Director: Gary Sherman
Year: 1972
Country: UK/US
Alternate Titles: Raw Meat
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
After a series of strange accidents, a local police inspector ties the incidents to a subway station in the heart of the city that was the site of a cave-in years earlier and produced a race of cannibalistic killers feeding on stranded travelers forcing them to stop the beings left.
Review:
This here was a potentially enjoyable but overall problematic affair. Among the few enjoyable elements found here is the rather enjoyable backstory concocted for the group of killers here. The whole idea of the group of workers trapped underground in an accident and left for dead only to still be alive and living for years underground by feeding on lost travelors is a fantastic concept which plays off the urban legend rather nicely. It adds an extra sense of eeriness with the idea of them being alive and capable of so many atrocities over the years which is what you want in a creature backstory. With the whole final half taking place under the station inside the creatures' lair, there's plenty to like in this section which features not only the scenes of the girl being held hostage with the killer or the big final brawl in the ruins which finally offers some action into this one. That also moves into the series of kills which are somewhat brutal and bloody which aids in the film's brutality levels as well as the fine make-up effects on the deformed beings which makes for the only elements to really like here.
Among the main flaws involved here is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of exciting action going on for the vast majority of the first half. That there's more time sitting around a police station listening to people go through their stories and experiences in a typically stiff, dry British manner that makes for a dull, plodding experience. It's not interesting in the slightest to see these people go through these situations and scenarios at all with this type of pacing going through the first half and it's investigation leanings which keep this one so lacking in action and activity that it's really impossible to sustain interest in this. The disinterested air the authorities have in the matter is also problematic and just adds to the overall lame feeling in this section. They create no sense of urgency or immediate threat to anything and just leaves a disinterested feeling in what transpires from a potentially intriguing storyline.
There's also the issue here in that the film just doesn't really capitalize on it's horror leanings for much of the running time. With the film completely ignoring not only the chance to really play up the abductions for horror since they're barely even covered much less mentioned, there's very little about the action in here that really represents much about this being horror. The focus on investigation is just deadly to the film by not offering the action to compliment the notes in their investigation as that should not only make for some added thrills but also help out the storyline by helping to enhance the points offered about the family within. Instead, this manages to just get by on the story which is just dull. Even more lacking is the rather dull attacks we do get, from the non-event of the brawling withthe station-workers to the pointless attacks we see of them lurching out of the darkness to grab their victims which are extremely misshandled. These here are the film's biggest and most damaging issues.
Overview: */5
This is a huge missed opportunity as there's a lot of potentially enjoyable elements here but it's all drowned away in the dry British influences and indifference to really let it's few positives here. Really only give this one a shot if you're a completist for these 70s British horror films, while those who don't will be better suited finding other genre efforts to look into from the time-period.
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