The Butcher

Are you freakin' kiddin' me? There's a lot of bad horror films out there and this is one of 'em. Sometimes the filmmakers choose to make 'em bad by purpose due to low budgets etc.. That way at least you can be entertained. "The butcher", I'm not sure about. Did they make the film this bad by purpose or do all involved crew members really suck. The acting is below average. Not the worst performances I've seen but they're not good. The director seems to have no idea on how to build suspense or how to direct for that matter. The photography is okay. Not the best but okay. The budget of 750 000 $ is spent badly, I think. With a little imagination they could have spent it much better. But all this is not the worst thing about this film. The script, oh, the script. How in Gods name a production company ever picked this script up, I'll never know. The script is just terrible, awful.. well... not good. I'll rate this film 3 out of 10. It's possible to sit through it. Just don't get your hopes up for any scares. Prepare yourselves for laughs instead.

Butcher, The (2006)

** (out of 4)

DTV horror film is in the same vein as countless others. Six college students are on their way to Las Vegas when they decide to turn down an old country road to save some time. They eventually get stranded and then are attacked and slashed by a deformed redneck. We've seen this type of film countless times over the past three decades and I'm sure we'll be seeing them in the next three decades. The film is actually better than a lot of the DTV horror films of today but there are still a lot of problems here. The cast doesn't give very good performances but their characters are at least entertaining. What really kills the film is how stupid the characters are as they are constantly doing the wrong things scene after scene. While stupid characters are a staple of horror films, the ones here are just so stupid that they become rather annoying. There's a small amount of nudity and good amount of gore to keep you awake but that's about it.

This was one of those horror movies where you hope all the characters get killed quickly, because they're so annoying. They're not just annoying, they are annoying clichés of characters.

Obnoxious frat boy? Check, he's here, let's hope he gets knocked off first. Sexy lesbians? Yup, they play that for the little bit it's worth. Logical, level-headed survivor type girl? Yeah, you'll spot her in the first two minutes. Screaming teenagers? Sure enough.

This is an attempt to get some of the atmosphere of other horror movies and make it work in a mix. It doesn't work, it just comes across as a blatant ripoff without humor or originality of any kind. During the first ten minutes you'll find yourself hoping that the bad guy mops them up quick and then goes to Cancun for a vacation with some margaritas and maybe beach babes. That would have been a huge improvement over what you get, which is the worst and most predictable elements of the last ten slasher movies you saw.

If you saw the new version of Texas Chainsaw Masacre, Wrong Turn, People Under the Stairs, and a few others, you've already seen this movie. It steals scenes and almost line by line from these others. It is so predictable, I knew what characters were going to do or say down to their exact words a minute before they did just that. There's a chainsaw, there's even an engagement ring, bottled body parts, barbed-wire , and even the ending is a copied. Also, the acting, especially from the mother, is terrible. Absolutely nothing is particularly original. Do not waste your time. It stinks. And as a horror movie, there's not even too much horror. Also it is mis-titled. Was obviously supposed to be called "The Farmer" or something like that judging from what probably was intended as a signature line "It's Harvest Time!". There's no mention of anything connected to a butcher. P.S. Venom is a MUCH better movie.

I bought this along with 400 other DVD's when one of our local video retail outlets liquidated and this film is better than the vast majority of that group.

"The Butcher" (2006) is basically a cut-rate combo of "Wrong Turn" (2003) and "Monster Man" (2003). Oddly, I liked this better than either of those films. Perhaps I tapped into the self-reflexive subtext. My reaction would be more negative if it had been a bigger production, but I tend to give a lot of points for quality production design on a limited budget and every bit of their budget makes it onto the screen.

It looks like they shot the film at Camp Roberts, home of the California Army National Guard. Which would account for the use of the deuce and a half (M35) army truck to parody the action on "Duel" and "Monster Man".

Don't seek this one out if you are expecting something original in the old familial horror genre (insert: "The American family as demented in-breds who lure victims to a home they have turned into a slaughterhouse" here). And don't expect a lot of well-staged action adventure segments or high-end special effects. And be prepared for another of those tired indestructible villain twists at the end.

Like "Wrong Turn" they make the clueless mistake of killing off their hottest actress first, although at least here they wait until she has taken off her top.

Fortunately Catherine Wreford's tight abs get plenty of screen time for the remainder of the film, so there is still something nice to look at for those who like that sort of thing. Wreford's "Rachel" is a pretty good plucky heroine (certainly better than Eliza Dushku's "Jessie") and handles the scream queen duties quite well. Annie Mackay (who looks a lot like Kristen Stewart) gives an excellent nonverbal performance.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.