FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

BA_Harrison A variation on the oft-told Sweeney Todd story, The Mad Butcher stars Victor Buono as Viennese butcher Otto Lehman, who, after spending three years in a madhouse for slapping a customer with two pounds of liver, is finally declared sane. Of course, this being a horror movie (of sorts), Otto is still far from mentally stable, his mind eventually snapping while being nagged by his shrewish wife Hanna (Karin Field). After throttling her, and breaking her neck, he decides that the best way to dispose of his wife is to turn her into sausages, which he sells to the public. Other victims follow, with the sausages a huge success with Otto's customers. Meanwhile, intrepid reporter Mike Lawrence (Brad Harris) has his suspicions about the butcher but struggles to convince the police that he is up to no good.Black comedy is the order of the day here, with the horrific notion of grinding up people for sausages played for fun rather than frights, sweaty lard-bucket Buono's performance almost as camp as his King Tut in TV's Batman. Director Guido Zurli gives his picture a ghoulish, garish look through strong use of primary colours, which adds to the comical tone, and employs a jaunty soundtrack throughout. Since there is very little blood on show, Zurli compensates with a reasonable amount of gratuitous female nudity, Otto ogling his shapely neighbour Berta (Franca Polesello) as she undresses each night at her window, while his brother-in-law Karl (Luca Sportelli) brings home prostitute Frieda (Hansi Linder) who happily displays her wares.Very cheesy, a little bit sleazy, and surprisingly breezy, The Mad Butcher is by no means a great film, the story-line rather predictable and repetitive, but it passes the time easily enough. 5/10.

t_atzmueller Combining elements of horror and comedy isn't easy. Though usually rather pathetic or miles off the target, the mixture is occasionally successful: to mind come Roman Polanskis "Dance of the Vampires" and Peter Jackson's "Brain Dead". Another thing that comes to mind are (often) gritty European productions of the 1960's and 1970's, that where brimming with pitch-black humour and which combined horror and comedy at a well-balanced 50/50 level. And among the finest example is "Lo strangolatore di Vienna": The story is very similar to the Sweeney Todd tale: Otto, a humungous, mentally unstable butcher is released from the madhouse and ends up with a string of (originally unintentional) murders on his hand. Post-war times being hard and meat scarce, Otto does what comes closest and grinds his victims to sausage meat. The sausages are bestsellers and eventually even the Viennese police are on the Ottos list of customers.I've mentioned that it's hard to believe that this film actually is Italian, not Austrian. That's mainly because I've watched the synchronized German version which has been dubbed into finest Viennese dialect, as you'd only find it backyards and working class quarters. If familiar with (Austrian)-German, it's a joy to watch; the quick-talking yet always wordy and always biting dialogue – it's about authentic Viennese as it gets.Pillar of the film is actor Victor Buono – Buono shines in sweaty role, slowly transforming from a gentle, even though mentally instable hulk, originally murdering (almost) by mistake, to a truly scary, blood-thirsty psychopath. Buono has that rare gift to convincingly appear mild, kind-hearted, creepy and psychotic at the same time – the nearest one could compare this to would be some of Donald Pleasances finest performances.Granted, those 1970's Euro B-flicks have often not aged very well, today coming across as 1960's Doris Day and Tony Randall kind-of affairs (just with more nudity) and slightly gorier Hammer productions but if names like Brad Harris or Karin Field ring a bell, then this may well be a little, forgotten gem, wrapped up in a original Viennese sausage – just remember: never mix swine and beef and try to go for the German dubbed version if you have a chance! 8 from 10 points.

HumanoidOfFlesh After being released from a mental hospital Otto returns to his old job as a butcher.He tries to adjust to his new life,but after a bitter argument with his wife he accidentally kills her.Fearing he will be sent back to the hospital he grinds up her body and sells it as sausages.As friends and relatives start asking questions about her disappearance they too start ending up in the butcher's display case."The Mad Butcher" is an enjoyable black comedy with tasty main performance of Victor Buono.It's loosely based on two criminal cases of German serial killers/butchers Georg Grossman and Fritz Haarman.8 out of 10.Meat is meat and human sausages are human sausages.

JonLambert This isn't the type of movie I'd usually watch, but a friend who's obsessed with obscure films brought it over. I found that I was thoroughly entertained by the movie. It has a quirky comedic feel, although it has a horror/slasher theme to it. There definitely isn't anything in it that shouts special effects and some of the editing is a little amateur, but it works. Buono's facial expressions really make up the bulk of the entertainment.. the cop/reporter guys are way too fake but the women are hot.. not to mention partially nude in many scenes. By the time they catch up with the bad guy, you really feel satisfied that his activities are being exposed. I wouldn't recommend it as a 'great' movie to watch, but definitely worth checking out if you are in the mood for something a little different.