Slaughterhouse

Slaughterhouse (1987)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Rick Roessler

Starring: Joe B. Barton, Don Barrett, Sherry Leigh, Bill Brinsfield, Jason Collier

From: American Artists

What a silly yet fun 80's slasher. Peep the details below:

I follow a wide variety of people here on Letterboxd. Some do reviews in unique ways... such as one who typically does it in a haiku and there is someone else who gives vegan alerts, meaning a notation of such things as meat being eaten or a dead animal. Well, before last night the only part of this movie I had seen were the opening credits-where amazingly you hear 40's-style Big Band music-where actual footage from a slaughterhouse is seen and yes, you see pigs actually be killed on camera. Huge warning for those that are vegan... I'll also give one to those that love cats...

Via Amazon Video (I understand it's also on Shudder) I saw the Director's Cut of the film, which I understand isn't too different from the theatrical version. I had no idea what to expect from this horror-comedy but thankfully this was surprisingly enjoyable. You can't take things TOO seriously. After all, there are characters named Lester Bacon and Lizzie Borden. The plot: crazy old Lester used to run the titular slaughterhouse but that closed down years ago. He still lives on the property with his morbidly obese, mentally handicapped son that acts like a pig. The county wants to foreclose on the property but Lester does not take this news well. Meanwhile, some goofy teens spend too much time around the slaughterhouse, mainly because they want to film parts of their movie there.

This is pretty low-budget and among other things, some of the acting is pretty bad. Yet overall I thought this was a fun slasher. While there were times I laughed at the movie, other times I laughed alongside it; there are some wacky moments that come out of nowhere, along with some legitimately funny lines/moments. The teens were tolerable and besides, the two males in the group wore a Late Night with David Letterman and an In-N-Out Burger shirt, respectively. Horror-wise, an abandoned slaughterhouse is a great place to film scenes at, and there were enough creepy moments to keep me satisfied. Those that find gory scenes kosher, you'll be delighted as there are several bloody moments.

The music, it was amazing as most of it is 80's-riffic and in several different ways. The soundtrack was interesting 80's-yes, there is synth-while the actual songs are hysterically 80's. For me that helped make this a slasher that to me is understandable how some view it as a cult hit and it has received several different Blu-ray releases from a few different companies. For those that love slashers during their heyday, this is worth checking out.