Meatcleaver Massacre has just been released on Blu-ray in the US by Scream Factory.
A surprise release, with no pre-publicity, the company simply announced: “The trippy, occult-heavy, telekinetic revenge flick Meatcleaver Massacre is now available on Blu-ray for the first time ever.”
Special features:
The Original Cut: Hollywood Meat Cleaver Massacre (77 minutes)
The Theatrical Cut: Featuring Intro/Outro With Horror Film Star Christopher Lee (85 minutes)
Theatrical Trailer
The Shout Factory exclusive release is limited to just 1,500 units. Order direct
Here’s our previous coverage of the movie:
‘An occult film so terrifying it will never be shown on TV!’
Meatcleaver Massacre is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by Evan Lee from a screenplay co-written by Keith Burns and Ray Atherton, with additional material by Miklos Gyulai and Steve Singer. Also known as Hollywood Meat Cleaver Massacre; Revenge of the Dead and The Evil Force
The movie stars Larry Justin, Bob Mead, Bob Clark and Jim Habif. Christopher Lee appears alone in opening and closing scenes that are unrelated to the film itself.
Plot:
When a “Valley College” professor specialising in ancient rites and rituals is attacked and his family killed by four of his drunken students, he summons an evil spirit to hunt down the attackers and avenge his dead loved ones…
Reviews:
“Because the plot isn’t good enough, this movie does whatever it takes to fill time. There’s a nightclub scene of a stand-up comedian making fun of gays and does a Peter Falk impersonation. Then there’s a boring five-minute-long b/w nightmare scene basically featuring a guy walking around by the beach.” The Bloody Pit of Horror
“The story itself is straightforward enough, but the movie engages in arty dream sequences, one gratuitous nude scene, lots of dull stretches where nothing is happening, and the occasional surprising touch of intentional and unexpected humor that may be the best thing about the film…” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
“The most interesting thing about MM is the completely out of place Christopher Lee scenes. Lee bookends the film with two short clips (one at the beginning and one at the end) where all he does is sit in a 70’s-looking office and spout off weird stuff about the supernatural. It is entertaining, but it has nothing to do with the film.” Happyotter
“This low budget shocker was Evan Lee’s directorial debut and subsequent swan song. Despite the overall sluggish nature of the film, he shows a certain prowess behind the camera […] There is also a surprising twist involving lots of psychedelic type imagery.” Hysteria Lives!
” …it’s downright incomprehensible—the meat of the story is easy enough to follow as it unfolds, but it eventually turns on an inane twist that leaves just about all of it in doubt. Lee’s closing narration doesn’t help because he just starts to babble on about shamans before the film abruptly hits the closing credits…” Oh, the Horror!
“This low budget splatter gets points for a few moments of minor inspiration (the nightmare sequences are interesting). But the choppy plotting undermines any real tension it tries to create.” The Terror Trap
“Several of the revenge-murders are presented in a rather surreal and even dreamlike fashion by only-time director Evan Lee (no relation, obviously, to Chris), but beyond that, this is pretty standard ’70s supernatural fare, with nothing particularly to recommend for it apart from its rather aggressively languid (there’s a contradiction for you) pacing.” Trash Film Guru
Cast and characters:
Christopher Lee … The Host
Larry Justin … Mason Harrue
J. Arthur Craig … Detective Wexler
James Habif … Professor Cantrell
Robert Clark … Sean Allen
Doug Senior … Dirk Kramer
Bob Mead … Phil Jones
Alisa Beaton … Darlene
Pat Nagel … Sean’s Girlfriend
Woody Wise … Doctor
Paul Kelleher … Detective Shaye
Undine Hampton … Mrs Cantrell
Lisette Kramer … Tina Cantrell
Doug Ely … Roddy Cantrell
Maria Arnold … Patty (as Natasha)
Charles Woodard … Street Preacher
Lyle Steven … Professor in Cantrell’s Class
Ellen Nicklous … Nurse
Guerdon Trueblood XIV … Boy in Mask
Dorian Crane … 1st Drunk Okie
Phil Meyer … 2nd Drunk Okie
Miklos Gyulai … Campus Poet
Guerdon Trueblood … Nuthouse Doctor
Drew Michaels … 1st Medical Student
Don Ling … 2nd Medical Student/Monster
Steve Singer … Grease Monkey
Film Facts:
The film received a UK cinema release courtesy of distributors, Brent Walker, as Revenge of the Dead – it was cut to just 77m 21s by unelected censorship body the BBFC to protect the British public from anarchy in the streets.
There have been suggestions that Ed Wood Jr. (Plan 9 from Outer Space) was partly involved with this movie and that he appears onscreen briefly playing a photographer, however, we have been unable to verify this. It seems unlikely.
Watch the trailer on YouTube
