Meatcleaver Massacre (1976) User Reviews (22)

Morak!

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 11 October 2020]

You have to admire the balls of the makers of this movie. Actually, you can probably see them from space. They bought footage of Sir Christopher Lee from another movie and treated it as the beginning and ending footage in this movie, then said that the film stars the venerable thespian. Learning that a lawsuit would be long and expensive, he just had to fume. I wonder if he was as angry as when he walked out of A Bay of Blood?

Lee's speech has nothing at all to do with the rest of the movie. Let's all admire his plaid slacks, however.





Anyways, the real meat of the movie involves the death of a dog named Poopers, four college students killing one of their professors and lots and lots of paintings, then Morak, an evil force, comes out of the possibly dead professor.

You'll be forgiven if this movie seems like it makes no sense because it doesn't. And that's probably why I liked it, because I watched it five drinks into a bender and it was perfect for that moment when alcohol goes from tasted wonderful to tasting like way too much.

This was probably made in 1975, but who cares? How many movies do you know where dead teachers command cacti from beyond the grave to kill their students? I can think of one and I'm writing about it right now.

Seriously, Christopher Lee spent as much time looking at contracts as all my favorite horror stars. Work is work, but I have no idea how he thought reading a script about a shaman convention inside a wood-paneled room was going to work out all that well.

Evan Lee made one movie. This was it. If he made any more, the world would have exploded.

In case you need to know just how odd and weird and whatever other descriptors you need for it, Ed Wood himself shows up in a cameo. Now that's a guy that knew how to throw a non sequitur speech directly into a movie. Pull the strings!

Where is the meat cleaver? Where is Christopher Lee?

[gridoon · 4/10 · 20 April 2006]

Actually, Christopher Lee IS here, in a way. He is sitting at a desk and spouting some mystical hocus-pocus at the beginning and the end of the film. I was about to say "I hope he enjoyed a nice paycheck for this", but then I read the trivia section for this movie on IMDb and it seems that the exploitation of his name to fool the paying audience was not his idea and was done without his permission. Anyway, "Meat Cleaver Massacre" doesn't have enough story to support a feature-length film, and the killings are not interesting, memorable or explicit enough. As for the actors, I doubt most of them ever worked again in another film. Avoid this schlock, even if you are an avid horror fan. (*1/2)

Morak, The Destroyer! The Avenger! The Thing You Won't Get To See In This Film!

[Vomitron_G · 3/10 · 10 December 2009]

Man, what can I say about this film...? First off, I laughed pretty hard with that sequence where the guy's about to commit suicide and then calls it off because he's running late for work. But this film is not a comedy.

Secondly, I have to disagree with Coventry - my good friend who also wrote something about this film on these pages - when he said that "Funny Man" (1994) is a worse film than "Meatcleaver Massacre". I know I'm not supposed to comment on other people's writings on here, but I'm sure he'll forgive me. While "Funny Man" does star Christopher Lee in nothing more than a (rather similar) cameo, it's pretty clear that Lee knew this time what kind of film he was doing it for. Also, the two films are completely incomparable. "Funny Man" obviously is an intended horror-comedy that wants to be ridiculous & gory at the same time. Just imagine a film like Ken Russel's "Gothic" featuring a villain like "Rumpelstiltskin" or "Leprechaun" with a bad case of Freddy Krueger one-liners thrown in the mix. It has a few surreal sets, quite a bit of stupid humor and a bit of blood, splatter & guts in it. Admittedly, not everything works in this B-movie, but some stuff does, while in "Meatcleaver Massacre"...

...virtually everything results in below par dreck, meaning: It's actually a worse film. Furthermore, the film plays it dead-serious - I expected no less from this one - and that makes it all the more painful. However, I have a couple of good things to say about it. Mainly about some imagery and the way it was shot & edited. The 'dream sequences' prior to the death scenes had something to them. They were like sequences of experimental film-making edited into the film. They felt completely out of place, but I did find them the most enjoyable parts of the movie. Even had me thinking about the 'tripping scene' on the graveyard in "Easy Rider". The (rudimentary) editing, at times, features cross-cutting & the juxtapositioning of certain images.

But the film itself, is complete drivel without even an attempt at a storyline to make it a bit more coherent. However, it still is the kind of drivel - barely, I might add - that is manageable to sit through. To me, it felt like "Death Wish" & "House on the Edge of the Park" (for some reason Larry Justin had me thinking of David Hess) teaming up with Lucio Fulci's "Aenigma", while possible directed by a senile Ed Wood on drugs. I realize that saying this, might draw die-hard fans of exploitation horror only closer to this film. And exactly for those folks, "Meatcleaver Massacre" might be worth a watch. Other people, just steer clear away from it. Also know as "Hollywood Meat Cleaver Massacre", this film is absolutely nothing along the lines of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", just in case you should wonder (and that's another sign of how shameless the producers of this wretched film were).

