Director – Joseph F. Robertson (Dangerous When Wet, Innocent Seduction)
Starring – Karen Black (House of 1000 Corpses, Invaders from Mars), Pat Morita (The Karate Kid, The Munsters Today), and Kristine Rose (To Sleep with a Vampire, Batman Returns)
Release Date – 1992
Rating – 2.5/5
Blu Release – 4/5
I’ve been buying and collecting horror movies for almost 20 years now. I’ve never felt old until I typed that last sentence but it’s true. I’ve been collecting for many years and there is several movies I’ve always wanted to add to my collection and was never able to. One of those films was Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies. I’m a sucker for horror comedies and this film looked like a lot of fun but I was never fortunate enough to find a copy. When Vinegar Syndrome announced the release of the 192 horror comedy on blu I was quick to snag a copy. I had never seen it but I was looking forward to getting my hands on this Vin Syn release.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows Auntie Lee (Black) who uses the beauty of her three nieces to lure lusty hitchhikers into her home where she kills and cooks them into her amazing meat pies. Her slow but loveable handyman Larry (Michael Berryman) catches the eye of their small town sheriff and soon their antics come crashing down when he discovers a bag of bones in a car driven by Larry. **Spoiler Alert**
I was so excited to finally check this one out but after 40 minutes or so I discovered why most horror fans don’t talk about this one. It started out so strong but quickly fizzled out before we reached the halfway mark. I feel like this one maybe suffers from the same issue that Spookies does and the director had one vision while the producers has another. I don’t know but I do know that it does off the rails after such a strong start.
The acting in this one is fun but not the best I’ve seen. The characters are very enjoyable and written with a lot of personality and memorable traits. The cast was given a lot to work with and they did a fantastic job at making the scenes fun while moving the story along. With that being said, I was a little surprised by Berryman tackling the role of a simpleton. I’ve seen him portray similar characters before but this one is almost a little too weird.
The story for this one has an amazing start where we are introduced to the characters, get a good bit of the cannibalism that we were expecting before we get into the odd scenes in the basement with the different scenarios that they would pick the band that was traveling through off one by one. It was when the film reached this point that it got out of hand and way too goofy even for my tastes. I’m all for Satanic cannibals but the way the story drags on at this point made it difficult to stick with it.
Finally, this one has some fun but cheap looking kills that I was expecting. I didn’t expect this one to have impressive gore but it did deliver on the campy kills and cheap practical effects. Overall, Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies is alright for a first time watch but I was very disappointed with it. I wish it would have stuck with the family killing and cooking people while avoiding the law. Check it out if you haven’t but don’t expect a well rounded culty classic.
Special Features:
Region Free Blu-ray
Newly scanned & restored in 4k from its 35mm original camera negative
“Express with Less” – an interview with actor Michael Berryman
“Blood in the Pool” – an interview with makeup effects artist Roy Knyrim
“So Bad it’s Good” – an interview with actor Richard Vidan
“Say Yes” – an interview with actor Grant Cramer
“Recipe for Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies” – by The Homicidal Homemaker
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
