Brutal Massacre: A Comedy

It takes one to know one. Director Steve Mena certainly is one. Revered for his work on horror flick Malevolence, it’s no surprise Mena is the perfect candidate to take the piss out of what puts the bread on his table. And in the instance of Brutal Massacre: A Comedy, he does just that, with extraordinary results. Where most films of this ilk would poke fun at horror while secretly striving to be horror in the process, Brutal Massacre: A Comedy makes no bones that this is the biggest send-up possible. Harry Penderecki (David Naughton, An American Werewolf In London) is a schlock B-movie director with a catalogue of crap such as The Garbage Man and Sasquatch At The Mall — and personal favourite I’ll Take The Ring Back… And The Finger Too! —that precedes him. He is renowned for making utter nonsense and his sets are routinely plagued by bad karma. In Brutal Massacre: A Comedy, we follow Penderecki documentary-style as he struggles to make Brutal Massacre, his last hurrah. Naturally an onslaught of setbacks, abysmal actors and more of that karma hinder the process. Joined by an all-star cast of horror/cult film icons, including Ellen Sandweiss (Evil Dead), Ken Foree (Dawn Of The Dead, The Devil’s Rejects), Brian O’Halloran (Clerks), Gunnar Hansen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and more, Naughton performs his role as dubious average Joe Penderecki extremely well. We love him and hate him as he cuts corners and fumbles through the simplest of tasks, only to persevere in the end. Brutal Massacre: A Comedy is most entertaining thanks to its loose and upbeat vibe. Naturally a few moments feel entirely staged but overall the atmosphere is believable and amusing. Supported by a string of extras, such as deleted and extended scenes that could very well have been kept in the final edit, and a kitschy in-character behind-the-scenes, this is the most engaging massacre in years.