While lacking a decent story, the whole film is pretty much nothing more than 3 (or 4, depending how you look at it) death scenes with useless filler material in between. As a bonus you get the violence against the professor & his family at the beginning of the film, which really isn't much to write home about either. They didn't even rape the daughter (just a quick shower-shot from behind, filmed through tainted glass). Harsh thing to say, maybe, but what else would sick-minded puppies look for in a film like this? They did kill the wife's dog called Poopers, though. Yes, it was called Poopers.

The professor ends up in a coma with a fractured skull, but not without summoning a demon (Morak, The Destroyer! The Avenger!) to act out his vengeance. Now - probably thanks to the very low budget - the demon isn't show throughout the film, and this actually works for the better. In the death scenes, the villains are killed by an unseen force and those sequences look fairly imaginative. But some poorly executed blood & gore effects do diminish the over-all effect those kills should have had. Unfortunately, when bad guy Mason gets it near the end, the filmmakers do decide to show us a bit of the alleged demon, and they really shouldn't have. It looked like a toxic bum with a wig & bad make-up. Oh, what's that? This film tries to be clever at the very end? Well never mind that, as it's far too late already.

As everyone knows by now, the movie's opening- & closing minutes feature Christopher Lee telling a couple tales of the occult, which bear no relevance to the actual film. I do hope he got payed for his work, regardless how his footage ended up in "Meatcleaver Massacre". And let's repeat something else that everyone already knows: There's no meat-clever to be spotted in this film. But, hooray, around the one-hour mark, there's a bit of welcome female nudity for pretty much no reason in particular. Anything else I might have forgotten...? Perhaps, if you should decide to watch it, try to watch it when you feel up to it, otherwise it might put you to sleep. It's not really a very exciting film.

You'd Be Better Off Taking a Meatcleaver to Your Own Face

[Michael_Elliott · 2 August 2015]

Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)

1/2 (out of 4)

Four students break into the home of their professor with the plan on scaring him but one of them decides to take it a bit further. The professor ends up paralyzed and unable to speak but even worse is that his family were brutally murdered. Soon the four students begin to suffer strange deaths and it turns out the professor is communication with an occult through brain waves.

Also known as Hollywood MEATCLEAVER MASSACRE, this film is best remembered for "starring" Christopher Lee. Apparently Lee provided on screen narration for another film that never materialized so the producer sold the footage to these filmmaker who added it to the beginning and end of this picture. I guess you can understand Lee being upset over this but at the same time you have to wonder why he didn't ask to re-write the dialogue but what he has to speak is quite laughable and it really reminded me of the speech Bela Lugosi had to give in GLEN OR GLENDA? If you're going into this movie for Lee then be warned that he only has two brief scenes.

The rest of the movie is pretty bad as it's clear no one had any movie experience and were just trying to make a cheap horror movie that could hopefully get into theaters and make money. I'm not sure if they succeeded in making money but there's no question that they made a very bad movie on many levels. For starters, the film was shot without much light so the majority of the scenes are extremely dark and to the point where you can't see what's happening. The screenplay really doesn't contain any logic as it's never quite clear why the students would kill the professor and what they do in the aftermath is quite dumb as well.

The film contains some pretty bad performances throughout and if you're just hoping for cheap exploitation due to the title then you'll be disappointed as well. The murder sequences are rather bland and there's certainly not enough gore here to make it worth sitting through. There's really not too many good things that can be said about this picture but I am thankful that it only ran 79-minutes.

Great title, abysmal movie

[Stevieboy666 · 2/10 · 23 April 2020]

I watched this under the title of Hollywood Meatcleaver Massacre but either way you'll struggle to see an actual meat cleaver. I think that possibly one killing involved one but the picture was so dark that it was hard to tell. Vipco released this garbage as The Evil Force on VHS in the UK, I'm sure glad that I didn't waste my cash on it. A bunch of vile college kids break into the home of a professor, attack his family and leave them for dead. The Prof survives, but in a coma, from which he summons a demon called Morak to avenge the despicable deeds. Interesting idea but sadly the execution is simply awful. The script, direction, picture quality, continuity and acting are all bottom of the barrel. One miscreant is out in the desert and is killed by a plant. There are a few gory sights here but the make up is very cheap and anybody hoping for a bloody massacre will be diappointed. The film is infamous for using unauthorised clips of horror legend Christopher Lee waffling on about the occult at the beginning and end. But even that is boring, and this must be the worst movie to bear his name. I like a bad movie and actively seek them out, some are so bad that they are good. This one is just simply bad. Very, very, very bad!

