Slaughterhouse (film)

Slaughterhouse is a 1987 American black comedy horror slasher film directed by Rick Roessler and starring Joe B. Barton.

Slaughterhouse
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRick Roessler
Written byRick Roessler
Produced byRon Matona
Starring
  • Joe B. Barton
  • Sherry Bendorf
  • Don Barrett
  • William Houck
CinematographyRichard Benda
Edited bySergio Uribe
Distributed byAmerican Artists
Release date
  • September 11, 1987 (1987-09-11)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$110,000[1]

Plot

Lester Bacon is an old nut-case farmer living with his simple-minded, obese son Buddy, whose old hog farming ways have been replaced with modern factory-type slaughterhouses. Buddy kills two teenagers, Kevin Matthews and Michelle Mitchell, at Lovers Lane. The next day, Lester's attorney Harold Murdock, along with his law partner Tom Sanford and Sheriff Fred Borden, visit Lester at his house to offer him $55,000 to buy his property, along with the closed-down slaughterhouse next door, but he refuses. Fred tells Lester that the assessor's office is foreclosing his property, and he has 30 days to vacate it.

Meanwhile, high-schoolers Skip, Buzz, Annie, and Liz--Sheriff Borden's daughter--are planning to shoot a "horror video" and believe that the area around the Bacon Slaughterhouse would be perfect. Back at Lester's property, Buddy shows him the dead Michelle and Kevin, and Lester says that Tom, Harold, and Fred deserve such a fate.

Deputy Dave Thomas goes to the slaughterhouse to look for the missing couple. As Dave finds a dead hanging cat, Buddy kills him by chopping off his hand. Harold arrives shortly after, and Buddy crushes his skull. Buddy then takes Dave's squad car for a joy ride. He encounters Dave's girlfriend Sally Duncan, who flees when she sees him. Buddy pursues her, catches up to her, and cuts her throat. When Tom arrives at the slaughterhouse, Lester lures him to the processing room, where Buddy drops him into a grinder.

That night, Fred finds Dave's abandoned car and calls for backup. Liz and her friends arrive at the slaughterhouse and split up. Buddy kills Skip, Annie, and Buzz in quick succession. Liz finds the bodies of the other victims. Meanwhile, Fred learns that Tom and Harold have mysteriously disappeared.

Buddy and Lester capture Liz and begin torturing her, but when Fred arrives, Liz kicks Lester and runs off, reuniting with her father. As Fred pauses at his car door, Lester stabs him in the back, and Liz shoots him with her father's gun before loading in Fred and running over Lester's head, killing him. As Liz drives away, Buddy rises from the backseat, finishes off Fred, and swings his knife at Liz, the film ending on her scream.

Cast

  • Joe B. Barton as Buddy Bacon
  • Don Barrett as Lester Bacon
  • William Houck as Sheriff Fred Borden
  • Sherry Leigh (credited as Sherry Bendorf) as Liz Borden
  • Jeff Wright as Deputy Dave Thomas
  • Bill Brinsfield as Tom Sanford
  • Lee Robinson as Harold Murdock

Production

Principal photography occurred over 21 days in Lakeside, California.[2]

Release

The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by American Artists on September 11, 1987.[3]

Home media

Slaughterhouse was subsequently released on VHS by Charter Entertainment.[4] The film was released in a special edition DVD in 1999 by Program Power Entertainment.[5]

In the United Kingdom, the film was released on Blu-ray on February 23, 2015 as Number 05 of 88 Films' "Slasher Classics Collection" series. A restored 30th anniversary director's cut edition of the film was independently released on Blu-ray in December 2015, and is available via Amazon Prime.[6]

Vinegar Syndrome released Slaughterhouse on Blu-ray in 2017, from a 2K master direct, from a 35 mm interpositive and master magnetic surround soundtrack.

Reception

Critical response

The film received an unfavorable review from The Washington Post.[7] Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun compared the film negatively to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and awarded it one out of five stars.[8]

Sequel

In 1988, director Rick Roessler prepared to make Slaughterhouse II, a sequel that never reached past the script stage. A 2017 update by Roessler stated that he and Jerry Encoe (producer of Slaughterhouse) are considering a sequel or a new production tentatively called PREDITORZ, a zombie story set in the remote mountains of Goblin Valley State Park in Utah.

References

  1. Encoe, Jerry (2017). Slaughterhouse (Producing Slaughterhouse featurette). Vinegar Syndrome.
  2. Williamson, Rebecca Jefferis (2019-10-01). "TIME FOR A HALLOWEEN SHOWING OR BURIAL OF "SLAUGHTERHOUSE"? | East County Magazine". East County Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  3. "Slaughterhouse trade advertisement". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. September 11, 1987. p. 18 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Company Credits for Slaughterhouse". IMDb. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  5. "Slaughterhouse (DVD)". DVD Empire. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  6. "Slaughterhouse: 30th Anniversary Director's Cut". Amazon. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  7. Richard Harrington (12 September 1987). "'Slaughterhouse' (R)". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  8. Hunter, Stephen (September 15, 1987). "'Slaughterhouse' wallows in dreadfully lame slop". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 25 via Newspapers.com.
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