Motel Hell:
News: Latest Cuts: BBFC cuts and bans
Motel Hell is a 1980 USA comedy horror by Kevin Connor.
With Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons. YouTube icon IMDb 5.9/10
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong language and horror for:
UK 2013 Arrow (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon released on 13th May 2013
UK Censorship History
1980. Passed X (18) uncut for
UK 1980 cinema release
1986. Passed 18 after 2s of BBFC cuts to remove a close up shot of a chainsaw wound during the climax:
UK 1986 Warner VHS
2002. Passed 18 uncut for:
UK 2002 ILC Prime R0 DVD
Summary Review : Brutally observed spoof horror
Farmer Vincent kidnaps unsuspecting travellers and is burying them in his garden. Unfortunately for his victims, they are not dead. He feeds his victims to prepare them for his famously delicious roadside sausage stand.
What we have is a delicious little parody of the horror genre, outrageous in places, ironic in others.
Rory Calhoun plays the owner of a financially failing motel. Farmer Vincent, you see, is a highwayman Sweeney Todd, harvesting unwary travellers at night. Well, you have to wonder what gives his cooked meats such a unique flavour. The whole operation is based on his techniques for tenderising the meat and the produce of his secret garden.
It's a brutally observed spoof horror, well shot, highly entertaining, and very funny. There's satire, there's farce, there's irony, there's some visceral humour, and there's a chainsaw duel! What more could you ask for?
Promotional Material
It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent fritters! cackle the brother-and-sister team behind the finest smoked meats in the county. They also run the friendly Motel Hello (the o in the neon sign sometimes goes on the blink), and no matter how many times you ve seen Psycho or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, you can be sure that everything will be perfectly above board here as Vincent s brother Bruce is the local sheriff.
Western veteran Rory Calhoun gives a lipsmackingly demented performance as Farmer Vincent, whose twinkling bonhomie conceals a deeply depraved secret.
Directed by Kevin Connor (maker of much-loved British genre classics The Land That Time Forgot and Warlords of Atlantis) and with legendary DJ Wolfman Jack as a fire-and-brimstone TV preacher, this is a gleefully twisted horror-comedy that climaxes with a showstopping chainsaw duel.
Features:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film
Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Kevin Connor moderated by Calum Waddell
Another Head on the Chopping Block: Interview with star Paul Linke
From Glamour to Gore: Interview with co-star, and former Playboy Playmate, Rosanne Katon
Ida, Be Thy Name: A look back at Motel Hell s frightful female protagonist Ida Smith and the secrets of creating a convincing slasher siren, with Scream Queens Elissa Dowling and Chantelle Albers, genre commentator Staci Layne Wilson and critic Shelagh Rowan-Legg
Back to the Backwoods: Director Dave Parker ( The Hills Run Red ) speaks about the importance of Motel Hell
Original Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeff Zornow
Collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kim Newman, illustrated with original archive stills and posters