THE
CORPSE GRINDERS (1972)Director: Ted V. Mikels
Image Entertainment
THE
CORPSE GRINDERS (1972)Landau (Sanford Mitchell) and Maltby (J. Byron Foster), owners of Lotus Cat Food Company, encounter financial woes, so they secure an alternative to the high cost of ingredients. Making a deal with frizzed-out weirdo Caleb (Warren Ball) and his doll-feeding nutty wife (Ann Noble), the local Andy Milligan-esque caretakers, they obtain fresh corpses to grind into cat food. Plenty of dead people in their underwear go into the corpse-grinding machine that looks like it was constructed out of cardboard (but the director swears it's plywood!), and they come out the other end as finely ground meat (in reality, a combination of chopped meat and sawdust).
The problem is that the resulting product is causing local cats to crave human meat and attack their masters. Shots of kitties being flung at their masters--going for the throat--resemble something out of "Dr. Tongue's 3-D House of Cats," a hilarious horror spoof from the classic TV show, SCTV (THE CORPSE GRINDERS is definitely of the variety hosted by "Count Floyd"). A handsome young doctor (Sean Kenney--he was the "crippled" Captain Pike on "Star Trek") and his busty blond assistant (Monika Kelly) perform an autopsy on a cat that attacked an old woman. They find human flesh inside the ragged animal, and embark on a deadly late-night visit to the cat food plant to get to the bottom of things.
If ASTRO ZOMBIES was Ted V. Mikels' induction into schlock drive-in fare, then THE CORPSE GRINDERS is the director's magnum opus. Running a mere 73 minutes, the budget is non-existent, utilizing self-made sets and props, semi-professional performers, and lots of tame dashes of the red stuff. A lot of the feline thespians belonged to the cast (don't worry, none were hurt). But Mikels' has a competent grip on the proceedings, highlighted by some colorful lighting schemes, karma-tinged subliminal editing, and an eerie fog-bound graveyard. It's camp played straight, but it kinda works on the bad movie level.
Originally released by Geneni Film Distribution on a double-bill with Mikels' re-issued, truncated cut of the similar THE UNDERTAKER AND HIS PALS, this film was shot economically on 16mm and later blown up to 35. Taking that into consideration, the transfer on this new Image DVD looks quite good. Nicely letterboxed 1.85:1 with Anamorphic enhancement, the colors are stable, but in some scenes appear faded. There are a handful of lines and scratches abound, but nothing irritating in the least, and grain is inevitable. The mono sound is fine, especially considering the overall cheapness of the production.
Here, Mikels gives his first-ever commentary on a second audio track. The still active schlockmaster remembers the making of CORPSE GRINDERS with great fondness, recollecting the cast and crew with admiration. He also remembers where just about every scene was shot, where and how they built sets, etc. Obviously sincere and unpretentious, Mikels' commentary is satisfactory overall, but at times he goes on for long stretches without speaking. This chat could have benefited from a moderator/interviewer to keep things on track and give insight to more specifics about the film's production and release.
Also included is a lengthy still gallery with a lot of behind-the-scenes shots, one of which shows an actress topless, where in the actual film, she wears a bra (this is a mystery that I would've liked to have seen solved in the commentary). There is also a bizarre music video tribute by Bentmen ("presented by" Mikels), a filmography, the original theatrical trailer (sporting an "R" rating!), and trailers for other Mikels films that are out or will soon be available on DVD from Image Entertainment (thank you!).
By the way, Mikels just completed CORPSE GRINDERS II, so be prepared! (George R. Reis)