A Night Warning!

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This one is a real corker. Billy’s (Jimmy McNichol, heartthrob) Aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell, in a truly unhinged performance) conspires to murder Billy’s parents in what looks to be an accident. Their brakes give out and crash! Both die. Aunt Cheryl takes over, raising the boy up as her own. And things go pretty good, until Billy is a senior in high school with a girlfriend, Julie (Julia Duffy, of Newhart fame), and a chance at a basketball scholarship. In short, he’s moving away and controlling Aunt Cheryl doesn’t like it at all. So she conspires, and plots, and it all adds up to a Mother Bates kind of situation where Aunt Cheryl is domineering but losing control, with a whole bunch of weird, psychosexual components thrown in. She’s always lovingly stroking Billy’s shirtless back or chest or looking at his naked ass when he’s about to shower. Gross. Things escalate as Aunt Cheryl murders a TV repairman during Billy's birthday party and the police come in, led by the enormously bigoted Detective Joe Carlson (Bo Svenson), who may be the most homophobic character in a movie, ever. Carlson investigates, sure that Billy committed the murder and his aunt is covering for him. Things spin out of control and before you know it, a true bloodbath ensues and lots of people die at the hands of crazy Aunt Cheryl.

The same director that made this...

What a strange movie. Directed by a man (William Asher) that did primarily network television shows like Bewitched and The Patty Duke Show, Butcher Baker feels like a made-for-TV film, except for the nudity and the gruesome bloodshed at the end. For most of its running time, this plays as a suspense drama, as we watch Aunt Cheryl continue to try and dominate the life of her nephew. But as the story unfolds, we learn more ghastly details about who Aunt Cheryl is, what her real relationship to Billy is, and the secret she’s keeping in the basement. There’s a good touch of the gothic going on here, but it almost gets lost in the absolute nastiness of the situation. Tyrrell gives a fantastic performance, and McNichol is almost too understated. Duffy shows her breasts, which surprised me, and Svenson chews his lines like a rat gnawing on electrical cables, ready for that satisfying shock at the end. At times this is one uncomfortable film, with its odd themes and icky moments, but it truly does come together in the end to create some terrific horror set-pieces. Overall, this is a quietly disturbing little exploitation shocker and well worth your time.

Happy Birthday, Billy!

Originally titled Night Warning, the name change doesn’t really suit it any more than the first title. But Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker sounds much cooler. “Crazy Aunt Cheryl” would work as a title, too, and be much more accurate. It’s available on Blu and if you’re interested in twisted family dynamics as well as some nice mutilation murders circa the early 80’s, you should check it out. You also get naked McNichol buttocks and Tyrell and Duffy breasts thrown in for good measure. Thank God they didn’t show Svenson naked, too. Oh, and there’s that awesome opening segment, supposedly shot by Jan de Bont, featuring a terrific tree-through-the-windshield-beheading that just about steals the whole show. Look for it, you can’t miss it.

Three Stars out of Four