MARDI GRAS MASSACRE

Mardi Gras Massacre Movie Review

A madman is killing prostitutes during Mardi Gras...or at least, sometime prior to Mardi Gras (more on that momentarily). Not only is he killing them, he's sacrificing them in some bizarre Aztec ritual.

"Hailing from Tenochtitlan, and weighing in at..."

If the plot and silly looking costume reminds you of a movie that would have been made ten or fifteen years prior to when it was actually shot (1978), you're not alone. Aside from the obvious (a million similar movies were made in the 1960's), this is also explained somewhat in that this movie is kind of a sequel to the 1963 flick Blood Feast. Another interesting note to this film is it was on the UK video nasties list, and actually received an X rating in the United States--though I'm honestly not sure why. There is nothing really eye-catching as far as presenting anything new or shocking, and the violence we see is so absurdly fake looking it's a wonder anybody took it seriously at all. The killer, whose identity we know from the start, takes a woman to his apartment, ties her to a table, cuts her hands and feet, and then cuts her heart out--sounds interesting, but the cutting out of the heart is done on a torso that is so clearly a prop you will actually laugh when you see it.

Look in the bottom right

This scene plays out almost identically three times, with three different women. We also follow a police officer, his prostitute girlfriend, and his dopey partner as they chase the killer. We see random fights breaking out, several scenes of strippers and go-go dancers, and a street performing dancer who should have given the others some lessons. The dialogue is dull--you could probably not listen to a word anybody says and still have a complete understanding of what is happening. Don't mute this one, though--the music is the best part of the film. The song that plays during the ritualistic killings is fantastic, there's a good bit of hot funk, and more disco than you can shake your bellbottoms at--yes, I said, in part, that disco is one of the best elements of this film--this really tells you most of what you need to know, but continue I will. The acting is atrocious, and gets even worse during the few dramatic scenes. One fascinating thing happening throughout is the sheer number of people looking directly at the camera for a moment. This happens so often you wonder if there is some sort of running gag happening. 

"End scene? Oh, not yet?"

Finally, there's the whole Mardi Gras thing--remember in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, when you expect Jason to be causing havoc in, you know, Manhattan, only to watch the movie for over an hour before seeing The Big Apple (or Vancouver, as it were)? It's the same deal here--you see no hint of Mardi Gras whatsoever until 74 minutes into the movie, and when we finally see the party, it's only for about four minutes.

I always pictured more...beads

Mardi Gras Massacre is a hard one to score--it certainly is not a good, decent, or even mediocre horror movie, but there is enough going on to keep you interested, right up to the abrupt, police-chase filled, unsatisfying ending. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 4

Mardi Gras Massacre Movie Trailer