Microwave Massacre

Microwave Massacre

VHS cover
Directed by Wayne Berwick
Produced by Craig Muckler
Thomas Singer
Screenplay by Thomas Singer
Story by Craig Muckler
Starring Jackie Vernon
Music by Leif Horvath
Cinematography Karen Grossman
Edited by Steven Nielson
Distributed by Select-a-Tape
Release date
 August 31, 1983
Running time
 76 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Microwave Massacre is a 1983 black comedy horror film directed by Wayne Berwick and starring Jackie Vernon in his final feature film role. Considered a trash film by some critics,[1][2][3] it has nevertheless grown a cult following over the years.

Plot

Donald (Vernon) is a construction worker with a big problem: his shrew of a wife May (Claire Ginsberg) has started to only cook gourmet foods in a Hyacinth Bucket-style misguided effort to make themselves seem classier than they are. While his friends Roosevelt (Loren Schein) and Phillip (Al Troupe) dine on simple bologna-and-cheese sandwiches for lunch, Donald is saddled with crab sandwiches and other cooking atrocities. To his horror, he discovers his wife has bought an unusually large Major Electric microwave oven, which makes the meals worse in half the time.

After coming home drunk one night and getting into an argument with May, Donald loses his temper and bludgeons her to death with a large pepper grinder. He wakes up the next day with a bad hangover, no memory of the night before, and a growling stomach. He discovers May's corpse in the microwave and after the initial wave of horror passes, he starts to take it in stride, telling his co-workers that he and May separated. After work, he then cuts up May's body and stores it in foil wrap in the fridge. A running gag involving May's head retaining some sort of sentience is introduced during this scene.

Looking for a midnight snack one night, Donald unintentionally takes a few bites of May's hand, and (again) after the initial wave of horror passes, he realizes it's the best thing he's ever eaten. He even brings some to work with him and shares it with Phillip and Roosevelt, who concur. He soon starts picking up hookers and using them for meat in his recipes.

While cooking one night, Donald has a mild heart attack and goes to his doctor, who tells him of a pacemaker that was put in when he had some excess weight, but says he is fine overall. May's equally shrewish sister Evelyn (Sarah Alt) shows up, having not heard from her sister in some time. She finds her head, and is gagged with bread and thrown, tied up, in Donald's closet.

Donald's lunches continue to be a hit with his friends, and he decides to cater an outing to a wrestling match with a new recipe he calls "Peking chick." When Roosevelt and Phillip show up to pick up Donald, they discover him dead on the floor of a heart attack, and some body parts in the microwave. They leave in horror and disgust, realizing what Donald had been serving them.

Some time later, the house is up for sale and movers are taking the furniture out. A repairman examines the microwave and discovers a problem with the wires, commenting that it would be bad for someone with a pacemaker. We then zoom into the fridge, which opens to reveal May's head. Her eyes glow orange as the film ends.

Cast

Film Crew

Critical reception

AllMovie wrote, "Despite utterly failing as comedy, horror and pornography, Microwave Massacre is grotesque enough in design and attitude to be fascinating, much like a car accident."[5] The film currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score with 33% liking it based on an Average Rating: 2.6/5 out of 496 user ratings.[6]

Home Video Releases

Microwave Massacre was released on a full-screen unrated DVD by Anthem Pictures in 2006. The front case art trumpeted the film as "The Worst Horror Movie Of All Time" and "Uncut/Unrated" as selling points. A Japanese DVD was also released as well.[7] In August 2016 Arrow Video released a deluxe HD Blu-Ray (1080p) + SD DVD set featuring a brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative. Other Bonus Materials include the Original Mono audio in uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray, optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, brand new audio commentary with writer-producer Craig Muckler moderated by Mike Tristano brand new making-of featurette including interviews with Muckler, director Wayne Berwick and actor Loren Schein and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork. The first pressing came with a fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Borntreger, Andrew (May 3, 2008). "Microwave Massacre". BadMovies.org. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Microwave Massacre". Savage Cinema. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  3. ↑ Gahagan, Skylar. "Microwave Massacre". Monsters at Play.com. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Full Cast & Credits". imdb.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ Beldin, Fred. "Microwave Massacre - Review - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Microwave Massacre Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Microwave Massacre DVD". EBAY. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Microwave Massacre Blu-Ray+DVD". Music Video Distributors. Arrow Video. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
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