How I Spent My Sunday Morning

[thesar-2 · 4/10 · 10 July 2022]

This Faux Prequel to Patrick, Old Chief Wood'nhead and Pumpkinhead, was just as you expect and little more. It got confusing at times, but I just kept reminding myself: This is just Patrick, Old Chief Wood'nhead and Pumpkinhead and it's probably not the first of its kind. Never heard about it until this morning and at only 85 minutes, I regret little.

Absolutely no meat cleavers were involved in the making of this film.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 25 June 2023]

What kind of college curriculum involves lectures on the occult, the professor muttering Satanic incantations in the dark while projecting details from a gory 15th-century painting of the avenging demon Morak, destroyer of destroyers?

Amazingly, Professor Cantrell's rather irregular course on demonology seems to be popular with his students, apart from Mason Harrue (Larry Justin), who isn't happy about being pressured to turn in a term paper on the subject. To teach Cantrell a lesson, Mason and his gang break into the professor's home and slaughter his family, leaving the teacher in a semi-vegetative state, unable to speak.

Mason and his thrill-kill pals think they have gotten away with murder, but they shouldn't have messed with an expert in the occult: even in his debilitated condition, Cantrell is able to summon Morak and send the demon to seek retribution.

Behind this film's sensational title lies a tedious piece of amateurish trash that doesn't even have the good grace to feature a meat cleaver. The opening mean-spirited murders promise something wonderfully gritty and grimy, but the remainder of the film is simply boring, the deaths of the gang members unimaginative and frustratingly lacking in gore. The direction by Keith Burns (going by the pseudonym of Evan Lee) is lifeless, and his actors are, without exception, wooden and unconvincing. According to Wikipedia. Burns was replaced by legendary craptastic director Ed D. Wood Jr, which speaks volumes about Burns' film-making skills.

For movie masochists who decide to give this one a whirl, there are two versions available: the original cut, which goes by the title Hollywood Meatcleaver Massacre, and a shorter, re-released version with the title Meatcleaver Massacre, which features a prologue and epilogue by Christopher Lee, shot for an entirely different movie! Either way, the film sucks.

1.5/10, rounded up to 2 for the hilarious ending in which Morak, depicted as a three-eyed monster with massive fangs in the painting, turns out to be a hairy man covered in green slime.

Hey look, it's Christopher Lee talking irrelevant nonsense!

[Coventry · 4/10 · 7 July 2009]

The one and only reason why "Meatcleaver Massacre" hasn't vanished into complete obscurity and oblivion just yet is solely the fault of Christopher Lee. This living horror legend appears as the narrator at the beginning and ending of this film and afterwards attempted to initiate a lawsuit against the producers because he wasn't aware for what movie he was hired to narrate. Well, when comparing Lee's monologues to the actual content of the film, I definitely do believe he didn't have a clue about what for the footage would eventually be used for. The narrations at the beginning & end are completely irrelevant to the film's actual substance. Christopher Lee, reliable and stern-voiced as ever, compellingly proclaims wonderful stories about the strength of the soul and how it can be a foreteller of great things to come. I particularly enjoyed the parable about the soul of great knight leaving its host while he was asleep and then afterwards leading him to great undiscovered treasures. Or the cute little saga at the end, about two sorcerers engaging in a magic showdown and gradually involving the entire world. In other words, I actually enjoyed listening to Christopher Lee a lot more than I did watching the mediocre middle-section of the film. If this man would have lectured at my university, perhaps I would have attended some more of the classes. But in all honesty, the rest of the film isn't as bad as reputed to be. "Meatcleaver Massacre" – which doesn't contain any sequences with meat cleavers whatsoever – is a standard and derivative story about spiritual retribution, occult summoning and teenage hoodlums. Professor at college and expert in demonology Dr. Cantrell embarrasses one of his students, tough kid Mason Harrue, in front of his friends. The kid is obviously quite offended because he promptly recruits three of his docile friends to pay a nightly visit to the professor's house. The gang sadistically murders the professor's wife, son, daughter and dog. The dog's name was Poopers, so I guess the poor thing is better off dead. Prof. Cantrell himself survives the attack – though just barely – but has enough strength left to summon an avenging demon from his hospital bed. The demon, which remains invisible throughout in order to save budget and because probably nobody knew what it should look like, imaginatively ticks off the assailants one by one but keeps something extra special in store for Mason. "Meatcleaver Massacre" is a largely unoriginal film with several tedious moments and amateurish production values, but I've seen movies that are a lot worse. The dialogs are quite hilarious ("The professor is lying in his coma like a carrot") and the murder sequences are pretty decent (especially the head-crushed under car hood moment). All in all, this is still a much better film than "Funny Man" in which – to my recollection – Christopher Lee appeared voluntarily!

