Raw Meat (1972)

When a government official disappears in the London tunnels, after several reports of missing people in the same location, Scotland Yard start to take the matter seriously, along with a couple who stumble into a victim by accident.

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Ceri Jones (screenplay), Gary Sherman (original story)

Stars:

Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Pleasence	...	Inspector Calhoun
Norman Rossington	...	Detective Sergeant Rogers
David Ladd	...	Alex Campbell
Sharon Gurney	...	Patricia Wilson
Hugh Armstrong	...	The 'Man'
June Turner	...	The 'Woman'
Clive Swift	...	Inspector Richardson
James Cossins	...	James Manfred, OBE
Heather Stoney	...	W.P.C. Alice Marshall
Hugh Dickson	...	Dr. Bacon
Jack Woolgar	...	Platform Inspector
Ron Pember	...	Lift Operator
Colin McCormack	...	Police Constable 1
Gary Winkler	...	Police Constable 2
James Culliford	...	Publican

Storyline

There's something pretty grisly going on under London in the Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square. When a top civil servant becomes the latest to disappear down there Scotland Yard start to take the matter seriously. Helping them are a young couple who get nearer to the horrors underground than they would wish.

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Plot Keywords:

subway | rampage | police inspector | interrogation | serial killer | 

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Taglines:

Beneath Modern London buries alive in its plague-ridden tunnels lives a tribe of once humans. Neither men nor women, they are less than animals.....they are the raw meat of the human race!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) released the film on DVD in North American on August 26, 2003. On June 27, 2017, Blue Underground released the film in a Collector's Edition Blu-ray & DVD combination pack. On April 5, 2011, the film was re-released on DVD in a six-film set alongside other MGM horror titles, such as Pumpkinhead (1988), Dolls (1987), Scarecrows (1988), Sometimes They Come Back (1991), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).

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Goofs

In the pub scene with Donald Pleasance and Norman Rossington acting drunk and playing pinball, the Sergeant's glass changes from being almost empty to being half full between shots.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
The 'Man': Mind the doors!

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema and video versions were cut by the BBFC to heavily edit the broom impalement, a shot of a spade in a man's head, the cannibal biting off a rat's head, and his pursuit and attempted rape of Sharon Gurney. The full uncut version was finally passed by the BBFC for the DVD release in March 2006.

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Connections

Referenced in 31 Days of Horror: Don't Go in the Subway (2018)

User Reviews

Forgotten horror film

A cannibal (Hugh Armstrong) is roaming the London subway system in 1973. Police inspector Donald Pleasence (having a LOT of fun with his role) wants to catch him--a young Britsh couple (Sharon Gunrey, David Ladd) try to help until she gets kidnapped by the cannibal...

Very low budget, rarely shown horror film. The low budget hurts, but the script is good, the idea original and there are some truly creepy scenes (such as the looooonngg tracking shot from the cannibals' lair). The movie is also quite gruesome at times--there's very little violence, but there are long shots of decaying or half-eaten bodies (and body parts). Look for the sequence where a supposedly dead body can be seen blinking his eyes quite a bit! Also there's a very disturbing near rape scene.

The most amazing thing about the film is that the cannibal comes across as a sympathetic character! He only kills for survival--not for evil purposes.

As for the acting--Pleasance is just great here--he attacks the role full force and is having a grand old time doing it--he really brings the film to life. Gurney is very good as the English girl but Ladd is truly horrible as her boyfriend. And those 70s hair and clothes! Armstrong is (as I said) very sympathetic and also vicious as the cannibal. Also Christopher Lee has an amusing short sequence in this.

So, it's gruesome but worth catching, but it's shown very rarely on cable so good luck!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Raw Meat

Filming Locations:

Grafton Mansions, Duke's Road, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harbor Ventures, K-L Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1