A group of cheerleaders that consist of 3 girls and one guy are on their way to the regional collegiate championship but is suddenly stranded in the middle of nowhere when their car breaks down. They soon happen upon a home where two of them stay and the other two heading back to the main road to look for help. Later, two escaped convicts happen to pass by and takes the two cheerleaders in the house hostage. Soon, they all run into Andre the Butcher, a real psychopath who slaughters everything he can get his hands on.
Before I actually sat down to watch Andre the Butcher, I had read a lot of review about the movie, and most of them were quite negative. So I wasn't hoping for much, and when reading the description of the film, it kinda felt like I was in for some low-budget Troma type movie. Luckily that wasn't the case at all since Andre proved to be well over indie standard, and that it also proved to be a hilarious experience with a very great outcome in the end.
I couldn't care less if Ron Jeremy makes porno films or not, and a lot of reviewers seemed to have been too focused on the fact that he's a porn star. I like seeing the guy in films, he has pretty good comical timing and was good in both Detroit Rock City and Orgazmo among others. Who cares if he's a porn star, the real questions is; is he doing a god job here...and the answear is definitely.
From a lot of reviews that I read, I got the feeling that the movie would look bad as well, but considering how a lot of cheap low-budget flicks look, Andre actually comes out looking really good. Another thing is the acting, sure it might not be the best at times, but I never found myself being irritated by any of the characters or their performances. This is a very rare thing when it comes to these types of flicks, and I'm really happy it turned out this way. Now, I'm not saying that the acting is great because it's really not, but it's at least decent and works well considering what type of movie this is, so no real complaints there either.
 
There's one fart-joke in the movie, but it works quite well and doesn't mean that the movie's of low caliber all the way. It has some really hilarious scenes every now and then, and I found myself having a really good time when watching Andre the Butcher. A lot of people seem to have expected a serious slasher flick, but that's just wrong and no wonder that they didn't end up liking it. If you take the movie for what it really is, it's actually a really good horror comedy, and those are quite rare these days.
Booooobs! Yeah, we get to see some boobs and there are some sex in the movie, but I was happily surprised because I was sure it was gonna have more of that, and that it might be too much or feel too cheap. We get some funny scenes that involves sex and that are needed, but it's never too much or never so it takes over the rest of the movie so to speak. Again, well done.
The story is quite simple but makes for an entertaining 87 minutes of pure fun. Some cheerleaders car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and they soon find a house where they hang out for a while. Two escaped convicts soon joins them, and so does the sheriff and the deputy. And they all have to watch out for and try to find a way to get rid of the mad butcher who's after them. There are actually so many little things that makes this movie great, and the comedy is good and well delivered. When it comes to gore, it actually looks better than I first had expected. Some stuff looks really cheap and fake, but considering the comical side of the movie, it makes it kinda fun as well.
The score is a mix of different kinds of music but what we get to hear a lot is death and black metal. Now, I've been a death metal fan all my life but that doesn't mean that I want to hear this type of music in movies. It works in the beginning, and in the intro it's especially good and adds a good feel towards the movie. Although, it gets a little boring later on when we get to hear crappy black metal every time Andre shows up and wants to kill someone. There are some more 'normal' type of rock music in the movie as well, and it works ok in the background. I can't say that the score is good, but it fits the movie somehow, and the death metal part in the very beginning is excellent.
In the end, I have to give this movie an eight out of ten since even though it has its flaws, it's really entertaining and a lot of fun to watch. Why it gets such a high rating is because I'm pretty sure that Andre the Butcher is a movie that I'll be watching many times in the future, and have a lot of fun watching it every time I decide to do so. I'm a big fan when it comes to horror comedies, and even though it's a hard combination and many fail at getting it right, this movie does not. You cannot watch this movie with a serious attitude, but if you take it for what it truly is, it's a fun ride from beginning to end. Recommended.
By
Back to Horror Review Archive
|
ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Dead Meat
MOVIE YEAR: 2005
DIRECTOR: Philip Cruz
WRITING CREDITS: Philip Cruz, James Hyde
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
CAST: Ron Jeremy, Faye Canada, April Billingsley
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 87 min
RATING: 8/10
Andre the Butcher Website/IMDB Click here
Andre the Butcher Trailer Click here
|
