The Long Island Cannibal Massacre

Nathan Schiff, along with his friends, made 4 no-budget underground gore films ranging from the late 70's to the early 90's...this being his second film. Shot on Super 8 with virtually no budget, even the music is borrowed from other films(through out the movie you'll hear music from the original Night of the Living Dead).

I find it amusing that people watch movies with titles like Long Island Cannibal Massacre, Weasels Rip My Flesh, They Don't Cut The Grass Anymore and then complain about the acting and plot(or lack there of) Seriously, why are you watching these kind of movies if that's what you're looking for? Nathan Schiff himself said that if he had had more money and better actors he wouldn't be making these kind of movies. I knew going into this that it was extremely low budget, and the point was to show gore...so I wasn't disappointed.

Cannibal Massacre is probably Schiff's best example of gore..some of the scenes are actually impressive...for instance there is a scene where a woman is disemboweled....all these scenes are shot at extreme close ups, and they linger there...and when the killer is pulling out her intestines(all the intestines used in Cannibal Massacre were real animal intestines acquired from butchers)it is quite effective and believable...another great example of well done gore effects is the chainsaw scene....(like another commenter said) the chainsaw scene was real and was very close to the actor's face...on the DVD Schiff said the only things separating the chainsaw blade and the actor was animal meat, and a kevlar vest.

The DVD release contains some interesting contents- interviews with Nathan Schiff, and two of his long time friends who have acted in his movies...also a full running commentary that I found entertaining because Schiff sounds like Jon Lovitz...I kept waiting for him to say- "That's the ticket"

If you're a fan HG Lewis, Frank Hennenlotter, Tim Ritter, Troma films then you should give Schiff a try...

Forget zero-budget, this is the step before that. This is a home movie project with a few friends and an optimistic approach to effects. Unfortunately the script, acting and effects all combine to let this film down. You need to be seriously drunk before appreciating its humour, though I wouldn't get rid of it out of my collection, so it must have some unknown value.

The Long Island Cannibal Massacre is a movie in the tradition of Herschell Gordon Lewis gore masterpieces. Lots and lots of gore, intestines and blood every were. The movie is slow-paced sometimes and quite boring but the gory climax is superb. The impalation scene and the chainsaw one are pure movie magic. OK, its very low budget. Its shot on 8mm film, the actors are very bad, this ain't no Hollywood, if you expect a Hollywood horror movie, this is not for you. You will enjoy this gem if you like gore movies, no-budget movies and party bloody movies.

6/10

A pair of bloodthirsty killers (a biker and a guy with a pillowcase on his head) sell their victims' dismembered remains to weirdo Jack, who feeds the body parts to a group of cannibalistic lepers, led by his own hideously disfigured father. Inspector James Cameron goes undercover to investigate the murders, but is forced to turn vigilante when normal police procedure proves ineffective.

Nathan Schiff's enthusiasm and dedication to his art is admirable: armed with nothing but a Super 8mm camera, a bucket or two of offal, and a gang of amateur 'actors', he has thrown together several no-budget gorefests that have, over the years, garnered something of a cult following (in contrast, my own home-made horror, Farnham Flesheaters, has wallowed in development hell for 25 years, due to my general apathy—although I did get as far as designing the poster).

Unfortunately, Schiff's devotion to his work is a lot more impressive than the finished product.

The cheapo splatter, which includes a cheerfully crap lawnmower murder, a couple of juicy disembowelments, assorted flesh tearing, two head crushings, and a pretty impressive chainsaw dismemberment, is admittedly fun and the film occasionally displays some ingenuity (such as Jack's crazy conversation with a bin bag full of body parts), but the negatives easily cancel out the positives.

Inane dialogue, awful acting, lousy picture quality, clumsy editing, and dreadful sound (the whirr of the camera motor being clearly audible in many scenes) all mar the production: there are endless bland shots of cars, trees, and scenery that serve no purpose; the script features boring conversations that do nothing to further the plot; logic takes a serious nosedive with the idiotic revelation of the pillow-case wearing killer's true identity; and for a trashy horror, there's a distinct lack of nudity (I suppose it's easier to talk your friends' sisters into getting their heads bashed in than it is to get them to take their kit off).

Still, I suppose there's always the unintentionally funny bits to enjoy: Jack's monstrous father, who talks like he's gargled glass and uses outmoded words such as 'thy', 'thine' and 'thou'; the goof where cop Dave (Michael Siegal) calls his friend Jim (John Smihula) by his own name; and the leprosy guy who looks like he's had his face pushed in manure.

I don't even know how to comment on this one. LONG ISLAND CANNIBAL MASSACRE is supposed to be awful since it's low budget horror. But the acting in this film is worst than anything I have ever seen. As a result, most of the scenes are unbearable and it is not a very fun movie to watch - even if it is a horror. Nonetheless, if you are able to make it to the end of this film without fast-forwarding, you are in for quite a treat. I'm not to going to give away any spoilers but the conclusion of LICM makes it worth the viewing. I also suggest you check on the special features on your DVD. Director Nathan Schiff clearly thinks he's Jean Luc Godard.

Either way, as a filmmaker myself, I have a huge amount of respect for Schiff and his feature film. As a high schooler, he managed to make what some might consider a cult classic. Good for him. But, make sure you're ready.