Slaughterhouse

...and that's not necessarily a bad thing. "Slaughterhouse" follows an aging abattoir owner and his obese, mentally-disabled son, who are fighting off the business's closure at the hands of upgraded, mechanized forms of pig slaughtering. The unhinged father soon begins retaliating against city officials, police, and soon enough, a group of teenagers, who step foot on the property, dispatching them via his ogrous son.

It's quite clear while watching "Slaughterhouse" that the filmmakers were riffing heavily on "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," and, more often than not, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2," given the goofy demeanor the film possesses. Despite this, "Slaughterhouse" also manages to be alternately dark, dingy, and grim at times, so the film offers the audience a little bit of everything-and somehow, it sort of works.

The plot is formulaic as can be, and the set-ups and devices here are well-worn for anyone who has seen a slasher movie. The film threads two narratives together; one of the father and son running the slaughterhouse, and another on a group of teens who eventually end up attending a party that lands them at the slaughterhouse to...well, be slaughtered. It's mindless fun, and is surprisingly quite gory, boasting pretty solid special effects, and crisp, professional cinematography. The acting is decent and appropriately goofy, with Sherry Bendorf providing a likable lead, for as much as the audience is able to be acquainted with her at least.

The film's finale is where the mayhem really lets loose and Buddy, the hulking son, gets to claim some virgin (and non-virgin) blood. The ending caught me off guard a bit, but serves as a fitting conclusion to a film that is full of multitudes. In the end, "Slaughterhouse" is well-made as far as late '80s slasher films go. It is certainly not high art, but it's slickly-made and eccentric enough to warrant interest from fans well-acquainted with the genre. 6/10.

This bizarre B-movie oddity has a couple of things going for it. First of all there's the splatter, this movie really is pretty messed up. People get crushed, chopped up and grounded, all in a day's work. Then there's the Bacon (clever writing there) family itself, which reminds me a lot of "Texas Chain Saw Massacre". Sure, there are only two people in it, but those two are really awesome. Don Barrett is great as the insane father who's out for revenge and also tortures some random people on the side, and Joe B. Barton is actually pretty menacing as the son who does all the dirty work and for some reason makes pig noises. The people who play the teens aren't really any good, but if they were they would probably be in another movie. They're just there to get killed anyway, and they do a good job of that. Because this movie is really short the pace is pretty fast, and the bodies pile up quickly, which leads to a pretty inspired finale. The ending may be disappointing to some, and can probably be best explained by budget cuts, but really I kinda like it. It definitely makes this movie stand out from the others. "Slaughterhouse" is a lot better than what I gave it credit for.

Don Barrett is certainly one of the funniest actors in history. Just about every word that comes out of this man's mouth is a perverse joke. As for the plot, it was a typical slasher that had pretty good acting, great music, and a sadistic killer in Buddy. The opening credits scene was absolutely beautiful. It'll probably reassure all the vegans out there that they're doing the right thing, though it didn't bother me one bit. ***1/2out of****This film has to be one of my personal favorites and is worth a couple of looks. It certainly deserved the DVD treatment that it got.

Whilst not being the best slasher film around, Slaughterhouse is worth a watch as it has its fair share of splatter and a good atmosphere. There are some good deaths and cheesy moments, such as when the cop bleeds to death from having his hand chopped off. There's also a great scene where a man gets pulped in some sort of meat grinder. The slaughterhouse itself is a great setting for a slasher film, you can almost smell the atmosphere of death surrounding it. People say the ending was rather abrupt, although I think it was cool because it doesn't provide you with the typical Hollywood "happy ending" everyone expects.

Overall, this is an average slasher. It has its good moments but it also has its boring moments. It's worth adding to your collection if you're a fan of the genre.

This film was good. That's really what I can say about it. Some of the parts (look for one part with a man being ground up, for instance) were a little over the top gory... but who doesn't like a little gross out, now and then? The acting wasn't anything to be raved upon but was good enough to be overlooked. Overall, this movie was really great to me (though, many others would disagree) so I'm giving it a 9 out of 10. WARNING : The beginning is NOT for the squeamish!