Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker

Somehow, I never heard of or saw the box for this movie when 80’s horror movies ruled the day. It’s recent addition to Shudder had me curious. This movie is a lot to unpack. A LOT. The movie concerns a boy being raised by his aunt after his parents are killed in a car accident that CLEARLY inspired a scene in Final Destination 2. He’s 17, a star basketball player, and has a pretty girlfriend. The aunt, Cheryl, is a tad overprotective and possessive, and doesn’t like the idea of him trying for a scholarship that’ll take him out of town. When a TV repairman comes over, she tries to seduce him, and by seduce, I mean she almost assaults him. He rebuffs her, they get in a fight, and she ends up stabbing him to death. Billy sees the very end of the attack and believe his aunt’s story of an attempted rape. What follows is a pair of intertwining storylines; the investigation of the murder by a ruthless dickhead lieutenant who thinks Billy is tied up in a homosexual love triangle with the repairman and Billy’s basketball coach, and the aunt becoming more possessive and controlling and weird. So, positives: Susan Tyrrell as the aunt. HOLY SHIT, she is amazing in this. Her obsession with and need to control Billy grows and grows, from a motherly figure that can’t let go, to a sick psychotic dependency. There’s a strong parallel to the tragedy of Oedipus, but Cheryl’s mania is what sets this apart. When she cuts her hair later on, it signals a change in her, as she makes no attempt to hide her insanity anymore. Her acting becomes more physical and demented, and it is a delight. She is a fantastic and memorable villain. Likewise, Bo Svenson plays a hell of a secondary antagonist as a rat bastard cop that refuses to listen to anything that might break this theory that Billy did it in a gay lover’s quarrel. His hatred for homosexuals drives everything he does in this movie. And that’s another positive that must be mentioned. For being made in 1981, this movie is surprisingly progressive. The coach is never portrayed as anything less than a human being; when he has to resign from school, it’s rightfully portrayed as unfair. The two homophobic characters in the movie — the lieutenant and Cheryl — are both bad guys. Is it as progressive and accepting as we might see now? No. But considering the times, it’s impressive. And unlike Nightmare 2, it doesn’t do it behind a thin veil of subtext; it’s out in the open here. Again, bold. One more thing that’s good is the reversal of the Final Girl trope. Julia Duffy (in the first role I’ve ever seen her in where she isn’t uptight or cold and aloof) is the girlfriend, and she is here for one thing and one thing only: support Billy. He is the hero here. She gets the role usually assigned to some one-syllable-named vacuous stud, although she’s not without agency. She’s smart, caring and holds her own when she needs to. It’s not a perfect movie, though, and that’s because of two things. The middle portion of the movie drags a bit. We know Cheryl is nuts and the lieutenant is wrong, and the middle act is watching the movie reinforce it as it stretches and strains to put the pieces in place where it wants them for the ending. It’s a very meat-and-potatoes movie, not flashy at all and certainly not the most graceful in storytelling, and the middle is the best evidence of it. There’s plenty of “yeah, and?” moments for about a 30 minute stretch. And I think a lot of that is because of problem #2: Billy as a character. He’s not much of a character, really. He’s a human plot device. Sure, we know he plays basketball, and loves his girlfriend, and wants a scholarship … but there’s not much to him. So following him for 30 minutes while the movie aligns itself for the final act is dull, because he’s dull. Susan Tyrrell’s magnetism carries it though, thank God. But lemme tell ya, that final act … WOW. That’s balls to the wall intensity. Pretty much once the big basketball game happens, buckle in. Take the piss break right then and there. You won’t wanna move after that, because it goes from 2nd gear to nitro-boosted in no time, and it’s worth it for that alone. All in all, it’s a lot better than I thought it would be. It has its dull parts, but the overall combination of elements — ESPECIALLY Susan Tyrrell — make this something to check out.