Raw Meat (or Death Line) begins in London’s Red Light district with a score that’ll make it seem more likely you’ll see a cannibal strip than you will any flesh eating, but before you can say “Put it back on, baby!” the story gets down to business… namely that you can’t even solicit sex from a woman in the Tube without getting murdered… what is this world coming to?!
Thankfully the local constabulary are on the case, Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence, Halloween) and Detective Sergeant Rogers (Norman Rossington, House of the Long Shadows), are on the case and chief among their suspects are the students, New Yorker Alex (David Ladd, who’s father Alan Ladd Jr. produced this picture, and many others including the original Star Wars) and his sensitive student girlfriend Patricia (Sharon Gurney, Crucible of Horror), whom discovered the body… a body that had vanished before authorities could arrived.
Since said missing body happened to be a government official when among the living, MI5 enter the scene to complicate matters… but who… or what… is behind the disappearance would be hard to guess by even the most seasoned investigator (except for the one like 10 minutes in who lets us know exactly who is behind the mischief).
So as you may have surmised, Raw Meat may involve a police investigation, but we know exactly what they are up against almost directly from the start, and thanks to a solid narrative from writers Ceri Jones and Gary Sherman (Dead & Buried, Poltergeist III) the nameless antagonist (Hugh Armstrong) is suitably nauseating, while also being incredibly sympathetic… before being repulsive once more…not to mention his absolutely batshit origin story…
While there are plenty of terror turns, the film’s dialog is the real star, with Pleasence’s interactions with Rossington making for a great sense of playfulness amongst the corpses and bloodshed… not to mention his back and forth with a cameoing Christopher Lee that is worth the price of admission alone!
Less successful is our leading man, as Ladd’s character (note: not acting) comes across as surly with occasional charm, which makes sense to the narrative but doesn’t generate much audience sympathy, especially when compared to Pleasence’s antics (including constant bits of hard to cut away from “business” that only increases his screen time).
In comparison, Gurney is dynamite as the glam rock/ultra-mod girlfriend to ol’ sour puss up yonder, so there’s that…
While we are still talking about actors, British sitcom fans will enjoy an appearance from Keeping Up Appearances‘ Clive Swift as the “know-it-all” investigator (that everyone should have listened to in the first place) mentioned previously.
Adding to the overall vibe is the presence of absolutely hellish atmosphere at times… in particular when the scene is set in the antagonist’s corpse filled abode (itself a real dichotomy of vomit and tears there as well)… and the stellar new transfer present here, scanned in 4K 16-bit from the original, uncensored camera negative (if the packaging is to be believed… and it is!) lets you see every grizzly detail present in startling detail!
Speaking of “additions”, Blue Underground have added a solid assortment of bonus materials to enhance your appetite for Raw Meat!
Kicking things off we get a duo of commentaries; one featuring Gary Sherman, Producer Paul Maslansky, and Assistant Director Lewis More O’Ferrall (that covers the film’s production from those that were there), and the other provided by Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth (that offers an entertaining, fact-filled convo that provides a bit of the ol’ scholarly analysis biz).
Following that comes trailers (along with collections of TV & radio spots) and a poster & still gallery.
Included in the package is a Blu-ray copy of the film that features both commentaries, as well as the promotional content present on the 4K edition… and also features interviews with Sherman and Executive Producers Jay Kanter & Alan Ladd Jr., Actor David Ladd (himself a successful producer who’s credits include Wes Craven’s The Serpent and the Rainbow) and Producer Paul Maslansky, and Actor Hugh Armstrong.
A heady mix of humor, gore, and exploitation gold performed by a game cast; Raw Meat is a wicked winner that deserves a place on your sinister shelf!