Should Have Been Better... Needed More Focus On The Story And The Characters...

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 5/10 · 28 March 2021]

Hi and welcome to my review of Meatcleaver Massacre.

The story gets a 1.5 out of 2: Keith Burns and Ray Atherton produce a solid occult horror story of revenge. It's a shame the production company decided it wasn't enough and tagged on an Intro and Outro by legendary Christopher Lee. And, in all honesty, these segments were not required. What was essential was more substance; in both characters and story. For example, why did the other kids follow the "bad seed" and attack the Professor's family? What hold did the guy have over them? Also, additional scenes with the doomed household would have helped the audience better associate with them. Relating to the family would add extra shock to their gruesome demise. A lot of time is wasted on Mr Lee's segments when it should have bettered the story and film. What a waste.

The Direction and Pace receive a 2 out of 4: Evan Lee is a more than adequate director, though there are a few times when the film suffers from slow pacing. There are some well-composed shots. I especially loved the sequence where one of the killers finds himself alone in the desert. Lee shoots this segment superbly. My favourite shot is of the guy standing up. In the foreground, we have darkened dunes. When he stands up, he's noticeable in his white shirt. While in the background, you have grey and dark grey cacti in silhouette. It's the kind of shot a photographer dreams of snapping. Lee could easily have directed a movie of an hour and a half: Had the story been up to scratch.

The Acting gets a 1 out of 2: Here's a strange thing. Lee doesn't use the best actors and actresses in the right roles. There are minor parts in this film that are stronger in their portrayals than the more major ones. The mismatch is a shame as it adds an awkward feel to the film. I found myself thing a couple of times, why wasn't she playing her? Why was he in that role? Unfortunately, this brings you out of the movie.

And, my Enjoyment level hits a 1 out of 2: I absolutely hate that they used Christopher Lee to boost bums on seats. Because I chiefly sought this movie for the very reason. When I realised what was happening, I was angered and a tad deflated. These feelings doubled when I realised the story wasn't terrible. MM would have been a decent movie, in its own right, had the tome been afforded the proper attention. Along with the issues mentioned above, it made Meatcleaver Massacre a mediocre movie.

These ratings give Meatcleaver Massacre a total of 5.5 out of 10:

For all the filmmakers out there, watch this film and then discard any ideas of carrying out a similar process. It doesn't work. As for all the Horror Flick Fans, MM is a watch once and throw away film. Though, only do this after you've exhausted all your other choices.

Slash your way over to my Chiller Thriller Killer and Absolute Horror lists to see where the Meatcleaver penetrated my rankings. And, to find those better films.

Take Care & Stay Well. Get Inoculated.

Better Than You Would Expect

[thomandybish-15114 · 4/10 · 31 May 2022]

Okay, this one generated some controversy for using footage of horror icon Christopher Lee expounding on the occult for a supposed documentary that ended up being purchased by the film's producers in order to bookend the movie and punch up its marquee value with a name actor. Lee was understandably angry at the state of affairs and attempted to sue, only to back down when he realized it would result in a financial quagmire for himself. That's all been covered. What I'd like to talk about is the film itself.

Despite its exploitation-style title, MEATCLEAVER MASSACRE isn't a slasher movie. What we have is supernatural revenge flick, with the well-worn trope of a college professor who is an expert in (and practitioner of) the occult, specializing in evil pagan spirits that can be summoned to avenge wrongs. The trouble starts when the dear professor publicly berates one of his students, a sneering tough guy with anger management issues who takes the professor's drubbing as an assault on his worth. Allowing his rage to metastasize into full-blown psychosis, the creep convinces three of his buddies into going over to the prof's digs to have a talk. Drunk out of their skulls, the four descend on the professor's home where they proceed to attack the family, resulting in the wife, son and daughter being killed. The professor is rendered paralyzed and unable to speak. But things start to get hairy for the four goons, as one by one they get what's coming to them . . .

