Synopsis:
Microwave Massacre stars legendary stand-up comedian and actor Jackie Vernon as Donald, a disgruntled construction worker whose wife’s predilection for haute cuisine drives him to cannibalism. Donald unwittingly stumbles upon a solution to his two major problems in his life – his nagging wife and his lack of decent meals – when, one night, he bludgeons his better half to death with a pepper grinder in a drunken rage. Thinking on his feet, Donald dismembers the body and sets about microwaving the remains, which turn out to be rather delicious. Trouble is, now he has a taste for human flesh that needs satisfying…
Eschewing all notions of good taste, Wayne Berwick’s Microwave Massacre is a deliciously depraved exercise in political incorrectness that has gone on to gain a cult following thanks to a characteristically deadpan performance from Vernon, who delivers such choice lines as “I’m so hungry I could eat a whore.” Vegetarians need not apply!
What We Thought:
Somewhere someone is super pumped Microwave Massacre is out on Blu-ray now. I had never heard of the film never mind seen it before it came my way.
On one hand it’s kind of bad. It’s very 1980’s. The clothing style is very 80’s especially early 80’s. The dialogue is extremely early 80’s with some 70’s mixed in. The black character might as well be from an exploitation film because he’s the jiving-est jive turkey you’ve ever seen. The other co-worker would be called misogynistic today, but at its release, it wouldn’t have crossed anyone’s minds.
The music, the look of the film, the direction, all of it is 1980’s. It came out in 1983 so it should look and sound that way. By today’s standards it’s extremely sexist and misogynistic. The opening scene has a woman randomly showing her breasts to construction workers for no reason. The lead character, Donald, beats his wife to death and then kills other women. People today would be outraged and on the internet complaining.
So that’s why on the other hand, I kind of liked it. Well, I don’t know if I actually liked it, but it’s good to see something different compared to other films. You find yourself laughing at the film and not with it, but I’m ok with that. The lead actor voiced Frosty the Snowman in the iconic TV special we all watch every year so hearing that voice coming out a schlub of a guy who starts killing people is pretty funny. I kept hearing his voice and wondering how I knew it till I realized he was Frosty from my childhood! Live action Frosty beats his wife to death and starts killing other women. Just fantastic.
The Blu-ray looks pretty good. It’s not pristine like HD films of today, but this was restored from the original camera negative. Audio is perfect with easy to hear dialogue and score. And it has a bunch of cool bonus features.
Microwave Massacre is one of those cult films you have to watch to find out if you like or not. It’s not for everyone and people who only watch movies of today will despise it. I have some friends who love cult flicks and obscure horror so I’ll be recommending this to them.
Bonus Features:
- Brand new audio commentary with writer-producer Craig Muckler, moderated by Mike Tristano
- Brand new making-of featurette including interviews with Muckler, director Wayne Berwick and actor Loren Schein
- Trailer
- Original treatment and 8-page synopsis (BD/DVD-ROM content)
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
Cast & Crew:
- Jackie Vernon (Voice of Frosty!)
- Loren Schein
- Al Troupe
- Claire Ginsberg
Recommended If You Like:
- Obscure Films
- 1980’s Flicks
The Nerds Templar 