‘The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre’ Review
Stars: Hilario Blas, Pedro García Oliva, Óscar Gisbert, Miriam Larragay, Nereida López, Dani Mesado, Tam Sempere Miro, Ricardo Pastor, Manuel Rodriguez, José Luís Tolosa | Written and Directed by Manolito Motosierra
Horror is a versatile genre, it can produce tales that are thought provoking and it can just throw gore at you and hope you like it. Some films are made to just offend, using the easy route of pushing the audience to the limits of what they can stomach. If I’m in the mood for this type of cinema I don’t mind that at all, which may be why I like The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre aka Carnívoros.
You can tell by the name The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre that it wants to get your attention by being a rip off of a much-loved classic, the fact is it is has more in common with 2,001 Maniacs than The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. In this trashy little movie we see a heavy metal band known as the Metal Dicks arrive at a small town which are having a festival the next day to celebrate their patron saints day. The mayor of the town invites the band to stay for the festival, and you can guess the rest.
Coming in at 51 minutes, The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre moves at a brisk pace and doesn’t let up with the gore. The story really isn’t important here as we see the strange and sinister villagers ripping apart the members of the band one by one. There is an obsession with cutting off certain parts of the bodies too, and yes I do mean what you are thinking. The fact we see this in a UK cut of the film does show the cartoonish nature of the film, but it is interesting that the film goes to such an extreme that it does have a required cut by the BBFC. I’m not sure there is an artistic merit to arguing against these cuts when the BBFC describe them as necessary because of the “sexualised violence involving a child”.
Often I do like my horror movies to have a strong story with likable characters, but if a film can be enjoyable for being all out crazy then it can win me over. The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre has a low-budget feel to it that reminds me of Peter Jackson’s Bad Tate and this is what arguably caught my attention and kept me watching. With the short running time the film also does not over stay its welcome, even though there were a few scenes that did test just how much I wanted to see. All in all though The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre was a fun film and full of gore, what more can we ask for?
I won’t argue that the film is well made, I don’t think that was the aim. The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre was created to be trashy and made to test your levels of tolerance when it comes to bad taste. I for one respect attempts like that, and I enjoyed watching this film. Is it one that I’ll watch again? Maybe, but it isn’t one that I’ll be rushing to experience soon. It is one you have to be in the mood for.
**** 4/5
The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre is out now on DVD from 88 Films.