This shouldn't be as good as it is. The filmmakers clearly weren't novices, so there aren't any lingering shots of nothing or 5 minutes of passing landscape via a car window--MANOS THE HAND OF FATE it isn't. The shots are well composed, especially the death sequences of the goons, and there is even a black and white dream sequence that puts out a CARNIVAL OF SOULS vibe. Most of the actors never graced a movie screen again, but there isn't really a bad performance among the main actors. Larry Justin nails his role as the head creep Mason. With his Me-against-the world attitude and narrow face perpetually twisted into an angry scowl, he convincingly plays a young man about to pop off at any moment. Justin had a bigger career than most of his co-stars, appearing in a few exploitation titles before dropping off the radar. Doug Senior, as the baby-faced Dirk, plays his part as a guy totally in over his head, and you actually feel sorry for him. There's even a bit more character development for him, and we're privy to his interior monologue as he ruminates about how things were beginning to look up for him until, well, until. Senior managed to stay in the business for several decades, transitioning into television and working as late as 2015. J. Arthur Craig, as Wexler the detective, puts the clues together to find the killers, all while seemingly benefitting from frequent trips to an all you can eat buffet. Not sure if Craig was dubbed, but if he wasn't, the man could have found his niche in voiceover work--the guy sounds like a poor man's Orson Wells!

Overall, you get the feeling that this was a movie that wants to be better than it is--that even had the capacity to be better than it is--but was hamstrung by lack of funds, behind the scenes problems, meddling producers/financiers, or just plain old bad luck. If any of this is true (and in low budget indie films, it more often than not is) then the deceptive and unscrupulous adding of the Christopher Lee footage (as well as the psychotronic title) might have been a last-ditch effort to get distributors to prick up their unholy ears and put the film onto screens and in front of viewers. That's all conjecture, and, while it's no lost classic, this film seemingly aspired to be better than some flash-in-the-pan Ed Wood or Andy Milligan abomination. It's just unfortunate that it hasn't been appreciated more, if not for what it is, then at least for its intent.

Terrible! Avoid at all risks!

[colaboy7 · 2/10 · 13 March 2006]

When I saw Christopher Lee was starring in this film I thought to myself that it cant be that bad. But it was!

First off all Mr Lee doesn't star in this film, he only does a prologue and an epilogue to it. The thing is that what he says in his parts, have absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the film.

The plot? A teacher embarrasses a pupil who is mocking his lecture. Is that a reason to kill all the poor guy's family?!?!?

Then the teacher,who lays in a coma in hospital, and is apparently paralyzed from the waist down, summons a demon to take revenge on the killings. But how can i paralyzed person toss and turn in his bed?

And why does the demon, look like the monster from "the swamp thing"???

And last but not least, why oh why is this film called "the meat cleaver massacre" when there is absolutely no meat cleaver used in this film??

The plot is stupid, the FX are stupid, the acting is stupid. The whole film is stupid. Avoid!

Supernatural Thriller Not As Gory As The Title Implies

[bob wolf · 10/10 · 22 November 1999]

Meatcleaver Massacre is a slow moving, extremely dark, supernatural revenge tale.

The story concerns a college professor named Cantrell (James Habif), a leading researcher in the mystical field of the occult and supernatural phenomenon. A devoted family man, in his spare time, he teaches a course at Valley College in Hollywood. One day, following a class, Cantrell confronts a student who is mocking his most recent lecture. He manages to embarrass the student in front of his friends and thus seals his own death warrant.

The student is a dangerous and psychotic thug named Mason Harrue (Larry Justin) who, with his cronies, visits the professor at his home. The initial plan is to scare Cantrell and his family but things go bad and the thugs wind up slaughtering Cantrell's wife and two children. Cantrell remains alive but in a coma.

From his hospital bed, Cantrell calls up an ancient demon named Morak The Avenger, to take violent revenge on those who murdered his family. The hunt is on.

Meatcleaver Massacre is sort of a Deathwish meets The Supernatural type revenge outing. Sadly, the title seems to imply a meatcleaver wielding killer hunting the streets in search of blood, instead we get very little blood and only one scene involving a meatcleaver. The film is relatively tame, even a little boring.

This film has a lot of things wrong with it, including the lame script and slow moving pace. The film is dark, as if the lighting man quit the film after the first day. The acting is amateur at best. The film's major selling point is the appearence of horror legend Christopher Lee. Lee is the dead-pan host who has nothing to do with the film in any way. He merely mentions some events from the past where supernatural events occured. He mentions nothing of the characters or events in the film. The other actors in the cast aren't very good and Larry Justin hams it up just way too much to come off a murderous thug. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when Ed Wood appeared, he was the king of bad movies was he not? Well this is one of the worst. Miss it.

