Motel Hell is a film I have been dying to see. In some circles it's a cult 80's horror movie. I had only seen bits and pieces of the film on TV. It seemed very interesting with the chainsaw and Saw-like pig masks. When this Halloween Extravaganza came up I jumped at the chance to finally checked it out. I seems to get caught in the hype, which I need to stop. It ruins the film experience for me. But this film ended up being nothing I expected it to be. In the end, I think this film definitely doesn't fit in the horror genre. But I don't know where else to categorize it.
Rory Calhoun stars as farmer Vincent. He's famous for his meat in the area. You can't get it anywhere other then 100 mile stretch from his farm. What makes his meat so good? He kidnaps humans and cultivates them. So yes, he's selling human meat. This is no spoiler. The film opens with Vincent building one of his traps in order to get his next victims. But after the trap works, he is overcome with emotion for one of his victims. Terry (the beautiful Nina Axelrod) wakes up in his and his sister Ida's care. Vincent tells her that she had an accident but she was spared. The man she was riding with has died. But the viewers know better of his demise.
Terry is grateful for being saved. She takes a liking to both Ida and Vincent but even more so Vincent. Vincent is kept in check by his brother Paul who has grown up eating the meat but knowing nothing of what the meat actually is. Paul takes a liking to Terry but Terry has eyes for his brother. What follows is Vincent coming to terms with what he is doing and Terry coming to realization that not everything is what it seems.
First and foremost this is not a horror movie. There is killing but it mostly bloodless. I get the idea and the concept is in the horror family. The film plays out like a late 70's very early 80's dark comedy. At moments it's goofy like 80's comedies then it will switch gears to become trippy and odd. The performances are okay. Calhoun give Vincent more depth that he should have in a film like this. You can see there more at work then what he is showing. It's interesting to watch his slow downfall. Nancy Parsons plays his sister Ida and she is best known as the crazy gym teacher from Porky's. She plays just about the same part here but with a more fun and sinister nature.
Nina Axelrod may not be the best final girl in horror movies but she's definitely one of the most attractive final girls in 'horror' film history. Being in an 80's movie she is put in all the horror situations including the final battle and the obligatory topless nudity. Speaking of, way to go for the filmmakers to be forward thinking even back then with a goofy Drive-In make out scene that sports some full frontal male nudity. I didn't see that coming at all. The rest of the performance are basic for a film of this nature.
The film is full of tons of oddball characters but Vincent is the only that standout. There is an interesting scene with an S&M couple that would fit better in Police Academy then this film. Motel Hell is one of those odd films that just doesn't fit anywhere conventional. It's not a horror film that's for sure. The only moment of horror would be the final chainsaw battle. It was kind of cool to see a film end like that. But this is a film for one of those late night Netflix viewings, nothing more and nothing less.
Rory Calhoun stars as farmer Vincent. He's famous for his meat in the area. You can't get it anywhere other then 100 mile stretch from his farm. What makes his meat so good? He kidnaps humans and cultivates them. So yes, he's selling human meat. This is no spoiler. The film opens with Vincent building one of his traps in order to get his next victims. But after the trap works, he is overcome with emotion for one of his victims. Terry (the beautiful Nina Axelrod) wakes up in his and his sister Ida's care. Vincent tells her that she had an accident but she was spared. The man she was riding with has died. But the viewers know better of his demise.
Terry is grateful for being saved. She takes a liking to both Ida and Vincent but even more so Vincent. Vincent is kept in check by his brother Paul who has grown up eating the meat but knowing nothing of what the meat actually is. Paul takes a liking to Terry but Terry has eyes for his brother. What follows is Vincent coming to terms with what he is doing and Terry coming to realization that not everything is what it seems.
First and foremost this is not a horror movie. There is killing but it mostly bloodless. I get the idea and the concept is in the horror family. The film plays out like a late 70's very early 80's dark comedy. At moments it's goofy like 80's comedies then it will switch gears to become trippy and odd. The performances are okay. Calhoun give Vincent more depth that he should have in a film like this. You can see there more at work then what he is showing. It's interesting to watch his slow downfall. Nancy Parsons plays his sister Ida and she is best known as the crazy gym teacher from Porky's. She plays just about the same part here but with a more fun and sinister nature.
Nina Axelrod may not be the best final girl in horror movies but she's definitely one of the most attractive final girls in 'horror' film history. Being in an 80's movie she is put in all the horror situations including the final battle and the obligatory topless nudity. Speaking of, way to go for the filmmakers to be forward thinking even back then with a goofy Drive-In make out scene that sports some full frontal male nudity. I didn't see that coming at all. The rest of the performance are basic for a film of this nature.
The film is full of tons of oddball characters but Vincent is the only that standout. There is an interesting scene with an S&M couple that would fit better in Police Academy then this film. Motel Hell is one of those odd films that just doesn't fit anywhere conventional. It's not a horror film that's for sure. The only moment of horror would be the final chainsaw battle. It was kind of cool to see a film end like that. But this is a film for one of those late night Netflix viewings, nothing more and nothing less.