Big Meat Eater
Picture: B-
Sound: B+ Extras: D Film: C
This is a fairly strange Canadian movie, and though it did
manage to squeeze out a few entertaining moments through its 82-minute runtime,
it was overall a bland and pointless exercise, topped off with confusing
direction. Basically, it was just weird
for weird's sake - no further explanation needed. Surprisingly, there aren't many hallmarks to attach it to being
made in any era in particular - it could easily have been made at any point
from the early 80’s to today and you’d have never known... so it took a quick
search online to find that it actually was made during the 80's. A similar situation could have easily
sprouted from someone seeing The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, which also bears
few hallmarks of the era it was produced in.
That movie was done within the past year or so, and those who enjoyed it
will most likely take this one to heart as well. I, however, didn't find too much to like in either feature (to my
surprise) but I know there are plenty of people out there who will find both
movies entertaining in their own special ways.
The film centers in around a small-town butcher who hires a large, black man of
somewhat mysterious ethnicity and origin.
Various other things happen to spread the story around a little bit, but
nothing too essential to this review.
The most noticeable member of the cast, playing the part of Abdullah, is
Clarence 'Big' Miller. I tried to find
a little bit of info on him, as to add more insight to this spotlight on the
movie, but it seems he only has 2 film credits to his name, and there isn't
anything mentioned concerning the cast & crew on the DVD. It's a shame he didn‘t acquire more credits
to his name - he has quite a presence and could have gone on to have a decent
career in character roles.
Anyway, back to the movie. It's a
sci-fi/ horror/musical... but not to be rounded up with anything like Phantom
of the Paradise, Rocky Horror, or even Rocky's ugly stepbrother - Shock
Treatment. No, this one is a little
low on musical genius, but it doesn't try to rely on its musical numbers too
much - and if it did, this house of cards would probably collapse. Instead, the focus shifts around through the
film’s various aspects, rather than to meld them all into one coherent machine
as the other movies mentioned had done.
On the technical side of things, this disc sports a 5.1 Dolby Surround mix,
which more than likely has been newly remastered. You’re able to switch between that and the original mix - and
when you compare them back-to-back, you can definitely tell that some tweaking
has been done at some point. The image
itself is in full screen - but I'm not positive if that was the original
aspect. It could be that was what was
originally intended, but it’s equally possible that this received some
theatrical release. Either way - the
picture quality is passable, if not the best; but considering the major
sprucing up the audio underwent, prior fans of the movie will be pleased with
the improvement. It could have been
slightly better, but the source definitely wasn't the greatest in the world to
start with. As for extras, there isn't
much to say - all you get here is a photo gallery... does anyone ever look at
those things anyway?
In conclusion, the movie was average to below average, and like Lost
Skeleton, I was really expecting to enjoy it more than I did. It could be worth an eventual rewatch, but
for now I've seen enough to be satisfied for quite a while. It's a different kind of movie in general,
so opinions will vary greatly on this one - if you're curious or interested,
check it out for yourself and decide.
At worst you'll be risking a rental, or at worst a purchase that you
could later pass on to someone else. It
will never be considered among any of the best movies ever made, but someone is
bound to treasure it for some reason or other.
- David Milchick
