Story: As two friends head to work for another day of routine construction, they have no idea they’re about to face an evil of epic proportions. The friends are part of a crew tasked to restore a cabin, but the process unearths a cursed book, which unleashes pure evil into the world. By the time the friends arrive at the worksite, it is already too late and one of their coworkers has been possessed. The possessed worker wields a machete and is butchering the others when the friends show up, though they’re able to fend off the blade swinging fiend. But with the evil loose and blood soaked violence on tap, can the friends find a way to suppress the book before it overtakes the world?

Entertainment Value: This is a fun one, a shot on video, micro budget bloodbath that has DIY magic and lo-fi charm to burn, a wild, over the top ride that is infectiously entertaining to watch. Slaughter Day is an obvious love letter of sorts to Evil Dead, with a narrative that shares common threads and a wacky, blood soaked approach to the horror elements. The sense of humor is here as well, with the story centering on an infected respirator and a host of moments that either pay to tribute to Evil Dead or that focus on a similar brand of humor within the horror framework. Not all the humor works, but the energy and passion is so strong in Slaughter Day, even the weaker moments worked well, as you can’t help but get pulled into by the spirit and charm of the low budget, but high energy production. That isn’t always the case with regional or super low budget projects, but this one shines in that regard and it elevates the entire movie, in my opinion. The movie runs under an hour and wastes little time, so the pace is frenetic and that also helps a lot, since there is no down time and when a scene doesn’t land as strong, the film never lingers, so we move to the next. I had a great time with Slaughter Day and anyone who appreciates DIY horror should make sure to check it out.

Aside from some brief shirtless shoveling, there’s no sleaze in this one, but Slaughter Day does deliver when it comes to the red stuff. I love this kind of cheap, over the top gore and the movie does it well, with a number of memorable scenes of violence. So yes, the bloodshed does look DIY, but this is good DIY and to me, it is a big part of the movie’s charm. Even minor wounds gush blood and pulse here, which means whenever the violence is uncorked, the crimson flows. We see scalp trauma, gaping torsos, ax driven dismemberment, impalement, goopy head trauma, vivid gunshot wounds, a nasty shin trauma, and someone is cleaved in ‘twain in one of the highlights, not to mention all the various stab wounds and other blood dripping mayhem. All of this and more is packed into an under an hour of cinema, so that’s a real testament to Slaughter Day. The dialogue is humorous for various reasons, but the impact comes from the facial expressions, which are outlandish here. I love how over the top and committed the actors are, this cast goes for broke and it is so fun to watch. As for wackiness, we have literary deep throating, oppression of the working class, the garbage bag treatment, amateur demonic hair styling, the one cop gratuitous sailing, audible instructions from the filmmakers, and some of the most hilarious, fun bad fight scenes you’ll find.

Nudity: 0/10

Blood: 9/10

Dialogue: 5/10

Overall Insanity: 6/10

The Disc: Visual Vengeance has released Slaughter Day on a deluxe Blu-ray platter, which starts with a transfer sourced from the archival master, which was sourced from the original tapes. As you’d expect, the shot on video material looks a little rough, but that is both an impassable technical issue and part of the charm of this genre. This looks as good as possible, all things considered and I think fans will be thrilled to have such a watchable version available. The disc is loaded with extras, including the short film Full Metal Platoon and three short film sequels to Slaughter Day, which are all excellent inclusions that add value to this release. Two audio commentary tracks are also on deck, one with two members of the Visual Vengeance staff and the other with Brent and Blake Cousins, who provide some first hand memories of the movie and their experiences. The extras also include the Slaughter Day theme song, alternate takes, a new interview with the Cousins, the film’s original trailer, and some Visual Vengeance physical goodies like a mini poster and some video store style stickers.

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