The Daily Dig: Meat Cleaver Massacre (1977)

Christopher Lee was tricked into being in this film, and you’re going to be tricked into believing this is an early slasher film. It’s not.

Students murder a professor’s family and leave him in a coma so he summons an ancient demon from his comatose state to take revenge. Let’s dig into 1977’s “Meatcleaver Massacre”, directed by Evan Lee!

As I See It

From the title, it seems like we’re going to be treated to a chop ’em up slasher that predates most of the other existing slice and dice gems. That is not the case, at all.

After a misleading introduction by Sir Christopher Lee, we are treated to some ancient Gaelic demonic exposition in the form of a classroom lecture. And then, for some reason, students decide to torture and murder the professor’s family.

Just like the cannibal craze of the early eighties, where every film had to have that word in the title, this film seems to have attempted to ride the coattails of success The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had.

The stand-out scene for me is the rad-looking demonic hand that slams the car hood down on one of the students. It’s gory enough, too.

We finish everything out, finally seeing the demon Morak, and he’s a mix between a yeti and Jordy (Stephen King) from Creepshow.

Famous Faces

Sir Christopher Lee is the man in the velvet chair and smoking jacket introducing us to the morals and lore of the film. Reportedly he had filmed that “host” scene for another film that fell apart before it could be completed, and those producers sold the footage off to these filmmakers.

Of Gratuitous Nature

There is a sex scene that doesn’t quite fit the movie at a massage parlor between “students”. I suppose it was required to have at least one naked woman at the time.

Heartthrob

Maria Arnold (Patty) played the student who works at a massage parlor, and this is where we get the out-of-place sex scene. It’s all but alluded to that the massage parlor is a front for a brothel, and they went ahead and cast an adult film actor in this role.

Ripe for a Remake

I guess it depends on which plot you’re going for. Do you want to remake the promise of the premise of the title? Or do you want to make a jumbled, unseen entity flick? Have at it.

Spawns

No progeny to report.

Where to Watch

In March of this year, Shout Factory released a Blu-Ray with two cuts of the film: the “Original Cut” dubbed Hollywood Meatcleaver Massacre (the version I watched) and the theatrical cut.