The producers of The Butcher prove that being slutty works well for your career, even if you’re a dude. One of the supporting characters here, played by Alan Ritchson, began his career on American Idol 3 when he stripped for Paula Abdul. Since then he has released an album, landed several independent film roles, stars on Spike TV’s Blue Mountain State, and is an underwear model. Tragically, he is the most well known actor in this film, which says a lot about the casting director’s role in production.
The plot of The Butcher is your typical road trip gone wrong horror film. Six friends are driving to Las Vegas, through backwoods of course, when they come in contact with a disfigured tow truck driver. Eventually, they end up stranded in the middle of no where and split up to find help. Because that always works out well, right? The remaining friends stumble upon a dark farmhouse, where all is not what it seems. Who will survive this night of mystery and murder when these city slickers meet a family of homicidal maniacs?
Ok, where to begin with this one… Firstly, the budget of The Butcher is very small – only $750,000. This fact is probably the reason why the actors are not well known, special effects were cheesy, and production values in certain departments were below average. However, when it comes to viewing an independent feature, this is often the case, but you still watch the movie for the love of horror. The biggest criticism I have with The Butcher is the script. There is a lot that is never explained or just doesn’t make sense. For example: There is a scene with a bathtub full of milk that is never explained. Also, a few of the characters lack common sense that goes far beyond just being dimwitted. If they were really written that way on purpose…I just don’t know…
Understanding the budget costs of this film, I can give it some praise for accomplishing what it did. While the script made no sense at times, it did have a few good plot twists that kept it interesting. In terms of gore, there was nothing really worth mentioning, but they pulled it off well given the circumstances. The lead actress, played by April Gilbert, was the stand out of the cast in terms of acting ability. Even though The Butcher has its good and bad, at the end of the day it is just plain average.
MGDSQUAN RATING: 5/10
Disfigured tow truck driver in the back woods…sounds like
they meet my ex boyfriend…. lol