Cheap and psychedelic horror film.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 6/10 · 5 August 2012]

"Meatcleaver Massacre" starts with long occult monologue of British horror legend Christopher Lee.A famous professor of occultism named Cantrell and his family is attacked in their home by four knives wielding students.Proffesor survives the attack,but his entire family is murdered.Whilst lying and vegetating in his hospital bed Cantrell summons an old Gaelic god to take vengeance on the murderers.And guess what?The killers begin to die one by one in some rather psychedelic ways for example one of them is killed by film projector.Incredibly cheap and delirious horror flick which rarely makes sense.There are some downright hilarious scenes and quite disturbing hallucinations throughout.The atmosphere is strikingly dreamy and nightmarish sometimes.The acting is awful and there is no meatcleaver massacre.6 rusty meatcleavers out of 10 and that's being generous.

Dumb and boring... a dangerous combination for the viewer

[mhorg2018 · 1/10 · 23 June 2022]

After watching this trash, and wondering where the meatcleaver comes into play, HINT: It doesn't. This is a lamely acted, poorly directed with some dull sfx about a crippled occult professor who summons up a celtic demon to get revenge on the gang of pinheads (all white if anyone is interested) who murdered his wife, son and daughter (interestingly enough, she isn't assaulted in any way other than sliced up-poor effects). Just terrible in every single way. Not worth watching. And the version I saw didn't have the Christopher Lee narration. A positive for the memory of the late actor. Avoid this unless you can't sleep!

The Hollywood Meat Cleaver Massacre

[Scarecrow-88 · 3/10 · 10 December 2009]

When Christopher Lee opens with monologue, it appears that he would be setting up some sort of "tale of the macabre". He seems like a Rod Serling or Boris Karloff, preparing us for a tale of terror and the supernatural. And, this wouldn't seem so out-of-sorts for that, but the problem is his monologue is put in front of some 70's hokum, an exploitation feature which doesn't remotely resemble any of the content for which he so describes. If this were an episode of "chiller theater", then Lee's work would've been ideal. Alas, it's applied to Hollywood Meat Cleaver Massacre. Lee returns at the end to close the film on the topic of powerful Shamans perfectly conveying the disconnect between his work and that of the central story-line.

The movie itself is about students, real hellraisers, who decide, for the sheer pleasure of it, to assault their professor, Cantrell(James Habif) and his family. Mason(Larry Justin) is the psychopathic ringleader. The sadistic brood never use a cleaver, which negates the use of the film's title. This film, on it's own, probably wouldn't have such a negative reaction towards it if those who produced/distributed it weren't such fraudulent. Come to think of it, I'm not sure any of the film actually takes place in Hollywood! These kinds of movies have premises commonplace in cinema at that time. Last House on the Left as well as the Manson murders obviously come to mind, and, of course, the numerous clones that spawned as a result.

Mason has a short fuse, a temperament that's ugly and confrontational. Why anyone would associate with a slimeball such as this is anybody's guess. What Mason and his group don't expect is the professor's ability to call a creature to exact justice on his part. Mason was one of those nuisances who considered his college class on the occult nonsense, and boy will he be in for a surprise! As expected, they are haunted by nightmares and soon fall prey, one at a time, to a menace, while we hear the voice of the professor summoning the Morak. There's this funny scene where one of the pack contemplates slitting his wrist, only to back out because he was late for work. Anyway, we see that when the "force" attacks each victim, Cantrell reacts as if he can sense their pain and fear. The filmmakers also juxtapose the portrait of a warlock(..which favors Cantrell interesting enough)and multi-eyed creature. Death sequences include a car hood crushing a victim underneath, a fusebox blasting sparks into the face of a victim, and a chest is opened up. Mason's fate is fitting.

I Never Did Like Carrots

[lowlandermg · 4/10 · 1 June 2023]

A whiskey stream of consciousness review.

Brutal and ugly film to start, then slowly turns campy. Let me just say that the title of this film is the worst. Total disinformation. That said, there are good things, the music and there are some nice shots, like when one of the stocking masked intruders enters the kitchen, but the thrill kill subject is tough to watch.

At times the score is similar to a Brady bunch episode, but other moments are good old school 50s style horror score.

