Dr. Butcher M.D.

Director - Marin Girolami (Flying Sex)

Starring - Ian McCulloch (Zombi, Doctor Who), Alexandra Delli Colli (New York Ripper), and Sherry Buchanan (Escape from Galaxy 3)

Release Date - 1980

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "He is a depraved, homicidal killer...and he makes house calls!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Back in high school I was introduced to Italian horror.  A high school friend of mine was a huge Italian horror fan and he introduced me to several amazing films.  He opened the world of Lucio Fulci to me and soon I was renting Zombi, Gates of Hell, From Beyond, House by the Cemetery, and so on.  This then opened the door to Dario Argento, Mario Bava, and many more.  When I was in college a friend of mine told me to check out Dr. Butcher M.D.  He told me he found it on YouTube and later linked me.  I checked it out and quickly realized that it was a film I had seen before and actually owned on DVD only under a different name.  The film. Zombie Holocaust. is one of my personal favorites but most of my friends that enjoy Italian horror hate it.  I don't know why.  I absolutely love it.  Recently Severin released the film, both cuts, on bluray.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to hook me up with a review copy.  Thanks guys!

       The film begins with medical students observing an autopsy when they discover that the body is missing pieces.  The police investigate and soon find a man with a mark on his chest stealing parts from the cadavers.  He jumps out the window when confronted and kills himself.  Soon Dr. Peter Chandler (McCulloch) arrives and investigates.  He discovers that the mark belongs to a tribe of cannibals on a tropical island.  He sets out to investigate the island and meet up with another doctor who lends him his assistant to go look but something is off.  The other doctor is secretly running experiments on the locals where he is returning them back from the dead.  This has brought about a civil war where the living members of the tribes are killing and eating intruders while the undead kill and eat the primitives.  Now Dr. Chandler and his group must fight to survive and stop the mad doctor before he can kill and transform more humans.  

     Italian horror can be fun.  Well most of the time, anyway.  Personally, giallo is hit or miss and I don't care for a majority of the cannibal flicks but the zombie films will always be my favorite.  They are always dark, gruesome, and offer up more story than most of their American counterparts.  Cemetery Man is a prime example of this considering it was based on a comic not counting the amazing films of Fulci.  That's what I liked about Dr. Butcher M.D.  The film tosses several sub-genres into a blender which results in some amazing Italian gore.  The acting in this one is what you would expect from an Ian McCuloch led film.  McCulloch is great as ever and shows why he has had the career that he did.  He was great as the strong and intelligent lead.  I, also, really enjoyed Donald O'Brien's performance as the mad doctor/ Dr. Butcher.  The remainder of the cast is decent considering the caliber of film this is but these two steal the show.  The story for this one is fun and very bold considering.  First and foremost, the film is a cannibal film.  I typically don't care for these films but tossing in the mad scientist angle (which I love) and zombie results in a fun experience.  Fans of all three sub-genres have something to look forward to.  Sadly, it is rather predictable and some of the scenes are stale.  Also, as much as I love the cannibal vs zombie angle there is a few times that something spectacular could have happened but doesn't.  There is wasted opportunity here but that can be said about any horror film.  Finally, this film has got some decent gore.  Well, it's got great gore just not as much as I first expected when I found out what kind of film it was.  When you hear Italian horror you think of a gore fest.  We get some great scenes of gore and some amazing practical effects and gags but not as much as I would have liked.  The effects are great and the gags are flawless but I don't really care for the 3M blood.  Overall, Dr. Butcher M.D. is one of the lesser talked about Italian horror films that deserves more recognition.  I will probably catch hell for liking this movie as much as I do but I can't help it.  The film has a great cast, a fun as hell story, and gore.  Would prefer more gore but it's still well worth the price Severin is offering the bluray.