Microwave Massacre Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD

Product Information

As with many genre films of the era, it’s very much of it’s time, with references to aerobics, pro-wrestling, and extreme dieting. As is often the case, this dated quality adds immensely to the overall level of enjoyment. Blood Diner buzzes with relentless energy and holds surprises for even the most jaded of viewers; quite jarringly, the Tutman brothers are depicted at one point wielding automatic weapons while wearing Ronald Reagan masks (the use of guns in a movie like this is unusual). The Howling series lasted far longer than anyone could have expected. Joe Dante’s 1980 original led to Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf, which was written and directed by French-born artist Philippe Mora; Mora then returned to helm Howling III: The Marsupials.

The best thing about this stinker is the topless women. But even that comes with a bad aftertaste, as all the women are there just to be sexy. They are pretty hot, but come on. This is clearly from another time, when sexism wasn't much of a subject. Arrow Video’s Blu-ray + DVD of Microwave Massacre is an eye-opener in that it surely looks a thousand times better than its original VHS release in old clamshell cases. The show was filmed in 35mm with proper lighting, and although the lighting is just so-so, a 2K scan from the original elements makes it look fairly amazing. Forget the misinformed IMDB ‘goof’ reports of boom mikes and unwanted hands poking into the frame; those are all matted away when the image is properly framed in widescreen. As unlikely as it may sound, the show looks great in HD. The late, great Vernon appears very “out of it” for the duration (he’s almost certainly drunk). There are segments where he barely seems to know what’s going on, and his speech is constantly slurred. So many flubbed lines made it into Microwave Massacre that it has to set some kind of record (“I don’t remember leaving a wake-up hangover”…?). Art direction was provided by Robert A. Burns, a flat-out genius who built all the props used in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; his color palette here is bright, garish. Microwave Massacre isn't exactly an original film, though it sure is a fun one. Vernon, a comic from the classic era, has a terrific sense of comic timing and knows how to deliver dry, sarcastic lines for maximum impact. Too often, this kind of film can feature non-actors and non-comics simply delivering lines. Microwave Massacre is better because Vernon delivers the goods. And yet in the passing years the movie has garnered a cult following among fans of bad movies. Those who revel in the worst film has to offer have found a gem to add to their collections. Seriously, the movie is terrible for so many reasons and yet it's the sort of movie that you feel compelled to watch from start to finish. It's not one of those intentionally bad movies, it is one where those making it really thought they had something but the end result could not have been what they intended.Picture in your mind how the actor who did the voice of Frosty the Snowman might have looked. Now imagine that guy having dry-hump sex with random hookers ('Frosty' grunts and groans included), killing and dismembering them, and then cooking them up in the world's most ridiculously huge microwave oven. Or, you can skip that mental exercise and rent this film. Our hero, such as he is, comes home and loses his temper about all the bad meals and ends up killing his wife. He doesn't remember any of it the next morning as he has a big hangover. He starts cutting up his wife's body and rolling it in foil. Once he accidentally eats some, he learns how delicious she is. And oh yeah, her head is still alive.

The history of horror filmmaking is plagued by producers and directors who seem to have zero knowledge of the genre. They somehow think that nobody has Yes, you read that right, the writing for the credits actually is funnier than the entire movie that has been endured up to this point. They aren’t belly-laugh funny, but there is a cleverness and a wit there that is absent from the entire movie. Referring to each victim as a cookbook themed dish and building on that is rather clever. A small payoff for such an atrocious seventy plus minutes, but at least it is something. It is enough to lay waste to its claim of being the worst horror movie ever, as there is this slim redeeming quality. There are few film sub-genres that disappoint as often as the horror/comedy. While a few might succeed, the majority fall flat. Rarely, however, are they capable of being bad while potentially ruining childhood memories. Microwave Massacre is one such film.As is nearly always true for Arrow products, video production is top notch and sound quality far transcends what the film would have had in 1983. Arrow doesn't just do thinks in a cheap way - they take these films and they make them better. Consistently. These are the extras included this time around: And yet the movie has a certain charm for fans of really bad films. You get the impression that the people behind it were really trying to make something but didn't possess the skill or talent to pull it off. When you watch the extras you get a glimpse into those people and what they thought about the movie they were making at the time. MICROWAVE MASSACRE is a film that I truly, truly hated the first time I watched it. The question would be why I bothered giving it a second chance but there's no question that it played out much better this time because it's smart to go into it not expecting too much and certainly not expecting some sort of graphic horror movie. To start, his movie has the visual sensibility of a Kidz Newz broadcast you’d see in an elementary school. Turner’s script doesn’t just go nowhere – it came from nowhere and never had any intention of leaving. It is nothing, zero, scrap paper, may never have even existed. Attempts at humor fall pancake-flat, every single one, and there are quite a few; comedic scenes are horrifying and horrific moments are hilarious (you’ve never seen a more laughable lycanthrope, and that‘s really saying something). Turner hasn’t a clue how to set a pace, achieve tension, or maintain any kind of tone.