Meathook Massacre 4

Deciding to go to Vegas, a group of friends celebrating a birthday head out into the desert to have fun only to stop off at a roadside building looking for help after a hit-and-run accident, but when the directions lead them into a crazed cannibal killer and his psychotic family they're forced to fight them off before becoming food.

Overall, this was a pretty solid effort in the series. The film's best aspects absolutely revolve around the various energetic confrontations that arise here, featuring a slew of enjoyable indie-flavored stalking scenes that go more for the typical quantity of encounters rather than suspenseful stalking. From the opening escape through the woods escaping the meathook-wielding killer to the encounter in the back of the store looking for help and the scenes of the group confronting the family at the store when they go to check on him. These are quite well handled and offer up a great mix of high-energy chasing or brawling once they find out the killer is involved in hunting them down, which is made all the more enjoyable with the continuous scenes of human butchery and carnage on display with the family members shown carving up bodies, harvesting innards and slicing up the remaining parts of the bodies which sets the stage for the psychotic dinner sequence that tries to offer something new to the setup. As well, when the film isn't focused on the various encounters with the killer, it's quite enjoyable. The central group of friends are shown to be incredibly sympathetic, coming off like a legitimate group that likes hanging out together with gentle ribbing on each other and playful teasing that would be at home with a group of friends who hung out pretty often. The kids end up following the more established genre tropes expected here once they encounter the hit-and-run accident and run into the psychotic family out in the desert where everything comes together, really giving this one a lot to like overall. There isn't a whole lot to dislike here. The main issue to hold this one back is the wholly underwhelming and generally quick finale, which seems to be incredibly grand in build up which is let down in the execution. Once she's been captured and is taken prisoner, the entire time is spent on looking for a big confrontation between her or one of the family members, yet that never comes. The manner of interrupting the dinner and getting it started looks to play it off, but having the killers sequestered and unable to do anything results in a somewhat lackluster final fight and brawl that seems to end rather quickly and then just ends, leaving a somewhat dissatisfying feel. As well, the typical low-budget indie feels here does stand out at times, from the general atmosphere and feel as well as some of the special effects work on display that some might have an issue with due to some oversight and obvious technical areas that give this type of production away. That is more of individual preference, though, and not indicative of the film as a whole, though.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Nudity.

"Meathook Massacre 4" ranks as one of my favorites in the series of slasher films centered around Bubba, the stark-raving mad butcher! John Ward came into the fold with this film and brings a unique visual and storytelling style to the proceedings. The plot centers around a group of four travelers who accidentally run over Bubba's mother on the highway in the middle of a desert. They believe they have gotten away with it, but Bubba and family are not far behind and have no intentions of letting the assailants live!

What I like most about this particular film in the franchise is that it gives you a character to really root for, that being Kim played by Mindy Gilkerson. She is excellent in her role and brings a great deal of energy and pathos to her character. Brinke Stevens, horror film legend, also makes a superb turn as Auntie Mara, the new head of the family. Any time Brinke is involved, the quality of a film is lifted exponentially! Robert Lankford continues to play Bubba, and I feel this is by far one of his best turns as the character. He seems more animalistic and strong in this film, and the way in which he was photographed really boosted the movie overall. Finally, Dawna Lee Heising makes an appearance in the film, and although brief, was definitely one of the highlights! She is always fun to watch and her cameo in this installment is great!

John Ward brings a keen eye to the visuals in this one, a movie that looks way more expensive than it probably was. Part 4 maintains a certain degree of polish without losing that raw, organic nature of the first three films. There is a great deal of production value here and Ward gets a lot of mileage out of his locations and cast.

Overall, this is one of my favorite installments in the series, next to Parts 6 and 2. I really have enjoyed my journey through this franchise and I hope many more "Meathook Massacre" films are in store for us indie horror fans!

Yes, it's true that I had a bit part in this film, so you may think I'm being biased here. But the reason I wanted to be involved with it was because of the passion and dedication shown by the filmmakers of each of these installments. Being an indie filmmaker myself, I can understand and appreciate the barriers and limitations that these guys had to overcome in order to get their vision realized. Is the film perfect? No. Is it a bit rough around the edges? Of course. Is it Oscar-worthy? Absolutely not. And that's half the fun of it. This unlikely little franchise is truly one of the more impressive micro-micro-micro budget horror franchises that has managed to last an astounding FIVE movies - and actually be pretty entertaining in the process- and for that, it's a "10" in my book. Enjoy.

If you enjoy Texas Chainsaw your get the see The Best of what a Massacre should Look like from the mind and creator of Axemas John Ward will bring you the Fear of Bubba ;)

Despite the lackluster quality of the first couple entries in this series (and a rather middling third one), John Ward's entry into the Meathook Massacre series delivers as well as you can hope from a micro-budget slasher film. Pacing issues aside, the good outweighs the bad and it all leads into a truly entertaining final act that's highlighted by a wonderful performance by the always great Brinke Stevens.

It's not a masterpiece, but it delivers in ways the others simply couldn't and the results are every bit as fun as you could hope from a movie with a title like this. Ward is a more than capable director who has shown he can deliver the goods with limited resources and I personally look forward to whatever he does next!