SLAUGHTERHOUSE (1987)
"Bubba has an axe to grind. A big axe."
What a tagline. It jumped out at me when I first saw it at the video store. I've since seen the movie twice, and each time, I've been impressed by the ingenuity on display. That Slaughterhouse takes place in a slaughterhouse shouldn't surprise anyone; the slick production values might surprise a few people. This slasher was made for nearly nothing. The grody atmosphere recalls the austere conditions under which another slaughterhouse-themed film were made. Yes, I'm talking about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Slaughterhouse is no Chainsaw, but the parallels are hard to miss. I don't think I've seen so many pigs and feathers on celluloid before. The plot deals with the foreclosure of an abattoir (sorry, I'm already tired of typing "slaughterhouse"). Lester Bacon refuses to sell the property. The sheriff gives him thirty days to evacuate, but if I know ol' Les, he isn't going to go quietly. And by that I mean, his mute giant of a son is going to kill a lot of people.
This flick is a little too good. It will catch you off-guard with a host of basic character types. You think you're settling in for a routine slasher. And while Bubba does hack up a number of attractive twentysomethings, the script pays just as much attention to the adults on the periphery of the butchery. You may not be invested in one specific person, but take the sheriff, for example. He's quite competent, as is the deputy. I'm not used to the authorities being useful in these kinds of situations. In that respect, Slaughterhouse is a far cry from - oh, I don't know - Halloween 5. We also get plenty of bloodshed. The climax is strong, though I'm not sure that a sequel was necessary. I say that because director Rick Roessler delivered Slaughterhouse 2, like, last year. From what I understand, it's not...it's not. Let's leave it at that.
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