CHEERLEADER AUTOPSY
PLOT-Morgue workers in a small southern town sell meat from cadavers to a dog food company.
VIOLENCE-Several dead bodies are shown in various states of "disrepair", a redneck accidentally blows his own brains out, a retarded guy chops off his own dick (and sews on a bigger one that he took off a dead body), twin fetuses are cut out of a corpse's womb, and a guy sticks himself with the claw end of a hammer.
SEX/NUDITY-A girl is shown topless, both before she loses both legs and her arm in a school bus wreck AND after. There are also several naked dead bodies shown, but they look very very fake, so I don't know if that even counts as nudity.
WHY I WATCHED IT-Why would I not want to watch a movie called CHEERLEADER AUTOPSY? Obviously the people who made this have a very warped sense of humor. I dig that.
THE DOPE-This movie would be some truly sick shit if it wasn't so damn funny. If you're a fan of TROMA films, you'll love it. Plus, for a shot-on-video movie, the production value looks really high. Yeah, I know I said the effects were fake-looking. But the sets, costumes, acting, and camera work are all first rate, and in my view that counts for a hell of a lot. An abnormally large amount of quality work went into making this thing, in comparison to most of the low-budget stuff I've seen lately. The dialogue is incredible, and all the players do a stellar job. I laughed a lot, I was grossed out too, but I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I was a bit disappointed the cheerleaders weren't a bigger part of the film, though. The really surprising stuff came right at the end, and the bulk of the film is spent on banter between the mortician and his assistant. The beginning of the film is also quite strong, tight, and extremely funny...I loved the bus driver! Also, not enough time was devoted to the plot about the morgue janitor, whom I felt should've been the main focus of the story. But overall, CHEERLEADER AUTOPSY is a fantastic work, definitely a worthy entry into the pantheon of the all-time greatest sick horror comedies.
MEMORABLE SCENES-Again, the bus driver was hilarious. In one scene, he farts several times on the cheerleading coach's hat, while squinting and grunting. I defy anyone not to laugh during that scene.
NOTES-This movie is currently available on VHS through Atlanta-based STINKY PICTURES, and was partially filmed in my hometown of Doraville. It will be available on DVD from Sub Rosa Studios in October. Last but not least, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank my pal Kristy at GATES OF GORE for turning me on to this great film (see how much better I do when I've had some sleep?).
(June 2003)
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