The Corpse Grinders (1971) Movie Review
Written by: ML
Edited by: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Ted V. Mikels
Producers: Ted V. Mikels
Writers: Arch Hall, Joe Cranston
Date Released: December 27, 1971
Cast:
Sean Kenney as Dr. Howard Glass
Monika Kelly as Angie Robinson
Sanford Mitchell as Landau
J. Byron Foster as Maltby
Warren Ball as Caleb
Ann Noble as Cleo
Curt Matson as Paul the investigator
Zena Foster as Mrs. Babcock
et. al.
Rating = 2/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The story is about a cat food factory who had an idea of grinding human flesh and turning it into cat food just so they can continue running the business. They partnered with a graverobber to supply them with corpses for grinding. The problem was the cat food turned all cats into monsters that attack their human owners. A tandem of doctor and nurse went in to investigate as the business owners discover a new method of getting human flesh for free without dealing with the graverobber. It is up to the investigative lovers to uncover the truth and expose the cat food company for what they really are before all cats turn into predators.
Gore Factor
The movie started with the scene of a cat attacking its owner. It was a bloody mess and the next attacks include the cat biting the doctor, cat killing the sleeping woman, and the receptionist getting killed by her cat. The actual grinding of the human bodies was not shown. There was no blood and the ground meat was not that gory at all. The most notable ones were the chopped body parts in barrels and the dissecting of the cat.
The Grave Review
As the title suggests, this movie focused on the fact that the cat food owners were grinding human flesh as an ingredient of their product.
In terms of story, there were a lot of impossible scenarios in this movie. For example, the fact that it was mentioned that the cat food brand was the most expensive and it was operating illegally, but people were still buying it for their cats. The poor woman even had a few cans in her house. Another example was the appearance of the mysterious man who happened to be an investigator. He was there all along but never made a move against the company. The acting was stiff and the dialogues were monotonous at times. Another annoying thing in the movie was the use of fake sign language with random hand movements between Landau and Tessie.
In terms of scenes, the cemetery chase with Landau and Cleo was too long. The part where the nurse looked around while the man behind her was also too long. The millisecond flashes of random images in some parts of the movie were also irrelevant. There were a lot of crazy characters such as the cemetery couple, the morticians, the old janitor, the disabled deaf secretary, and Mrs. Babcock.
To be fair, there were some good things about the movie. The fact that the movie started the story in the middle was an interesting take. It was great that they included an actual flashback as to how the cat food business went into the hands of the goons and how they discovered the secret ingredient. It was a satisfying “aha” moment.
The ending was abrupt and a bit dramatic though. Landau killed Maltby and shot the doctor. The investigator shot Landau who was eaten by the cats.
Overall, this movie is recommended for those who love quirky horror films.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Corpse Grinders (1971) two graves out of five graves.
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