Director – Kansas Bowling (CTZNSHP: You Needed to Know)
Starring – Molly Elizabeth Ring (A Serious Man), Leilani Fideler (Pretty Little Liars), and Natasha Halevi (They Want Dick Dickster)
Release Date – 2016
Rating – 4/5
January made three years that I have been writing for Horror Society and this October makes 5 years that I have been writing reviews. Crazy how far I have come in such a short amount of time. I felt accomplished and proud of my writing when one of my first reviews, Brutal Jesus and the House of Wasted Youth, founds it’s way into the U.K. where filmmaker Nik Box shared it around. I never thought I would be able to top that but the following months saw several filmmakers reaching out to me to check out their films. I soon started talking to several distribution and production companies who wanted me to check out their films but there was one company I wanted to write reviews for so bad I would drown a busload of elderly for and that was Troma.
Sadly, they never, and I mean never, replied to my emails but one day things changed. I was sent a link to check out a new film from 17 year filmmaker Kansas Bowling. That film was B.C. Butcher and I was honored they asked me to check it out.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a group of cavemen and women who are ruled by the evil Neandra (Fideler). Neandra learns that one of the women plans on skipping the village with her man and takes her into the jungle to punish where she learns that her man has already got her pregnant. Upon learning the news, she kills her and the women eat her guts. They leave her body over night and the following day they discover the body has disappeared. Neandra tries to protect her village but is afraid a tiger is responsible for the missing body. Soon her people turn up missing and she goes on the hunt where she kills a tiger but the disappearances continue until she learns the grisly secret behind her missing villagers. **Spoiler alert**
Troma movies are a sub-genre all their own. They take their budgetary constraints and run with it. Their films are always full of cheap laughs, insane stories, and imaginative kills. B.C. Butcher is not an original Troma production but it proudly displays all the amazing characteristics that make Troma films great.
The acting in this one is actually pretty fun. The cast is not trying to win awards but they are having fun on camera and that shows in every scene. The cast is great and they all work very well with each other which creates some very enjoyable scenes.
The story for this one is a very B-52’s take on the classic slasher formula. The film unfolds just like the slashers during their golden age. The film follows a group of people who is being hunted down one by one by someone they have wronged. This is the same story that follows Prom Night and so many other slashers. However, this one sets itself apart by being a playful period piece that feels more like the live action Flintstone film than it did10,000 B.C. It follows the slasher formula pretty closely and still adds the humor that you can count on Troma to toss at you.
Finally, the film has several on screen kills but they are not that entertaining. In fact, they were very far from entertaining. The kills are quick and cheap which is something that we never get from an actual Troma production. Overall, B.C. Butcher is one fun film. The film is a solid slasher with some laughs but is very weak when it comes to kills. If you are looking for a laugh and some over-dramatic characters then this film is for you!
