Raw Meat — Raw Meat( Blu Ray)

From the early 70s, Raw Meat ( aka Death Line) is a British film that sits somewhere between mystery thriller, horror film, and subtly sarcastic/ dark comedy. It regards a series of disappearances in the London underground that have been investigated by a brashly flippant/ likes-a-drink police inspector played by Donald Pleasence. The film also features a brief appearance from British Horror legend Christopher Lee. It’s a decidedly plodding, if at times effectively grim & eerie affair, with moments of gore & brutality. Here from Blue Underground is a Blu-ray release of the picture, taking in a 4k scan with a new Dolby Atmos audio mix, and a selection of new and archive extras.

Raw Meat is from the year 1972, filmed between Aldwych and Russell Square tube stations, and several other London locations. It was directed/co-written by Chicago-born Gary Sherman. Between the mid-60s and late 2010s, he had a total of nineteen directorial credits to his name- taking eight features, and eleven TV movies/ shorts. His features move from the coastal set horror thriller Dead & Buried (1981), B-grade action featuring Rutger Hauer Wanted: Dead  Or Alive (1986),  camp & corny horror sequel Poltergeist III (1988), and PG-13 serial killer thriller Lisa (1990). Raw Meat was his first film, and I’m afraid in places it does show with the plodding pace & uneven placement of scoring, but there is most certainly worth here.

The one-hour twenty-seven-minute film opens with a bowler-hatted figure wandering through the sleazy lights of Soho, which in the 70’s was the centre of sex shows, prostitution, and sex shops in the city. He wanders down into the tube station, next to be discovered collapsed on the steps by a couple of twenty-something uni students - brash American Alex (David Ladd), and his more caring/ thoughtful long mullet girlfriend  Patricia (Sharon Gurney)- the pair go & report it, but when getting back to the steps with the authorities, the body has gone.

Next into the picture steps brash/ talks his mind, cockney policeman Inspector Calhoun (Pleasance) and his often smugly smiling Detective Sergeant Rogers( Norman Rossington). As things unfold, we find out that it’s the remains of a tribe of degenerate Victorian plague cannibals that are behind the disappearances. 

The film moves between sarcastic/ brash encounters between the police officers and the couple. Slow panning, gore-edged shots of the darkness of the abandoned underground, and the more brightly lit tube carriages. Christopher Lee turns up only briefly, a moustached and stripped-suited MI5 man- having a great/ amusing back & forth with Mr Pleasance.

The gore, though fairly brief, is quite extreme. We have a pole implement, bloody head battering, and lingering shots of cannibal picked across bodies. We also get some effective moments of creepy unease, and the cannibals themselves look grimly effective- with weeping sores, lank dirty hair, and scabs.

I recall seeing Raw Meat years back- finding it somewhat underwhelming. So I’m glad to say revisiting, and it came across a lot better. Yes, the plodding/ uneven pace is an issue. But Pleasance gives a wonderful, at times weird/unhinged performance- which he’s clearly relishing. There are effective moments of creepy unease, the underground setting is eerie, and when the gore does appear, it’s shockingly brutal. So it’s not top-drawer ’70s Brit horror, but it’s engaging/ entertaining enough.

 

This new region-free Blu-ray features a 4k scan- this looks largely very good, with the once very murky nighttime shots showing much more clarity & depth. The release is also available as a dual UHD/Blu-ray version, so I’d imagine the picture will look even better on this.

On the new extras side, we get two things. First is a commentary track from film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth, and as we’ve come to expect from these pros of the form, it’s another wonderful, researched & observed affair. They begin by talking about how this is one of Pleasence's great roles. They talk about how the film is thought of as a predecessor to Tobe Hooper’s original Texas Chainsaw Massacre- due to its cannibalistic themes, elements of dark humour, and largely atonal soundtrack. They discuss how Raw Meat, like Sherman’s other films, focuses on class differences. We find out the film was shot in three weeks, starting in late February 1972, with a budget of eighty-three thousand pounds. They talk about how much of the cast, aside from the two big names, consists of TV actors. They point out bit part actors, touching on other genre films they appeared in. They discuss Pleasence’s take on the role and find out he wanted to play it with a dark comic edge. They talk about how you can also smell the film, and that it sits in the 70’s Kitchen Sink Horror sub-genre. Later on, they discuss other notable Pleasence roles in both film and television. They comment on British drinking culture. They discuss the film's slower-paced scenes and the use of lengthy tracking shots. It's a track I can most certainly see myself returning to. The other new extra is an enhanced poster & still gallery.

On the archive side, we have a commentary track with co-writer/director Gary Sherman, producer Paul Maslansky, and assistant director Lewis More O’Ferrall. Tales From The Tube (18.51) Interview with co-writer/director Gary Sherman and executive producers Jay Kanter & Alan Ladd Jr. From The Depths (12.41) Interview with star David Ladd and producer Paul Maslansky. Trailers, TV Spots, and Radio Spots.

It's wonderful to see this rather grim, dark humour and gore edge British horror film getting the Blue Underground treatment. With a well-defined new 4k scan, and a selection of new/ archive extras.