail miserably due to a lack of respect for the genre and its fans. Fortunately, the Broken Lizard comedy troupe (Super Troopers), slasher fans themselves, deliver a rare spoof that manages to be both funny and engaging without patronizing its target audience.

On Pleasure Island, Costa Rica, washed-up Jimmy Buffett wannabe Coconut Pete (Paxton in a great comic turn) and his crew of over-sexed twenty-something's are busily entertaining droves of young guests when a mysterious murderer, cloaked in a poncho and tribal mask, begins hacking up the staff. Interestingly, the killer leaves a message warning the staff not to inform the guests unless they want more to die. With nothing standing in the way of fun, who would want to break up Coconut Pete's 24-hour bacchanal? Is it Machete Phil (the genitalia-less madman of island lore), a disgruntled guest, or a staff member with an agenda? And what's with the ever-changing Coconut Pete lyrics scrawled near the duty schedule? You'll have to refrain from shooting soda out of your nose or dropping your popcorn in a fit of guffaws long enough to find out as Broken Lizard pack every scene with lowbrow humor and outrageous site gags while keeping you guessing, and in a few instances, on the edge of your seat.

Anyone familiar with and receptive to Broken Lizard's goofball brand of humor should have lots of fun with Club Dread, but die-hard horror fans may also find themselves enjoying it more than expected as Chandrasekhar and company infuse the stalk n' slash scenes, some of which are played straight, with enough suspense and bloody gore to sustain interest. Those same fans might also appreciate how Broken Lizard address standard slasher conventions (i.e. obvious red herrings, copious drug/alcohol abuse, loners die, etc.) without directly referring to the movies that defined them - I know I did. That is not to say, however, that genre fans won't pick up on scenes that, as expected, pay homage to both the Halloween (P.O.V. shots) and Friday the 13th series (the impossibly fast killer) in style and execution. Obvious as those references may be, the ending of Club Dread gives this reviewer reason to suspect that the Broken Lizards may also have an affinity for Buddy Cooper's lesser-known slasher The Mutilator (AKA Fall Break), as it seems to directly quote that low-budget gore-fest's ridiculously over the top finale.

As in any comedy with an over-reliance on gags, you can expect to endure a few flat groaners along the way, but the Lizard's throw so many jokes at you that by the time you've finished rolling your eyes over one, another one comes along and takes the wind out of you. Fortunately, the knee-slappers far outweigh the forehead-slappers, making it easier to forgive the Lizard's lads for any comic transgressions. Perhaps Club Dread's biggest fault is in its running time, which is 10 to 15 minutes too long for any comedy. Chandrasekhar keeps the action moving for the most part, but trimming a few minutes from the film's mid-section or a couple of lesser gags could have gone a long way in tightening the pace a bit. Also, I'm still puzzled as to why the murders continued as staffers made every effort to abide by the killer's "no tell, no kill" policy. Of course, most slasher films have never had much going for them in the way of logic, so this is a minor gripe.

Aside from a healthy dose of intentional humor, Club Dread doesn't add anything new to the tried-and-true slasher formula, nor does it try to, as its moderately effective stalking scenes are merely setups for more gags. And though most dyed-in-the-wool slasher fans will probably be able to spot the killer by the halfway mark, there's still a lot of fun to be had in watching the scenario play out. For the benefit of our male readers, it's probably worth mentioning that Club Dread sports one of the most anticipated nude scenes of the year as Cabin Fever cutie Jordan Ladd performs an amazing gymnastic feat whilsttopless. Now, if that last bit wasn't enough to get your movie-going dollar, then Club Dread's juvenile sensibility just isn't for you. Me? I'm not complaining.