Review written by Kevin Scott, MoreHorror.com
Butcher Boys escaped me early on, and I for sure did not know that it was from the mind of Kim Henkel, the writer of the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. I cannot begin to explain what high regard I have for that movie. Gritty 1970’s exploitation is my bag anyway, and that movie was a master stroke in the genre. It has only happened to a similar, but far lesser degree with “The Blair Witch Project” over twenty years later. Is it real? Did it actually happen? Am I going to be able to sit through this, or it is just going to be too much to take? TCM was like finding a filet mignon in a Spam can. I thought the meat metaphor would be appropriate. Brilliantly written, directed, and expertly shot by Daniel Pearl, with actors and locations whose deficiencies somehow became advantages.
So what do we have here? Butcher Boys is the cousin from the city in contrast to TCM’s less polished country ways. I’ve read that this was intended to be a sequel to the original, but doesn’t seem to exist in the same universe as TCM anyway. The writing credits go to Henkel and Jonathan Swift. Whose Jonathan Swift you say? Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who was most famous for writing “Gulliver’s Travels”, also wrote a satirical pamphlet “A Modest Proposal” that describes the practical benefits to society of cannibalism. Particularly, it talks about poor people selling their children as food to the wealthy. In my opinion, Swift may have been Henkel’s muse, but that’s about far as it goes. We’re in Texas again and the film opens at an upscale eatery with kids that remind me why everyone hates teenager, until proven wrong. The rich kid is turning seventeen, and afterwards the part girl, Barbie (Tory Tompkins) gets into an altercation at a convenience store that leads to a chase to a neighborhood where no one goes on purpose. After hitting the dog of some gang members, things get hairy real fast.
This neighborhood is across the tracks and to the south of sanity. At the moment, it happens to be the stomping grounds for the Butcher Boys. Young guys with better hygiene and contemporary stylings that just happen to deal in human flesh. They not only are pushers for long pig, but ravenous partakers themselves. The dichotomy of these characters is the best thing about the film. I get a little “Hostel” vibe with all the hoity toity table settings for guests. There’s even a guy playing the organ in the club room where you get the feeling that it’s a good paying gig, but your life depends on your ability to keep a secret. I liked the weirdo mood it created in “Eyes Wide Shut”, and it was a nice nod here as well. The flip side of the coin is what appears to be the beginning of a gang rape, but ends up being a disturbing free for all feeding scene. It was a brilliant contrast.
What was really hard to keep up with were the kids and everything that was going on when our survivor is running for their life in the urban labyrinth where we see the club room, the kitchen, and where they keep all the fresh live meat. A bunch of stuff comes quickly, and it’s easy to get lost in exactly what’s going on. Of all the people we meet, Carl Wayne (Sonny Carl Davis) a pervy, Dennis Hopperish good old boy with a hog leg sidearm, whose all greased up in lard to fit into some of the passages in the building is the most entertaining. We’ve got a lot shortening left laying around in the South, since we don’t fry much of anything anymore, and that’s a pretty good use for it. Also, the sight of a nearly naked old man with all of his body hair greased up makes you wonder whose the most messed up. I would have liked to seen more of old Carl Wayne. The kid’s names I had trouble recalling, and tragically are the most forgettable with very little empathetic possibilities for the viewer. The acting is decent, but maybe it’s the pace of the film that doesn’t let them grow on us.
Whether anyone is a fan of the TCM series or not, “Butcher Boys" is worth checking out. The TCM fan will be giddy at the cameos from all of the actors from the original, and the newbie will be moderately but acceptably entertained. My hat goes off to Kim Henkel for giving us some time with the common folk, and then taking a trip to town to see some fine young cannibals.