THE BUTCHERDirected by Emir SkalonjaProduced by Sean Saramak |
 |
Does THE BUTCHER do its job in terms of what it's supposed to do? Absolutely it does. This
genre got its form from no-budget productions, with producer/directors that had no handle on the
technical nor storytelling aspects of cinema. This film is a testament, a love note, to the
grindhouse horror of old.
It's nearly critic-proof. Because the people that would criticize it are not the audience. Yes, the camerawork is shoddy. The lighting is bad and shots go out of focus. The dialog is rambling, adlibbed and makes for some long, dull scenes in the first half of the film.
That would make THE BUTCHER easily dismissible if that weren't its intent. But, it becomes readily more apparent, the further the viewer goes into this film, realizing that it was a recreation of the snuff film knockoffs that were made in the 60s and 70s.
The first half was slow and dull with the dialog scenes. They were meant to be. Audiences never showed up on time to these shows. They were movie goers that would frequently have conversations over the film, slip out of the theater to smoke a joint, and a few other nefarious activities this reviewer won't describe here.
These films saved their impact for the second half, when the audience has finally settled down. And, this film does deliver as promised. These are brutal torture scenes that jump off the screen and makes the audience cringe. This reviewer himself frequently had to hit the pause button during his screening due to the discomfort felt.
These are the scenes that grindhouse audiences eat up.
It could be said that the film is exploitive of women. Yep, just like the horror films of the past fifty years have been. However, its in the theme that the exploitation works. THE BUTCHER is allegory for date rape. The gentleman caller seems to be a nice, trustworthy man, yet behind closed doors, becomes a monster. And the effects both during and post-assault will haunt the victim for the rest of her life.
The brutality of the torture of these women represents the torture every woman deals with during a sexual assault. The casting was appropriate, with this large, stocky man with the gentle face as the Butcher. The look of him combined with the significantly smaller women gives us the visual cue of the physical empowerment and intimidation the Butcher has when he wears his mask.
For its intent, this film did exactly what it needed to do. It gave the obligatory dull first half to accommodate its core audience. It expertly used music, smash cuts and cuts to black to cue the audience back in, "Hey, pay attention now!" The torture (i.e., the bread and butter) exceeded the genre standards. And, there were no forced jump scares. Every scare was legitimate. No cats jumping around a corner or any of that nonsense.
As stated, THE BUTCHER is a love note to an oft-derided sub-genre of film. It's not for everyone. Heck, it's not for most people. But the people that this movie is for are quite ardent and loyal. And, they will be more than thrilled to watch this movie.
However, that doesn't mean many other people will. This isn't a breakthrough film. It will only ever reach its intended audience. If a viewer doesn't know what he's in for before viewing THE BUTCHER, it's unlikely he'll continue to watch it for very long.
It's nearly critic-proof. Because the people that would criticize it are not the audience. Yes, the camerawork is shoddy. The lighting is bad and shots go out of focus. The dialog is rambling, adlibbed and makes for some long, dull scenes in the first half of the film.
That would make THE BUTCHER easily dismissible if that weren't its intent. But, it becomes readily more apparent, the further the viewer goes into this film, realizing that it was a recreation of the snuff film knockoffs that were made in the 60s and 70s.
The first half was slow and dull with the dialog scenes. They were meant to be. Audiences never showed up on time to these shows. They were movie goers that would frequently have conversations over the film, slip out of the theater to smoke a joint, and a few other nefarious activities this reviewer won't describe here.
These films saved their impact for the second half, when the audience has finally settled down. And, this film does deliver as promised. These are brutal torture scenes that jump off the screen and makes the audience cringe. This reviewer himself frequently had to hit the pause button during his screening due to the discomfort felt.
These are the scenes that grindhouse audiences eat up.
It could be said that the film is exploitive of women. Yep, just like the horror films of the past fifty years have been. However, its in the theme that the exploitation works. THE BUTCHER is allegory for date rape. The gentleman caller seems to be a nice, trustworthy man, yet behind closed doors, becomes a monster. And the effects both during and post-assault will haunt the victim for the rest of her life.
The brutality of the torture of these women represents the torture every woman deals with during a sexual assault. The casting was appropriate, with this large, stocky man with the gentle face as the Butcher. The look of him combined with the significantly smaller women gives us the visual cue of the physical empowerment and intimidation the Butcher has when he wears his mask.
For its intent, this film did exactly what it needed to do. It gave the obligatory dull first half to accommodate its core audience. It expertly used music, smash cuts and cuts to black to cue the audience back in, "Hey, pay attention now!" The torture (i.e., the bread and butter) exceeded the genre standards. And, there were no forced jump scares. Every scare was legitimate. No cats jumping around a corner or any of that nonsense.
As stated, THE BUTCHER is a love note to an oft-derided sub-genre of film. It's not for everyone. Heck, it's not for most people. But the people that this movie is for are quite ardent and loyal. And, they will be more than thrilled to watch this movie.
However, that doesn't mean many other people will. This isn't a breakthrough film. It will only ever reach its intended audience. If a viewer doesn't know what he's in for before viewing THE BUTCHER, it's unlikely he'll continue to watch it for very long.