Motel Hell (1980)

Farmer Vincent kidnaps unsuspecting travellers and is burying them in his garden. Unfortunately for his victims, they are not dead. He feeds his victims to prepare them for his roadside ... See full summary »

Director:

Kevin Connor

Writers:

Robert Jaffe, Steven-Charles Jaffe,

Stars:

Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rory Calhoun	...	Vincent Smith
Paul Linke	...	Bruce Smith
Nancy Parsons	...	Ida Smith
Nina Axelrod	...	Terry
Wolfman Jack	...	Reverend Billy
Elaine Joyce	...	Edith Olson
Dick Curtis	...	Guy Robaire / 1st T.V. Preacher
Monique St. Pierre	...	Debbie
Rosanne Katon	...	Suzi
E. Hampton Beagle	...	Bob Anderson
Everett Creach	...	Bo Tulinski
Michael Melvin	...	Ivan
John Ratzenberger	...	Drummer
Marc Silver	...	Guitarist
Victoria Hartman	...	Female Terrible

Storyline

Farmer Vincent kidnaps unsuspecting travellers and is burying them in his garden. Unfortunately for his victims, they are not dead. He feeds his victims to prepare them for his roadside stand. His motto is: It takes all kinds of critters...to make Farmer Vincents fritters. The movie is gory, but is also a parody of slasher movies like Last House on the Left.

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Plot Keywords:

farmer | slasher | hypodermic needle | maniac | grindhouse | 

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Taglines:

Checking in is easy ... Checking out is hell.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Granja macabra

Filming Locations:

High Street, Moorpark, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Camp Hill

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A distinctive and famous production still from the film, an image of a bloodied pig-headed character with a chainsaw, made the cover of "Fangoria" magazine.

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Goofs

Bob sets his bag on the center front of the hood of his car, but when he goes back to pick it up it has moved to the back of the driver's side fender.

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Quotes

Vincent Smith: Sometimes I wonder about the karmic implications of these actions.

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Crazy Credits

The films opening title image is the neon "Motel Hello" sign with the "O" burned out. During the closing credits the entire sign is shown burning out and finally exploding after the credits end.

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Connections

Referenced in Horror Business (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Up to Here with You"
Sung by Don Nowak

User Reviews

Surprisingly enjoyable black comedy. Lots of fun!

I love a good horror movie, and I love a good comedy, but very rarely do I enjoy a blending of the two. I expected 'Motel Hell' to disappoint for that reason, but much to my surprise I found it was an extremely enjoyable mixture of black humour and genuinely creepy scenes. One of the reasons the movie works so well is because of the excellent casting choice of Hollywood veteran Rory Calhoun in the lead role of eccentric farmer and Motel manager Vincent Smith. Calhoun was best known for his Westerns, though he made one of two genre movies in his long career including the very silly 'Night Of The Lepus', and the nutty 'Hell Comes To Frogtown'. 'Motel Hell' is quite different to those two, and mostly played straight, which makes it all the more effective. Calhoun is well supported by the less well known Nancy Parsons ('Porky's'), as his equally unbalanced sister. I really liked 'Motel Hell' a lot, and highly recommend it to viewers with a sick sense of humour. Fans of early Tobe Hooper movies, or some of Garth Ennis' comics will especially appreciate it. This movie is a lot of fun! Dig in!