SGM Month of Halloween Horror Movie for October 1

"The Undertaker & His Pals" (1966)

Themes: Serial killers; cannibalism
Synopsis (from the back of the box): An undertaker and his two friends, who are restaurant owners, drum up business by going out on the town and killing people. The restaurant owners use parts of the bodies for their menu, and the undertaker gets paid by the families to bury the leftovers. Their racket goes awry when two detectives suspect that something isn’t quite kosher with the cooking.

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(Insert pithy comment about this being a DVD collection of tag matches featuring the Undertaker of WWF fame here. There, I saved someone out there the trouble of doing it.)

For a film that probably spent more than its share of time in the theaters of old 42nd Street, this movie isn't too awfully bad. There's some pretty atrocious acting, and characterization is pretty basic, but these are minor complaints when you get to the meat of the film.

Since things are pretty spoiled right off the back of the DVD case, I'll add a few notables. The restaurant owners actually masquerade to their killings as a motorcycle gang. They work close to the aforementioned undertaker, who clearly fires off some pretty serious gay undertones ... in fact, that should probably read overtones. And the lounge-rock tunes sung by a guy who sounds like Joe E. Ross (Gunther Toody from "Car 54, Where Are You?") are actually likable enough that I would not be embarrassed if someone caught me bumping those in my car stereo.

There's definitely a psychedelic vibe that's pervasive throughout the film - the monochromatic kill scenes, there's a scene where a photograph of a victim's boyfriend is reacting to her death & dismemberment - as well as some ham-handed (umm ... yeah ...) puns and stark black humor (Ms. Poultry's remains end up in the chicken dish of the day? Are there really people in the world with the surname Poultry?).

As far as a horror picture goes, it's more police procedural than straight horror, but the gore scenes and shock value add a depth to the film that supercedes the standard cop films of that era. So, who's up for a hearty dish of "Leg of (Susie) Lamb?"

Rating: 2 1/2 count.