The attempts at creativity during the dream sequences falls flat today, but must've been super self-indulgent at the time. Sean's hair is some of the worst of the time. Other than the Geico caveman commercials, I sure hope that style never repeats itself. He does find a trippy end in the desert. Death by tumbleweed or yucca. Couldn't really tell. All I know is that tho is isn't the yucca massacre. The music is outstanding at times. Wondering where it was created or lifted from. If original, my sincere kudos. Especially like the Goblinesque music during the Delicious Girls sequence. "I have to pay for my books somehow..." The make up effects are terrible, but pretty gruesome for the time. Especially the end sequences. I do kinda like the fact that the there is a "Golem" occult creature getting revenge, however, kind of annoyed that the most despicable character somehow avoids his fate, but it does stray from the predictable. Split with Knob Creek Barrel Proof Rye. Cheers!

With a name like "Meatcleaver Massacre" you certainly don't expect a masterpiece!

[planktonrules · 1/10 · 18 April 2024]

With a movie called "Meatcleaver Massacre" (also known as "Hollywood Meatcleaver Massacre"), you don't expect great art or a film with Oscar nominations. In fact, you'd likely assume it is dreck...and even that's too kind for this bottom of the barrel picture.

Now, you might be tempted to think it won't be that bad. After all, it stars Christopher Lee and begins with him lecturing the audience about evil. But it turns out his speech was actually made for a different film and the production company sold it to another one. This way, Lee was acting in a movie he'd never heard of because they'd inserted him into another movie without his permission! So it's crap...but also SLEAZY crap! And, he really didn't star in any movie...just a brief lecture on evil.

Four college students brutally attack a professor and his family. The wife and kids are dead but the professor, from his coma, contacts the evil demon Morak...offering him his soul IF he allows the professor to see his revenge. What follows is about what you'd expect...gore, lousy production values, terrible acting, and lots of fake blood in this nasty little movie.

MEATCLEAVER Massacre (Evan Lee, 1977) BOMB

[Bunuel1976 · 1/10 · 18 July 2015]

Christopher Lee was known to complain about having to appear in certain films, but he rightfully went farthest with this one (even taking the case to court, but dropping it due to the inordinate dent the whole would make to his financial situation) since he was actually duped into making a documentary about the occult when instead the footage was sold to the official producers of this stinker in order to add a marquee name to their substandard product!

Well, I cannot recall when I last was this harsh in my rating of a film – but what else can you expect when the project's exploitative nature is worn so blatantly on its sleeves: apart from the fraudulent roping in of the star (who, naturally, only appears in bookends totally disconnected from the main feature other than that the latter's premise also involves the paranormal), the title is equally deliberately misleading…as not only is the titular weapon used a mere couple of times throughout (and, therefore, hardly the cause of the intimated endless bloodshed), but the intended parallels to THE Texas CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974) could not be more removed in both plot and artistic quality! Anyway, what we have here is a group of jaded University students who get so upset with what they deem time-wasting sessions (talk about life imitating art!) devoted to the occult that the quartet decide to pay their Professor a less-than-courteous visit at his home – where things inevitably turn brutal. However, much to their chagrin, the elderly man survives in a semi-comatose state (while his young daughter does not – as it happens, thanks to the meatcleaver)…and it appears that he indeed practices what he preaches, given that (even in his precarious state!) he is capable of willing a supernatural entity to exact revenge on his family's assailants.

Everything about the film is ugly: from the protagonists (who would like to evoke the notorious Manson cult but they have no characteristics, good or bad, to speak of – other than the obnoxious leader, whose acting is at once over-the-top and abysmal) to the utterly dreary look and the messy pseudo-surreal nightmares preceding the spirit's retribution (one of which, at least, is effectively revealed to be no more than a childish prank!). At least, the film-makers were committed enough to adopt the 'kill by the sword, die by the sword' (or, in our case, meatcleaver) adage for the first villain's demise; otherwise, one is crushed by the bonnet of a car he is repairing (with the oozing blood looking very much like strawberry jam) and another, a part-time projectionist, has his current attraction mysteriously interrupted and replaced with footage of the group's assault on the Professor's home (the only other inventive touch in the film, if still ludicrous!) before being offed. A bald cop investigates both the assault and the subsequent murders, is smart enough to make the connection (to say nothing of the psychic link between patient and pawn, which he even relates to the gang leader in the hope of confessing his own guilt) – but is still unable (or, perhaps, willing) to save him from his come-uppance.

