Motel Hell

1980 "It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent fritters!"
6| 1h42m| R| en
Details

Farmer Vincent Smith and his sister Ida run a motel attached to a farm where they capture unsuspecting travelers, bury them alive, fatten them up and then harvest their bodies as ingredients for his famous brand of "smoked meats."

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

ThiefHott Too much of everything
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
NileFortnerBoogieBuddha954 "It Takes All Kinds of Critters to Make Farmer Vincent's Fritters!"Quick Movie Review of Motel Hell (1980)I have always loved low budget, grindhouse, and low budget horror films. I find them to be fun, funny, and willing to take a risk. I have had the opportunity to see a lot of 80's horror and 80's horror sleaze. On the other hand, I have never viewed the cult classic Motel Hell, until last night. The story is very interesting; the story follows a family that sells "jerky" and sausages to travelers that come through their small town. What those travelers do not realize is that the yummy treats that they are eating contain human flesh! The way they "harvest" their meat is very cool too .They cause motorists to have accidents on the road, and then capture their prey and bury them in their garden with only their heads sticking out of the ground. This is why I don't eat sausages and jerky. The successful horror comedy is a rare and elusive find. Not only does it need to be both scary and funny, but also it has to blend the two together in almost perfect symmetry. Some of the best films that strike an ideal balance between terror and laughs include Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Evil Dead II, An American Werewolf In London, The Return Of The Living Dead, Re-Animator, The Cabin in the Woods, and Fright Night. Now that I have seen Motel Hell, I can say this movie is now included on this list.For me this films plot is enough to get my attention. The plot seems strange and bizarre! At times the film is scary, at times cheesy, other times funny, and comes off like a parody of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho. Now this is by no means a perfect movie. For one thing, the setup is slow. Also, the acting is bad, it is very low budget and it takes a while for some things to get going. This movie is certainly a movie most horror fans have heard of. If you are a serious horror head, 80's film fan, or you like cheesy movies, this movie should be somewhere on your radar. Other people, I'm not sure you will enjoy it. I'm kind of stuck on what rating I should give this. I know it is a bad film with cheesy elements. However, it did keep my attention and I found it entertaining. Hmmm…I believe Motel Hell earns a…6 out of 10Horror fans, 80's fans, and fans of old school sleaze I'm sure will enjoy this. However, if you are not one of these individuals, I do not think you will enjoy it as much.
Woodyanders Amiable Farmer Vincent Smith (an excellent and engaging performance by Rory Calhoun) and his loopy sister Ida (broadly played with lip-smacking zeal by Nancy Parsons) use human beings as the key secret ingredient in Vincent's famous smoked meat. Complications ensue when Vincent falls for lovely young lass Terry (a charming portrayal by fetching blonde Nina Axelrod).Director Kevin Connor does an ace job of crafting a perfectly ghoulish tongue-in-cheek EC Comics-style creeped-out atmosphere, maintains a steady pace throughout, and pulls out all the thrilling stops for the wild climactic chainsaw duel. The witty script by Robert Jaffe and Steven-Charles Jaffe not only smartly satirizes such horror landmarks as "Psycho" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," but also pokes wickedly amusing fun at the radical cultural shift that occurred when the loose libertine permissiveness of the 1970's gave way to the uptight repressive conservatism of the 1980's (Vincent and Ida think they are doing mankind a great service by preying upon such social undesirables as bikers, punk rockers, and prostitutes). This film acquires an extra chilling and unsettling edge by presenting its killers as supremely friendly and jolly good ol' country folks. Moreover, the cast really sink their teeth into the juicy macabre material: Paul Linke contributes a likable turn as bumbling sheriff Bruce Smith, Wolfman Jack has a ball as flashy televangelist Reverend Billy, Elaine Joyce and Dick Curtis are hilarious as a kinky swinging couple, Playboy Playmates Rosanne Katon and Monique St. Pierre pop up as a pair of hookers, and John Ratzenberger has a small part as a punk band drummer. Thomas Del Ruth's garish cinematography provides a funky neon look. Wholly deserving of its cult classic status.
SnoopyStyle This is an unabashed B-movie black comedy. Nobody should have any illusions. The acting is over the top amateurism. The writing is unwavering parody. The characters are unflinching stereotypes. The style is low grade Corman-esk. But whatever problems and limitations it has, the movie enjoys itself and it shows on the screen. This is a black comedy that is having fun with the horror genre.Farmer Vincent (Rory Calhoun) kidnaps unsuspecting travelers and buries them in his garden. Unfortunately for his victims, they are buried alive, and grown like cabbage. Then he harvest them. You will enjoy the gore.
trashgang A combination between a hillbilly and a slasher horror that normally should had been directed by Tobe Hooper but Universal found the script really bad so out goes Tobe who went on to direct The Funhouse (1981). To be honest there's really not that much to see about gory shots if we see what came out the same year, Friday The 13th (1980) but for so many it's the chainsaw and the pig head that makes this movie. It clocks in over 90 minutes and in fact there's a lot of talking going on. Sure, we do see the victims in the garden but nothing looks creepy or whatsoever. Maybe it's disturbing in some way but it's really low on the red stuff. The acting of course of Rory Calhoun as Vincent and and Nancy Parsons as Ida do deliver towards this horror.Maybe you can't take it all to seriously because there's also some black comedy to spot here and there and of course one full frontal and some tits here and there. Still up to today it's a much spoken flick due the pig head who also gave Fangoria some problems when they added that particular picture on their cover and is still one of the most searched issues of Fangoria.Just have a look now that it finally has it's Blu Ray release to see where the cult status came from, the chainsaw and the hog's head.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 1/5