The Meateater (1979) follows a disgruntled shoe salesman, Mitford (Peter Spitzer), who relocates to a small midwestern town with his family and buys an old movie theater. But unknown to Mitford the theater is haunted by an old employee who lives off rats and has an insatiable bloodlust. Mitford, despite the bodies piling up, makes an honest go of running his theater.
The Meateater is exactly the kind of bonkers regional horror film that the title suggests. The film was written and directed by David Burton Morris (credited as Derek Savage) whose notion of “normal” is a family singing the “Oscar Meyer Weiner” song together. The bulk of the film is consumed with the daily life of Mitford and his family, relegating the horror aspect of the film to the background until the film’s final act.
Intentionally or not there is some intertextual interplay between the safari movie Mitford screens and the demented killer. The narration in the documentary could easily describe the killer’s attacks and behavior. This discourse between sound and image isn’t really explored but it is suggested and adds a surprising dimension to an otherwise boring little movie.
Arch Joboulian’s turn as the psychotic killer in the projection booth is all camp. He doesn’t scare so much as freak out in a comical fashion. Peter Spitzer may carry the film but when Joboulian is doing his thing he steals the show. Unfortunately Joboulian is under used as the titular meat eater.
There isn’t much to recommend The Meateater other than how weird Mitford’s family is. The dry, off-the-cuff line readings are unintentionally hilarious; adding humor to an otherwise boilerplate endeavour. The Meateater is one that most horror fans can skip. It’s definitely only for the regional horror film enthusiast.