Finally, it is worth noting that I was so bored out of my skull watching this that an unintentionally hilarious moment – showing one of the gang troubled by a guilty conscience, or fear of payback (it is unclear which), attempts to commit suicide by slashing his wrists but is suddenly brought back to his senses by the realization that he is already late for work – that the supposed drollness of the incident completely eluded me! Also, while the movie's running-time is alternately given as 85 (IMDb) and 90 (Cinemageddon) minutes, the print I watched (derived from "You Tube") lasted for just 79…which, apart from presenting no official credits, abruptly cuts off the argument being laboriously made by Lee at the epilogue!

A Move that Can't Even Make Good in its Own Title

[hellsing218 · 2/10 · 6 July 2022]

I was expecting some meat cleaver action, or some kind of decent slasher film. Instead I found a boring deluge that I couldn't even pay attention to. Nothing extraordinary to see and with a supernatural plot that doesn't even matter until the closing portion of the film, this one is a hard pass that might be watchable if you're hammered enough.

Not even fun bad.

[natnightly · 2/10 · 7 October 2023]

No meatcleaver, no massacre. A painfully slow hour and twenty some minutes of four unlikeable 40 year old college kids doing stupid things and dying in really funny ways that were not meant to be as an act of vengeance from their professor who's family they massacred for... reasons.

Underscored by bizarre chanting that reads like something you'd find on the wall of a mental asylum's bathroom, the kids die in increasingly not subtle ways that befuddle the grand detective, from having a hood slammed repeatedly on to being inexplicably shredded in the middle of the desert.

After about an hour of puttering about, the big lad himself discovers the pattern and puts two and two together, lures the last guy into arriving at the residence under the pretense that it's a curse that's killing everyone and there must be a ' counter spell '.

His plan comes to fruition, ignoring the storytelling problems that would make you think the last guy wouldn't believe it, and his action is to lumber at the last murderer after loudly announcing his presence to the unaware man. Shockingly, the murderer kills the cop, despite his best efforts of standing there while being beat with a candle stick.

Anyway, the monster curse catches up and attacks the last guy, causing an impromptu enucleation, but not really, as it's revealed he's in a mental ward with a fake eyeball he thinks is his real eyeball despite having both in his skull still. I don't know, either.

Not worth a watch, two stars only because one of the doctors exclaimed ' this is my first nut! ' at the end.

Cheapjack production offers some stellar visuals

[drownsoda90 · 6/10 · 11 June 2022]

"Meatcleaver Massacre" follows a group of college students who kill their professor's entirely family (yes, you read that right) for kicks. The professor survives but is in a coma. Unfortunately, he is also an occult expert, and, from his unconscious state, he summons a Gaelic demon to dispatch them.

Infamously known for its prologue and epilogue featuring Christopher Lee as a narrator (note: this footage was actually recycled from a scrapped project and tacked on to give the film some "star power"), "Meatcleaver Massacre" is not exactly the "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" rip-off its title may lead you to believe. Rather, the film plays like a psychedelic, borderline-Lovecraftian affair wrapped up in cheap '70s finishings.

The film at times feels like a TV movie from its era, though it is much bloodier. The premise itself is fairly unique, and in some ways reminded me of 1972's "Tragic Ceremony", where a group of young people bear witness to something horrible and are haunted (and killed) by an unseen force. In "Meatcleaver Massacre", however, the characters engage in a Manson Family-style crime and, despite each of their expressions of guilt (aside from the cold, nihilistic ringleader), none of them are exactly likable.

The low budget shines through here in some of the choppy editing and overwrought dialogue, but there are moments in the film that are quite elegant and scary. A sepia-toned dream sequence in the first half of the film is spectacular and ominous, as is a number of other LSD-esque visual montages. These elevated moments outweigh some of the cheaper working parts.

All in all, I found "Meatcleaver Massacre" to be a decent low-budget horror flick. It manages to combine elements of the supernatural with the slasher film (similarly to 1980's "Night of the Demon", though I think that is a far superior film) and has a handful of great visuals. Despite the cheap raw working materials, there is an artiness about the film that most will not see coming. 6/10.

Fantastically Kooky 70s Cult Film

[thalassafischer · 7/10 · 13 September 2023]

This ridiculous low-budget horror comedy is surprisingly effective, mostly because it's done with a tongue-in-cheek 1950s style. The clueless thugs are stereotypically stupid and sociopathic by turns, your average "world's dumbest criminals" greaser gang straight out of some public service film that crime just doesn't pay, folks, which was much more common 20-25 years prior to Meatcleaver Massacre. I understand why this movie gets so many low ratings but I honestly feel it's a solid hidden gem that can be enjoyed a couple of generations later. I bet this was wonderful at a drive-in back in 1976 or 1977.