Big Meat Eater

Aliens locate a rare radioactive element under the butcher shop in a quirky Canadian town being stalked by a mysterious, fez-wearing, singing, murderous meat-cutter of unusual size. The film is a Canadian entry into 'internationally bad' genre: camp films angling for cult status that were usually marked by poor special effects, amateur acting, excessiveness, and meta-humour - all deliberate. Since the intention is to subvert most of the criteria by which films are judged, all that remains is whether the move is a witty/clever satire ('Big Meat Eater' is not) and/or whether it's entertaining/enjoyable (personal taste). 'Big Meat Eater' has a couple of interesting song and dance numbers, and blues-musician Clarence 'Big' Miller is amusing in the title role; otherwise, it's a silly time-waster that will only appeal to fans of the genre (of which I am not).

Well, its a weird one. And I don't mean weird like Crispin Glover. I'm talking presidential pig mask, live-action Thomas Hart Benton painting, astronaut dairy farmer weird, people.... Anyway, this flick comes from the outer ring of the 80's, and was probably originally conceived as a stage production, in the vein of "Little Shop of Horrors." Of course, weird is a good thing, and I can't say I had a bad time here, but I left "Big Meat Eater" on a bit of a confused note, not really absorbent of what I just witnessed. There really is some nut-ragious stuff in this one, like a 500lb B.B. King look-alike in a shriner outfit, Boy George vampire vocalist, and enough meat-related gore to show up H.G. Lewis. Throw in Ed Wood-style flying saucers, wind-up toy aliens, and 4-5 pretty righteous musical numbers, and you are gravitationally close. The story involves a Rivers Cuomo look-alike, who is commissioned to head up some sort of citizen's committee, after the town's mayor is killed and then resurrected via alien possession. Meanwhile, a scientist and his father work to construct the town's futuristic sewage treatment facility, which is secretly destined to be the launchpad for the aliens' invasion. Add into the mix some Croatian fortune tellers, Troma-flavored camp, and an intergalactic Oldsmobile, and you've got the fixins for a B-movie headscratcher that really defies description. Recommend some irradiated, lobster-clawed dwarfs, eagle-eyed bongwielder princess, and bathtub absynthe with this one. ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet

I was able to attend the invitation-only midnight world premiere of this at the Van East Theatre. Several of the cast members were in attendance, but I was unable to spot Big Miller, who played the title character. He was based in Alberta, but used to come to Vancouver to sing on local telethons.It was originally to be called THE BUTCHER OF BURQUITLAM, which is what the town it took place in was called in the film. The area where the two British Columbia cities of Burnaby and Coquitlam meet is sometimes referred to as "Burquitlam." In reality,however, BIG MEAT EATER was shot in and around the town of White Rock. The music was provided by a variety of local artists, including UJ3RK5 (pronounced U-JERKS)who were a bizarre "art band" active in the Vancouver punk/new wave scene at the time. I wish I could remember more about the movie itself. It had to do with a butcher who hires a big,possibly homicidal guy to be his assistant. Some space aliens(portrayed by a pair of deliberately obvious toy robots)are attracted to the shop because the left over meat, which the butcher disposes of in acid, makes an ideal fuel for their space craft. They refer to the substance as "balonium." A friend of mine worked in a local animation studio creating subtitles for the aliens' dialogue. As I recall, the film was low-budget, goofy and cheerful. It looked like the folks involved were having fun.

This movie is truly one of the strangest and most remarkable things ever produced by pop culture. Lurking beneath its absurd, low-budget exterior and impossibly convoluted story is a bizarre, ironic kind of intelligence. One gets the sense that the gawdawfulness one is witnessing is actually carefully orchestrated in some sense, but it's vague and hard to grasp...

My friend stole the only copy of this film that I have ever known to exist from a local Hollywood Video where he worked. We treasure it like it were a newborn child, this arcane product of the darkest side of North American film that seems to mock you as you watch, entranced and baffled...

The music is especially awesome. You're ready to dismiss "En Mundo Chemico" and the mayor's weird "After Death" song as ripoffs of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" and Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera" theme...until you realize that this movie predates both by several years!!! My friends and I formulated a theory based on this fact that "Big Meat Eater" was in fact a critical turning point in our culture. Especially since that "Heat Seekin' Missile" song changed the way we all though about our...members.

The aforementioned subtle orchestration comes to the fore in the movie's final ten minutes (or so, I don't know), which constitute a cinematic orgasm of inexplicable occurrences. My favorite story related to this movie is how two friends of mine (let's call them "Dave" and "John," because those are their names) saw it together for the first time, but John had to leave ten minutes before the end. Later, when John asked the Dave to fill him in on those final ten minutes, it took Dave over HALF AN HOUR to recount all of it.

I may very well possess the only copy of this masterpiece in the galaxy. If you see it anywhere, GRAB IT and RUN!!! Don't even PAY for it for fear that the cashier will see what you've found and try to take it for him or herself!!! In fact, KILL anyone who sees you with it!!! Kill them before they kill you!!!

And for God's sake, don't forget your daily gum massage!

I saw this movie at Staines ABC cinema (I don't think it's there any more) about 1985-1986. It was a late night double-bill, with 'Videodrome' being the main feature. I remember the movie being quite bizzare, and pretty funny. Still remember Abdulla's song with the raw meat, and the part of the butcher's opening song 'Meat to please you, Pleased to meet you!'. Clever. Videodrome seemed quite mild in comparison!