[.ca] Raw Meat

Unique premise, ghoulish details:
RAW MEAT \oDeath Line\c (UK 1972): Trapped by falling masonry during construction of the London Underground, a group of Victorian workers have survived in the bowels of the earth for more than a century, breeding amongst themselves and cannibalizing the dead. A hundred years after their ordeal began, the last remaining descendant (Hugh Armstrong) finds his way back to the surface and begins to abduct people from station platforms in a desperate bid for food and companionship... With its unique premise and uncompromising attention to grisly detail, Gary Sherman's directorial feature debut has gained something of a cult reputation over the years, and not without good reason. Dominated by Donald Pleasence's central performance as a cynical copper who treats everyone - innocent and guilty alike - with equal contempt, the film strikes a precarious balance between eccentricity and horror, reaching its emotional highpoint during scenes depicting Armstrong's ghoulish underground 'home', strewn with rotting corpses. Art direction (by Denis Gordon-Orr) and cinematography (by veteran Alex Thomson) are uniformly excellent, generating a vivid illusion of ancient decay, and the production benefits from atmospheric location work in abandoned train stations dating back to the Victorian era. Juvenile leads David Ladd and Sharon Gurney are a dreary pair, and they're completely overshadowed by Pleasence's crowd-pleasing theatrics, but the film survives by virtue of its distinctive plotline and extraordinary setting, and there's at least ONE good scare that will lift viewers right out of their seats! Casual observers may find the opening scenes a little heavy-going, but Ceri Jones' admirable screenplay describes a fascinating narrative arc, and horror fans will be gripped throughout. Christopher Lee exchanges fruity insults with Pleasence during a brief cameo appearance, shot in a couple of hours and intended solely for marquee value. Picture quality on MGM's DVD is OK, though a little dark in places, and the soundtrack is strong. Sadly, the film has been issued under its American release title, rather than the original DEATH LINE, which is slightly annoying. The sole extra is a trailer, which plays up the movie's exploitation elements for all they're worth! NB. The running time quoted below doesn't include the MGM logos which open and close the DVD print, which weren't part of the original film. 87m 13s 1.85:1 / Anamorphically enhanced Mono 2.0 Optical mono \otheatrical\c Optional English subtitles and closed captions Region 1

RAW MEAT Not Too Well Done:
1973's RAW MEAT (a.k.a. DEATH LINE) is the story of an aphasic brute, purported to be the progeny of workers accidentally trapped underground in 1892, who stalks the London subways after hours in search of other humans. But what he seeks is not companionship; he's shopping for groceries! After he brings home a high-ranking government official for dinner, the local authorities get involved, and they eventually raid the cannibal's underground lair and bring his gruesome dinner parties to a halt. Directed by Gary Sherman--who would go on to direct the insipid DEAD & BURIED in 1981--this moody tale of subterranean cannibalism in modern-day London is an uneven mix of sardonic humor and ghoulish horror. The plot undulates back and forth between frightening and repugnant scenes of the cannibal's devilish doings down below and the fact-finding farce being carried out on the surface by the curmudgeonly constable and his bumbling bobbies. Of course, a skilled director or screenwriter can successfully fuse comedy and horror into an outstanding piece of cinema, as is evidenced by greats such as the whimsically droll ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948), the delightful parody YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974), or the komically kampy KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988). But with RAW MEAT, it appears as if the filmmakers can't decide if they want to create a DRAMATIC horror film or a COMICAL one, and the result is a work that seems like two disparate films that have been intercut into one. It's flawed, true, but RAW MEAT isn't without its good points. Gore hounds will prefer this film to other English horror of the period, such as those from the declining Hammer studios, as this film echoes more the sanguine sensibilities of grisly 1970s-era American films like THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974). And even though the comedic aspects of RAW MEAT don't fit well with its more ghoulish qualities, the performance of Donald Pleasence--best known to genre fans as Dr. Loomis in the HALLOWEEN films--in the role of the sardonic police inspector is hilariously excellent. Also notable is the brief cameo by Hammer horror great Christopher Lee, and those who follow British TV via PBS or BBC America will likely be delighted to spot a young Clive Swift, of the series KEEPING UP APPEARANCES, in a minor role. The DVD from MGM offers an acceptable anamorphically enhanced digital transfer of RAW MEAT in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. However, there are some noticeable filmic artifacts like scratches and dust, as well some minor digital artifacts, and the dark or shaded areas in the underground sequences are sometimes murky. The disc's only bonus feature is the film's theatrical trailer, and it's in pretty rough shape. It is ironic that a film depicting the goings-on below a modern Western city lacks cinematic depth. Yet in spite of its aesthetic shallowness, the previously obscure RAW MEAT has gained an inexplicable degree of cult status in recent years, and it therefore may be of minor interest to hard-core horror aficionados. Those with only occasional interest in the genre, however, are advised to steer clear.

