Motel Hell (1980)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Kevin Connor

Writers:

Robert Jaffe (writer)
Steven-Charles Jaffe (writer)

Release Date:

18 October 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

You might just die...laughing!

Plot:

Farmer Vincent kidnaps unsuspecting travellers and is burying them in his garden. Unfortunately for his victims...

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Slasher | Black Comedy | Monster | Black Humor

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Rory Calhoun	...	Vincent Smith
Paul Linke	...	Sheriff Bruce Smith
Nancy Parsons	...	Ida Smith
Nina Axelrod	...	Terry
Wolfman Jack	...	Reverend Billy
Elaine Joyce	...	Edith Olson
Monique St. Pierre	...	Debbie
Rosanne Katon	...	Suzi
E. Hampton Beagle	...	Bob Anderson
Everett Creach	...	Boris 'Bo' Tulinski
Michael Melvin	...	Ivan
John Ratzenberger	...	Drummer
Marc Silver	...	Guitarist
Victoria Hartman	...	Female Terrible
Gwil Richards	...	Mr. Owens

Also Known As:

Hotel zur Hölle (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Granja macabra (Argentina) [es]
Helvetes motellet (Sweden) [sv]
Hotel Hell (Denmark) (video title) [da]
Motel 'I Kolasi' (Greece) [el]
Nuits de cauchemar (France) [fr]

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:R | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | France:-16 | Germany:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Golden Oak Ranch - 19802 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, California, USA

Company:

Camp Hill

Trivia:

Actor 'Paul Linke' lost 25 pounds to play the lead. He was carrying the extra weight to play Grossman on "CHiPs" (1977).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Toward the end, when the saw is turned on during the fight, the object on the "conveyor" would not index toward the saw. That is a "skatewheel" conveyor, it just has a series of rollers that only allow a person to easily push something down the line. There are no motors, belts, etc. to automatically drive or feed anything down the line to the saw.

Quotes:

Vincent Smith: There's too many people in the world and not enough food. Now this takes care of both problems at the same time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead End (1985)

Well made horror

I love this movie! Nothing beats a deranged hillbilly farmer who wears a severed hog's head to terrorize people.

Rory Calhoun and Paul Linke are wonderful in their roles. Rory effectively pulls off the mild-mannered farmer with a dark secret routine, while Paul Linke handles the role of jealous cop perfectly.

Nina Axelrod supplies the sex appeal, and capably I might add. Though her penchant for much older men is a little disturbing.

This film has gained a solid cult following thanks to end showdown of good vs. evil, with Rory wearing that hog's head and chasing after Paul Linke with a chainsaw.