BUTCHERS BLUFF (2023)

New On Demand and digital download from Breaking Glass Pictures!
Directed by William Instone, Matt Rifley.
Written by William Instone, Renfield Rasputin.
Check out the trailer here!!

For ages an urban legend known only as the Hog Man has terrorized any who dare enter the area of Texas known as Butchers Bluff. When a team of influencers who run a site focusing on urban legends get wind of the Hog Man, they jump at the opportunity to investigate. Turns out the legend is true and the entire team is now being stalked by the pig masked killer.

BUTCHERS BLUFF, which doesn’t have an apostrophe in the name and that annoys me, starts out very typically as one of the London brothers, I believe it is Jeremy, and some gal who agreed to be filmed topless are murdered by the pig masked killer known as Hog Man. It is an opening we’ve seen many times before and while there is technically not anything wrong with it, there really isn’t anything that makes it stand out either.

Turns out, that pretty much sums up my thoughts on the entire movie. BUTCHERS BLUFF isn’t anything too offensive nor is it bloodless. This is just an attempt to recreate the lightning in a bottle that was the TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE for the umpteenth time. The gritty opening montage shows the Hog Man murdering various people and then going back to his grimy lair and fiddling at his work desk. Again, it’s a scene we’ve all seen before.

The acting is not bad. I’ve definitely seen worse, but again, there is no real standouts save for the always fun Bill Oberst Jr. who plays the part of the Cook character who maintains the myth of the Hog Man, keeps the police at a distance, and keeps the lights on and pays the bills because, well, Hog Man just doesn’t have the social skills or sense of responsibility to do so. Oberst is one of the few great working actors in low budget movies today. Rather than riding on star power of the past, like many stunt-casting out there in this type of movie, Oberst always tries to make his characters unique and memorable and does so here. He’s the best part of the movie.

The gore is ok and yes, the Hog Man is quite brutal with his prey. The only thing that stands out here is that it has a Peeping Tom midget with a bat played creepily by Eric Wieder and that’s pretty cool, I guess.

I was just looking for something that sets this TCM rip-off apart from the rest and this film really didn’t have it. BUTCHERS BLUFF had plenty of time to distinguish itself, since the runtime was two freaking hours—way too long for a slasher movie, in my opinion. They try to make some lore and distinguish Hog Man from the million and one other pig headed killers out there, knowing damn well no one’s going to beat Farmer Vincent from MOTEL HELL. But they try their darndest anyway. So, hey, if you’re looking for a typical middle of the road slasher flick with a decent enough looking pig masked killer that you’ll most likely forget not long after viewing, then BUTCHERS BLUFF is it. It’s the one that’s got that creepy midget and of course, Bill Oberst Jr., which gives it an advantage over most of its ilk.