If your car breaks down in a remote part of the countryside, then be prepared to be up a WOLF CREEK without a HOSTEL in the new Canadian horror offering BUTCHERS.
Two youthful couples break down in their vehicle in the middle of the world, a hundred miles from civilization. It isn’t the only break down they are suffering. Seems that these four are not being honest with one another, but hiding in the bushes is a country boy with a camera (and as we find out later, a soft spot for Shakespeare) as well as a brother who has an affinity for live, dead meat – and doesn’t take too kindly to young ‘uns staking an innocent claim to drive through their neighbourhood. Cue lots of sadistic relish and associated pain….
If only somebody could remind film-makers from time to time that it is OK to try something new. Canadian horror is a pretty respectable area, given the likes of David Cronenberg’s legacy and both versions of MY BLOODY VALENTINE, but there is an overly familiar air about BUTCHERS, which encompasses all manner of country-based horror, both old and new, with everything from the aforementioned at the top of the review, to the likes of MOTEL HELL, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and others that horror fans have embraced over the years.
Although the performances are intensely effective for a horror and the gore will certainly appease purists of the genre, there is a sense of laziness about the whole affair that really doesn’t add anything new to what has come before. The subplot about the relationships could have been exploited a bit more effectively, but on the whole this is an excuse for some sadistic and very misogynistic pleasure, with women coming off worse.
Now, I am as much a fan of horror as the next person, but for somebody who has watched this genre for over three decades, there is a tiresome quality to the film as well as some glaring plotholes and anticipation of what is to come. On-screen chapters lend themselves to a touch of Tarantino, but this doesn’t come close to the directing legend’s best work (one sequence is reminiscent of RESERVOIR DOGS‘ ear-cutting scene in terms of camerawork).
Some scenes are pedestrian and diminish the potential shock value that this could have with a little more originality and consideration. Visually slick, but emotionally empty, BUTCHERS is one for die-hard cult horror fans.
BUTCHERS will be available on all major digital stores from 22nd February and coinciding with National Butchers Week, available on DVD from 8th March
