Cannibales

Grainy photography, mean-spirited violence. a lo-fi soundtrack, assorted irritating city folk being systematically offed by foul-mouthed, gap-toothed rednecks: Lunchmeat has all of the ingredients I would expect to find in any self-respecting backwoods B-movie, but with an overwhelming sense of cheapness, amateurish direction, dreadful acting, and most of the deaths occurring off-screen, I doubt this one will be featured on many people's 'Top Ten list of Hillbilly Horror'.

Unsurprisingly taking its cues from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the film sees several young adults falling foul of a family of bloodthirsty maniacs who intend to turn their victims into burger meat. With much of the film consisting of a tedious, drawn-out game of cat and mouse between the terrified townies and their inbred assailants, interspersed with the occasional nasty-but-not-all-that-gory killing, this one soon gets extremely boring; even a cannibalistic man-child on the loose and porn star-to-be Ashlyn Gere as one of the victims (credited here as Kim McKamy and sporting a particularly nasty paw-print sweater), Lunchmeat is simply too derivative, too inept and too dull to make the (cold) cut.

The dynamics of this 8mm horror movie are by far the best in category, cinematography is excellent, the cast is perfectly matched for their roles, the plot is very similar to " Chain Saw Massacre " you are thrust into the world of four young people from the soft side of Los Angelas California, on there journey for fun and relaxation, they stop for a much needed LUNCH break. This is where the true horror of there venture begins. On a sunny California Spring day, after a long voyage they stop at an out-of-the-way, off the main highway food/rest area. Enjoying there LUNCH MEAT sandwiches. The tasty secret ingredient is all to overpowering for there taste buds, but what is the secret ingredient ??, .... RENT THE MOVIE AND YOU CAN ANSWER MY QUESTION. THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART !!!

My review was written in January 1989 after watching the feature on Tapeworm video cassette.

This 1986 film with a not-so-catchy title is aimed at the lower end of the gore market and offers little of interest to traditional horror fans.

Aping, with little skill, Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", film concerns a clan of backwoods California dunderheads who prey on passersby, eating their flesh and selling leftovers to suppliers in town to be made into luncheon meat.

Kim McKamy (who deserves better than her recent string of roles in cheapies like this one) and her pals are on a weekend vacation when they're spotted by the geeks and attacked. Poorly paced film has this occurring early on, with anticlimax final reels of attempted escape and gruesome confrontations.

In-fighting dialog among the young heroes and heroines en route to their date with the meat cleaver is relentlessly boring. Gore content is nauseating for the uninitiated but pointless and unimaginative for the young gorehounds out there in video land. Corny payoff has the backward Benny taking revenge on his sadistic daddy (i.e., "Paw") after set-up scenes of the old man whipping him mercilessly.

Technical credits are extremely crude, especially in the editing of unmatched footage.

A truly lame film. The box depicts a freaky looking redneck covered in blood eating a severed arm, the scene does not appear in the movie!!! Most of the movie contained scenes of a bunch of redneck retards chasing people through the woods, with little gore. A total waste of time!

Obscure, and largely forgotten; 'Lunch Meat' is a rancid piece of late 80's ultra-cheap, but deranged slush involving what could be longest chase scene I've ever witnessed in this survival rural cannibalistic hillbilly shocker. Where it lacks creativity (think of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and 'Slaughterhouse'), it marginally makes up for its enthusiasm and grit. Still despite the same-old get-up (a bunch of young adults planning a camp out are ambushed by a family of rednecks and picked off virtually one by one in the woods), it's a little unexpected in who cops it first. Disappointing though (maybe because of the budget), was that the majority of the violence (cruelly painted) is out of view. You see it (lets focus on the hacking!), but you actually don't see it. Even with its scummy and unpleasant air, it really does lack the brutal edge. There's no real structure abound, as some moments are messy, or both padded and definitely repetitive. Half of the film is spent on the stalk and chase scenario, but gladly it moves by fast enough and the atmosphere grows to the sensation of there being no easy way out. By the way, it closes on an eerily hazy note, if rather a familiar one. You'll know. The comedic elements felt more so purposely thought-out, but that's not discarding some unintentional inclusions also. The make-up FX is crude, but it wasn't that much of a shortcoming as it added to the ghastly schlock effects. Kirk Alex's direction is sloppy, but holds your attention and the score twitches along, but feels right at home. The acting is amateurish with characters that are disposable, but I never found them to be overbearing. Kim McKay (who soon after spinning out a couple more cheap horror flicks, became better known for her involvement in the adult film industry under the name Ashlyn Gere) pints some further interest as one of victims. Elroy Wiese is good lively fun as the dominating father of these crazy backwoods dwellers. Entertainingly shonky low-grade straight-to-video trash.