Twentieth Anniversary Screening

by Jeff Strand

Common sense could have prevented the bloodbath…but isn’t that how it usually works in a slasher flick?

This has actually led to some discussion—occasionally heated—that The Roofer should not technically qualify as a slasher flick, but simply a “killer on a rampage” film. There’s no Final Girl, or even a Final Guy, and it’s very rare for a slasher flick to introduce all new victims in the third act. Typically they’re all set up at the beginning and then we watch them die one by one.

Elwood walks away from his next victim, who he apparently killed while we were watching the police car. A meat cleaver is imbedded in his forehead. It is not clear if Elwood had the meat cleaver all this time, or if he took it from a man who just happened to be holding a meat cleaver in his backyard. At this point, with only a few minutes remaining in the film, it’s not worth trying to analyze the logic of what we’re witnessing.

What he should have done is stay calm, very carefully pry out the nail, climb back down the ladder, and seek immediate medical attention. What he did was scream and yank his hand away, leaving a not-insignificant amount of flesh attached to the nail. Then he lost his balance on the wet roof, slid down it, and fell over the edge. He landed on the rocking chair on their front deck. Instead of this being an amusing slapstick moment, he broke his neck and died instantly, blood streaming out of his mouth.