Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)

“Dirkie, Dirkie, Wild Turkey.”

This might be the movie you have been waiting for Midnight Marauders!  Especially if you love to see cacti stab at people wandering the desert as they attempt to free themselves from the guilt they feel for murdering their teacher.  The cacti have been commanded to attack; it seems.  And the one doing the commanding is paralyzed in a hospital room miles and miles away.

"there is something grinding about in its schlocky gears which makes it entirely watchable, especially if you are fascinated by late 70s grindhouse offerings"


Get the beer ready!  This is 6-pack entertainment and the drunker you are, the better the movie gets!

Near suicides, lots of drugs, and awful rock n’ roll, Meatcleaver Massacre has it all!  Including a cameo from Ed Wood (who is quite convincing as a man in the crowd) as four knife-wielding college students get in over their heads with the occult.

When Mr. Cantrell (James Habif), a professor of ancient rites and rituals, is challenged on whether or not he believes in what he teaches some doped-up students take it upon themselves to teach him a lesson when they pay his household an evening visit for some heinous activity - including killing Poopers, the family dog - and wind up killing everyone but the professor, leaving him paralyzed as the only witness to their activity.

Any teacher will tell you, students just don’t listen, but these dipshit hoodlums are a special kind of stupid and, with only pantyhose on their heads, they believe they are above the law.  No one saw what they did and the poor, poor professor isn’t going to be talking to anyone for a long time . . . maybe never.

Unless of course, he is somehow able to summon the demons he teaches about.  Which is EXACTLY what happens as an evil entity causes their deaths in strange and disturbing ways.  Yes, buddies, it seems the boogeyman IS after you.

Released solely to drive-ins in 1977, Meatcleaver Massacre has a bizarre intro and outro by Christopher Lee (which appears to be filmed for something else entirely) that somehow producers Keith Burns and Ray Atherton got their hands on and shoehorned into their own D-grade horror film.  While the footage concerns itself with the occult, it really has nothing to do with the revenge murders which the paralyzed professor pleads to the demon Morak for. Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)

And Morak, while these dumb students get their heads together, doesn’t disappoint, leaving the police stumped and the public more than a little paranoid.

Meatcleaver Massacre is not a great horror film.  Hell, it might not even be a good film regardless of the genre, yet there is something grinding about in its schlocky gears which makes it entirely watchable, especially if you are fascinated by late 70s grindhouse offerings which are full of interesting angles and deranged kills, which include a plant AND car hood attack to the death!  

Of course, a good education about the stickier side of the cinema also helps as the film - which has NOTHING to do with meatcleavers - descends into a choppy collection of solitary revenge murders as the students wander out into desert locales and are “murdered” by invisible forces (or the cacti) or go to work, only to be killed by what awaits them.  

The group is nervous; believes they’ve left no clues, yet their paranoia grows and grows.  Yours might too thanks to all the herky jerky angles and random edits in this blood-soaked B-grade flick, which is now on blu-ray thanks to Shout! Factory.

Limited to 1,500 copies, this 1977 supernatural slasher marks the only effort from director Evan Lee. It was written by Keith Burns and Ray Atherton and stars Larry Justin, Bob Mead, Robert Clark, and James Habif star, with Christopher Lee as the “host” with the most.

5/5 beers

Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)

Blu-ray Details

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray
- March 29, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Horror legend Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man, the Lord Of The Rings trilogy) stars in this pulse-pounding film where revenge is best served in cold blood. A professor of the occult experiences a shocking tragedy when the "destroyers" – a group of murderous students who fail to believe his tales of the dark forces – brutally attack him and his family and leave them to die. Now in a deep coma and the only survivor of the assault, he calls upon those demonic forces beyond the world of the living to grant him vengeance on those who took everything from him.

Video:

Framed in a 1.85:1, Meatcleaver Massacre (also known as The Hollywood Meatcleaver Massacre) might not have been cleaned up for its HD debut, but that’s no bother.   The two transfers looks pretty good for the low-budget film. There’s a substantial bump in detail and clarity that most will notice when compared to previous releases. The film often takes on the warm appearance of its Hollywood and desert settings, and colors are nicely saturated.  Black levels are decent, though there's a fair bit of crush thanks to the mid-level 35 mm stock.  Wide shots are clear and crisp, and close-ups often provide good facial detail throughout.  

Audio:

A lossless 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio mono mix, which is true to the original presentation, is included.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Sadly, there is no commentary.

Special Features:

You get a theatrical trailer and two versions of the movie.

  • The Original Cut — THE HOLLYWOOD MEATCLEAVER MASSACRE (77 Minutes)
  • The Theatrical Cut — Featuring Intro/Outro With Horror Film Star Christopher Lee (85 Minutes)
  • Theatrical Trailer

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 4/5 stars
  Video  4/5 stars
  Audio 3/5 stars
  Extras 2/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

3.5/5 stars


Film Details

Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
85 mins
Director
: Evan Lee
Writer:
Keith Burns; Ray Atherton
Cast:
Christopher Lee; Larry Justin; J. Arthur Craig
Genre
: Comedy | Crime
Tagline:
They're giving Dirty Rotten Men a run for their Money.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Here ya go Poopers, don't eat my flowers"
Theatrical Distributor:
Group 1 International Distribution
Official Site: https://shoutfactory.com/product/meatcleaver-massacre?product_id=7800
Release Date:
March 1977
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
March 29, 2022.
Synopsis: Horror legend Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man, the Lord Of The Rings trilogy) stars in this pulse-pounding film where revenge is best served in cold blood. A professor of the occult experiences a shocking tragedy when the "destroyers" – a group of murderous students who fail to believe his tales of the dark forces – brutally attack him and his family and leave them to die. Now in a deep coma and the only survivor of the assault, he calls upon those demonic forces beyond the world of the living to grant him vengeance on those who took everything from him.

Art

Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)