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Motel Hell: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

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4 stars

With Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre as its reference point, Motel Hell is a seriously delicious horror film that exploits all the typical genre markers for the sake of comedy. And it’s all because director Kevin Connor (From Beyond The Grave, At The Earth’s Core) came aboard. What was once a standard and straight-ahead horror flick suddenly got a chance to be something different in the grocery aisle of the grotesques thanks to Connor’s influence on the screenplay.

The late Roger Ebert notoriously preached about the consequences of schlocky horror films and yet Motel Hell was one of the few he praised due to its use of comedy. Starring Rory Calhoun (Angel), Nancy Parsons (Porky’s), Nina Axelrod (Time Walker, Cobra) and John Ratzenberger (Cheers), the film concerns itself with the secret ingredients in Farmer Vincent’s famous smoked meats. Early in the picture, you know something is amiss in the charismatic Farmer Vincent and his family’s slightly off-kilter world view. Their kindness to strangers is that of a twisted type.

And yet the family’s business of running the Motel Hello – whose neon light often doesn’t burn on that final “O” – attracts all types of unsuspecting people to their den. The visitors are welcomed with a delicious variety of smoked meats and beef jerky. One victim - Terry (Axelrod) – gets the deluxe treatment and is nursed back to health after a nasty motorcycle wreck which, she is told, killed her boyfriend. She is romanced by both Farmer Vincent and his mentally slow brother, Bruce (Paul Linke), but has feelings for only Vincent. Unfortunately, she doesn’t yet know the truth of Farmer Vincent’s farm. But she will.

Gloriously suspenseful and full of great comedic moments, Motel Hell is ripe with meaning, leaving humans in places usually reserved for animals. This is another in a long line of “meat is murder” horror films and the message is clear.  Of course, the horror also works without understanding the driving understatement in the film. The cult movie is a horror rite of passage, a must-see film that no horror fan feels complete without having experienced. Despite its immense cult fan base, the film has still managed to evade distributors’ eyes. Scream Factory rescues another title with their gorgeous handling of the film and the blu-ray packaging.

For fans of black comedy, this should be more than enough to place the film at the top of their must-see list. You really are what you eat with Farmer Vincent's smoked meat!

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[tab title="Film Details"]

Motel Hell: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
101 mins
Director
: Kevin Connor
Writer:
Robert Jaffe, Steven-Charles Jaffe
Cast:
Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons
Genre
: Horror | Comedy
Tagline:
Meat's meat and a man's gotta eat.
Memorable Movie Quote: "There's too many people in the world and not enough food. Now this takes care of both problems at the same time."
Distributor:
United Artists
Official Site:
Theatrical Release Date: October 18, 1980
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
August 12, 2014
Synopsis: Farmer Vincent kidnaps unsuspecting travellers and is burying them in his garden. Unfortunately for his victims, they are not dead. He feeds his victims to prepare them for his roadside stand. His motto is: It takes all kinds of critters...to make Farmer Vincents fritters. The movie is gory, but is also a parody of slasher movies like Last House on the Left.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Motel Hell: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - August 12, 2014
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); DVD copy
Region Encoding: A

While it can’t be said that this is Scream Factory’s best-looking print, it is hard to pinpoint where the degradation in the image is coming from. The 1.85:1, AVC Encoded 1080p picture is at times very pleasing. The colors are quite remarkable: sharp, with a depth of contrast and shades. Overall, film grain is kept faithfully intact; however, there are numerous incidents that display hefty amounts of grain. The print suffers strongest in the original filmic elements, not as a result of a poor transfer. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix suffers from problems that a lot of low budget films do: lack of definition/clarity. With that being said, the transfer is not bad in particular.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Included in the bonus material is a wonderful commentary track with director Kevin Connor and filmmaker Dave Parker.

Special Features:

Scream Factory has put together an excellent array of assets to dive into. Interviews with the cast and crew are strewn across five featurettes, resulting in nearly an hour and a half of material. Motel Hell features a great interview with cinematographer Del Ruth, where he discusses the restraints of low budget filmmaking. Another worthy and appreciated addition is the Ida, Be Thy Name: The Frightful Females of Fear featurette, where a panel discuss the image of women a horror villains. Rounding out the package are two galleries, and an original trailer for the film.

  • It Takes All Kinds: The Making of Motel Hell (25 min)
  • Shooting Old School with Thomas Del Ruth (16 min)
  • Ida, Be Thy Name: The Frightful Females of Fear (19 min)
  • From Glamour to Gore: Rosann Katon Remembers Motel Hell (11 min)
  • Another Head on the Chopping Block: An Interview with Paul Linke (15 min)
  • Motel Hell Trailer (3 min)
  • Behind the Scenes Gallery (3 min)
  • Posters and Production Gallery (18 min)

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