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[tab title="Movie Review"]
The cats are attacking! The goddamned cats are attacking! Everyone flee!
I believe I was way too young when I first circled The Corpse Grinders. I blame it for my distrust of cats. Yes, before I had a cat of my own, I had seen all 73 minutes of this cult classic; gobbling up every single bit of its grinding guts as cats were served human remains, creating a brand new hunger within each and every feline.
No money, no meat! That’s the line drawn in the proverbial sand as the Lotus Cat Food Company decides to look elsewhere for its canned goodness. And so they turn to a kooky gravedigger and his crazy ass wife, who is renowned for carting around a child’s doll and caring for it as if it were real. It should be a real good deal, right?
Directed by Ted V. Mikels (The Astro-Zombies, The Doll Squad) and written by Eegah’s Arch Hall Sr., this is the type of b-movie that gets a kick out of playing far too long in its own shit. But the on-screen results are worth it as cats turn on their owners for a taste of prime meat.
From its outrageous dialogue to its hokey performances, this flick nails everything it touches. Seriously. Scratching around the kitty litter box is rarely this rewarding. Somehow these kingpins of schlock got the timing and the performances right. The Corpse Grinders is ridiculously entertaining and it looks remarkable thanks to its sincere handling by Vinegar Syndrome.
Digging up and then burying its own shit all over again, The Corpse Grinders is a celebration of everything distasteful. The film is shocking and sleazy and contains no social values whatsoever. The doctor at the heart of this madcap tale keeps coming on to his nurse. She doesn’t seem to care and, as she’s down to bra and panties at almost every turn, actually gets off on the attention.
And so the cats, now suddenly craving the secret ingredient (or is it the only ingredient) in the food they are being served, keep eating their owners, jumping up at them and chewing on their necks until they bleed all over the place and fall down dead. Even the geese seem to be on edge whenever the smell of flesh is near them. And the women, constantly sexualized in their bras and their panties, are soon enough undressed and punished with repeat trips to the grinder. Meow!
And it’s all to make sure our cats have a cheap (but tasty!) dinner coming their way. One body, two body, three bodies, four! Starring Sean Kenney, Monika Kelly, Sanford Mitchell, and J. Byron Foster, The Corpse Grinders has more nut jobs in its story than you’d care to comment on. And yet it all works out. Even the slow spinning blades of the grinder!
The fog is heavy and so are the rapid-fire edits – flashing color and images at the audience whenever sequences get intense – and then, as the grinder spits out some tasty meat that all the cats are lining up outside to eat, egging us on with strong lighting that hints at the comic book-like shenanigans to come.
Sleaze fiends rejoice! The Corpse Grinders celebrates its 1080p arrival with a newly scanned and 2K restored transfer from the original 16mm negative thanks to the fine efforts of Vinegar Syndrome. And the results are nothing to shake your tail at either.
Fully aware of itself with a cunning sense of humor, The Cat Grinder will definitely chew you up and spit you out.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 72 mins
Director: Ted V. Mikels
Writer: Arch Hall Sr.
Cast: Sean Kenney, Monika Kelly, Sanford Mitchell
Genre: Horror
Tagline: Turns Bones and Flesh of Young Lovelies Into a Screaming Macabre Blood Death!
Memorable Movie Quote: "what are you babbling about?"
Theatrical Distributor: Geneni Film Distributors
Official Site:
Release Date: May 19, 1971
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 24, 2017
Synopsis: The Lotus Cat Food Company has hit major financial trouble and is on the verge of closing, until the owners realize that rather than paying for meat, they can use bodies from the local graveyard to fill their tins. As their latest product hits the shelves, it’s revealed to have an unintentional result: every cat that eats it is transformed into a bloodthirsty brute with an unending hunger for human flesh!
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome
Available on Blu-ray - October 24, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
The Corpse Grinders celebrates its 1080p arrival with a newly scanned and 2K restored transfer from the original 16mm negative thanks to the fine efforts of Vinegar Syndrome. And the results are nothing to shake your tail at either. Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a solid DTS-HD Master Audio Mono that keeps the film engaging to the last. Colors are bold and the lighting is noticeable. Reds are violent and greens are cool. Shadows are solid throughout and lines are good. There are only a couple of sequences that are out of step with the rest of the movie.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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Coded as a historical audio commentary by filmmaker Elijah Drenner assembles rare archival audio recordings from the private files of Ted V. Mikels and vintage Drive-In Theater announcements for “The Final Dimension in Shock” to create the film’s commentary track.
Special Features:
The supplemental items are brief on this release, but appreciated nonetheless. Things get started with an archival interview from 2007 with Ted V. Mikela who talks about the success of the film. A Stills Gallery follows suit. The first 2,000 copies sold through VinegarSyndrome.com will include a double-thick limited edition slipcover designed by Earl Kessler.
- Ted Talks
- Stills Gallery
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[tab title="Art"]
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