Mind the doors:
I cannot buy this film in the UK for some reason so once again i had to log on to Amazon.com, this film in the UK is titled 'Death Line' so i found it hard to find, i saw this film on satellite tv & i just had to have it in my collection, it is not a bad film & it is not a brilliant film, in between i would say, this is one for anybodys cult horror collection. 'MIND THE DOORS'

"Rediscovered" Film Somewhat Disappointing:
This is one of those films you've heard about for 30 years and have never been able to see, until now. It has a small cult following in England (where it was shot). It concerns a lunatic living in a London subway, preying on commuters. The movie had a lot of potential. Donald Pleasance is terrific as a sarcastic police chief, the premise is creepy and the camera work is good. Yet somehow the film falls flat. When it's over, you'll say: "That's it?" The DVD has no extras. Director Gary Sherman runs hot and cold. His "Dead and Buried" is very good, but "Poltergeist III"... need I say more? Fans of British horror will want this rarity to complete their collection, others beware.

"Mind the doors":
I stumbled over "Raw Meat," a.k.a "Death Line," quite by accident during a recent excursion aimed at discovering new to me horror movies. I amazingly had never heard of it before, surprising considering the film contains one of Donald Pleasence's hammier performances. I am a big fan of Pleasence in everything from his recurring role as Sam Loomis in the "Halloween" installments to hackneyed Italian cheapies like "Warrior of the Lost World." The Donald aside, none other than Gary Sherman of "Dead and Buried" fame directed this eerie little gem. While this picture is not nearly as good as "Dead and Buried," it is still worth a watch for horror fans who like something a bit different in their diet. Heck, Christopher Lee even turns up in a completely useless cameo part. How can you go wrong? You cannot, so get out there and pick this one up before it goes out of print. After you do that, go get "Dead and Buried." If you have a few misgivings about the movie because of the title-I know I did-do not worry. As far as I can tell, the moniker comes from a voiceover line in the cheesy trailer. Of course, "Death Line" as an attention grabber is not much better. After a lengthy, psychedelically tinged opening sequence showing a properly dressed British bloke wandering in and out of nightclubs, we see this guy head down into the subway. It turns out he is quite the important fellow who works for MI5. A few minutes after a young lady robs him in the subway, American economics student Alex Campbell (David Ladd) and his British girlfriend Patricia Wilson (Sharon Gurney) stumble over the recumbent form of Manfred on the stairs leading out of the subway. Alex does not want to help the guy, claiming he is probably a drunken miscreant. Patricia, a kindhearted sort, insists on stopping. After reading his name off an identification card in his wallet, and discerning that he is probably not drunk, Patricia forces her boyfriend to tell a bobby about the body. When they go back to check, the body is not there. The cop shrugs the whole thing off and turns in what should be a mundane incident report. Once Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence) and his put upon assistant hear about what happened, they launch an investigation. Too, Manfred is an important person fully deserving of an inquiry. Besides, Calhoun despises MI5 and hopes to raise that organization's ire by poking about in the case. As he methodically investigates the case, Calhoun uncovers a weird story about the subway. Apparently, the authorities never properly investigated a cave-in back in the 1890s that killed a bunch of construction workers. Several laborers were missing after the disaster, but the company funding the venture went bankrupt and thus never answered disturbing questions about survivors possibly living in the tunnels. Oh dear. From this time on you just know what happened to Manfred. Just in case you are a bit thick in the brain department, Sherman shows us what happened to the secret service bureaucrat along with a few other unfortunate souls unlucky enough to wander off into dark subway tunnels. Miners did survive that accident and have lived in a sealed off section of the subway for nearly 100 years. The mortality rate under these conditions is high, thus meaning only two descendants of the workers now live underground. One is an ill woman carrying a child. Her husband (played by Hugh Armstrong) does not look that great either. He grunts a lot and looks like a cross between Gary Sinise's character in "Forrest Gump" and a member of Jethro Tull. In an effort to heal his sick lady, this guy goes out into the subway and preys on people. He not only dispatched Manfred in due haste, he also captures three construction workers after a gory fight. The conclusion is about what you would expect from a movie of this caliber. "Raw Meat" is Donald Pleasence's film. All of the best scenes involve Inspector Calhoun bullying his underlings and Alex, raging, insulting people, and generally making a nuisance. You have to listen carefully to his character-a problem considering the rate of his speech, his accent, and the dodgy audio quality of the disc-to hear the gems he throws out on a regular basis. His confrontation with MI5 Agent Stratton-Villiers (Christopher Lee) is amusing, as are his exchanges with the mouthy Alex. I do not watch too many foreign films, but "Raw Meat" is the only film where I actually heard a British character ask for a "cuppa." If you tire of Pleasence's ham handed performance (and if you do, why are you watching this?), you can always laugh at Patricia's resemblence to Jane Fonda's character in "Klute," admire the gruesome gore effects, enjoy the atmospheric intensity of the abandoned tunnels, or try to figure out what "mind the doors" means. Yes sir, "Raw Meat" is an experience not to be missed by anyone who likes offbeat movies. The only extra on the DVD is a trailer for the film. The picture quality looked sharp considering its age, with only a few speckles and a bit of grain interfering with the proceedings. The audio, as I already mentioned, is not the best for hearing the dialogue. You can't expect MGM to ramp this up from two channels to 5.1, but such things have happened to lesser movies in the rush to transfer everything ever filmed by man to DVD. I do not think "Raw Meat" qualifies as a cult classic even though it probably should. Donald Pleasence completists probably possess the greatest impetus to buy the disc, but admirers of the man should check it out as well.