Meat Weed Madness

Yeah, sure, it's original, alright. But what exactly is IT? Well, a lot of things, really. Wacky, vulgar, bizarre, confusing, peculiar, strangely upbeat, definitely hilarious, but mostly random. Very, very random. What kind of childhood must one endure to one day, grow up and have ideas, like these, go through your head, and then actually make a movie about it? I've seen it several times, now, and I can honestly say that I still don't know quite what to make of Meat Weed Madness.

Marijuana grown with human flesh. That's what this movie is about. The Farmers of a magical(?) Southern plantation called Meat Weed Manor, grow the best weed on the planet, using said method. How or why this works obviously isn't the issue, here. That subject is just never really tackled. What is the Issue, you ask? Well, uh... nudity, I guess. Nudity and sleaziness. Alright, I'm sold. Anyway, four Southern Belles stumble upon the beautiful plantation, and are immediately welcomed by Lord Meat Weed, to stick around for a while, and to try out some product, which makes them go mad, which causes them to make out with each other, which might actually be the most normal thing to happen the entire duration of this movie. So much happens that it's impossible to keep any of it straight. What sticks out in my mind the most is Wacky, yet disturbingly surreal music. pointlessly, dubbed voices, many, many random acts of sleaziness... Oh yeah!! And Bullpucky, the Minotaur. Watching that thing move about is one of the funniest sights I've seen in a while. Just don't be trying to take this movie seriously. Just appreciate Meat Weed Madness for what it is. Whatever the hell it is. Nothing against films which are shot on video. I'm definitely not one of those weirdos who can't take s.o.v's seriously. And it's not even the obvious micro-budget. I love low-budget movies. In fact, I actually hate big-budget movies. I just find all of this a bit hard to swallow. I mean, even John Water's older flicks had somewhat of a point. Maybe there is some kind of message, hidden deep down. Maybe this film isn't just insanity, disguised as a weed movie. Or maybe my original assumption was correct, and Aiden Dillard is autistic. I'll say it's definitely worth at least one viewing, if you dig unique B-entertainment, or even if you dig weed movies (that one's a maybe), although, I would recommend something that might make more sense, like Blood Freak. Meat Weed Madness was meant to be a Troma movie every bit as much as Redneck Zombies, and that B-movie fans, is the nicest possible thing I could ever say about this severely confused flick. 7/10

I know, I know...what else should I expect from a Troma production? Especially since they are intentionally bad. But 'Meat Weed Madness' made my brain hurt. I've never been so physically and mentally wasted / damaged after watching a movie except for 'Apocalypse Now Redux', but that's obviously an amazing film. You would probably be better off getting a group of friends together to make your own movie than watching this garbage. Guaranteed: you movie will be just as entertaining and aesthetically pleasing as 'Meat Weed...', and probably more so.

There are some funny lines in 'Meat Weed...' but not nearly enough. There is some good nudity but not nearly enough of the lead female.

Overall: stay away, unless you want to skip through it to find the lead actress getting naked and the gay character's ridiculous dialogue.

For those of you who don't like the fact that low budget filmmakers resort to obvious low-budget special effects, be advised that director Aiden Dillard got the idea for this film from his wish to create a moving image of a papier mache cow, which is indeed one of the most important scenes in the opening of the film. No cheap effects caused by a lack of budget, but made intentionally the way they look. How I would love to see Aiden Dillard making a film on a huge budget, he would probably hand in the film under budget, like that other maestro Mario Bava. No need to spend huge amounts of money if a fantastic imagination is at hand! The rest of this film is just as imaginative, one of the most original films from the last few years for those who (like me) get sick of the ridiculously expensive but ever-so-uninteresting so-called entertainment that Hollywood keeps vomiting out over us. It is impossible to explain in a few lines what is going on in MEAT WEED MADNESS, but if you are even remotely interested in film-making that is a bit different you cannot afford not to buy this one. The DVD is also loaded with extra's, amongst which is one of the most entertaining audio-commentaries I have heard in a long time.