Beauty Queen Butcher (1991 Video) User Reviews

It Almost Works

[maxineedwards-78784 · 5/10 · 11 January 2020]

There are some interesting ideas here, but the movie just doesn't work mainly due to it's impossibly long run time when the first hour of the film could have been condensed into 20/30 minutes rather easily. It's obvious they're doing everything with a tongue planted firmly in their cheek, but some of the gags work better than others. Having a man play the head of the beauty contest is a great idea, but the actor they got isn't very good.

Had the story been more streamlined and the film had clocked in at a more manageable run time, it could have been a lot better. It's hard to critique it too much, because it obviously had far loftier goals than most no-budget slasher flicks and that should be applauded.

The movie has a good sense of humor, but it feels like you're watching outtakes or an un-fine tuned rough cut of a long lost John Waters movie before it got more refined. As expected, there are inspired moments, but they don't add up to much.

So So Slasher Lacks Gore

[voliveri · 4/10 · 4 February 2023]

Overly long and lacking the gore or suspense of a slasher. Performances are earnest. Jim Boggess' performance stands out as Betty Purnish. It's better than many slashers with better budgets, but it doesn't rise above what I would consider "adequate." With a tighter script and faster pacing, could have scored higher. Better kills would have helped as well.

That said, there are some good jokes that elevate the movie.

My scoring:

1-3: Sub-par. Avoid.

4-6: Adequate.

7-9: Good 10: Exceptional (rare).

Something others might score in the 6-7 range would get a lower score. I understand this will mess up the average.

a good way to SUICIDE two hours of your life

[ultra_tippergore · 13 November 2008]

Because of a prank, An obese chick enter a beauty queen contest. The other contestants hate her because she is obese and geek and start making her life a torture. Them they froze her cat in a microwave (?). After this, the fat lady start killing them. The plot sounds much better than the movie, its two hours long, no budget, boring and features no blood or gore. Beauty queen butcher can be described as "a good way to SUICIDE two hours of your life". I still cant believe that a movie of this kind runs for two hours long! This is the kind of stuff you fast forward to the killings, to see the blood and gore, and this one doesn't feature any gore or blood.

Was this a good movie? Dunno.

[scarlettsdad · 1/10 · 9 July 2021]

It is rare for me to write a review without really seeing the movie. And although I was prepared for a low budget, technically challenged film, I couldn't make it past the first 10minutes because I COULDN'T HEAR THE FREAKING DIALOGUE. Not just because it was low while everything else was normal, but because it sounded like the actors were speaking into a mic through four thick scarves around their faces. All I heard was low mumbling and that was it. Am I the only one who had this issue? Is it an Amazon Prime Video problem? I can overlook a lot when it comes to low budget indies because every now and then you find a diamond in the rough and the inkling of future talent. But the sound guy blew this for everyone. So was this a good movie ultimately? Dunno. Couldn't hear it.

No redeeming qualities

[Leofwine_draca · 1/10 · 20 January 2023]

A shot on video high school slasher from 1991, and feeling very much like a non-supernatural spin on the CARRIE concept. Sadly, it's absolutely diabolical in terms of quality, with all of the awful things you come to associate with the indie genre: lacklustre scripting, incredibly stilted dialogue, and generally poor production values all round. The story follows a group of in-girls (shades of HEATHER) who decide to prank an obese classmate by getting her to join a beauty contest, where she's the butt of much humour. However, when the bullies go after her pet cat, the trouble really starts. There are no redeeming qualities here.

An amusingly silly hoot

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 1 November 2007]

Sweet, but fat, shy and homely teenager Phyllis Loden (an endearingly gawky performance by Rhona Brody) gets entered into a high school beauty pageant by a quartet of nasty girls. Phyllis not only loses the pageant, but also gets ruthlessly picked on and publicly humiliated by the other more pretty and popular participants. Worse yet, her cruel competitors even kill Loden's beloved cat by sticking the cute little kitty in a microwave oven! Phyllis exacts a harsh revenge by killing the evil and venomous bitches. Director/co-writer Jill Zurborg concocts an entertaining black farce that's greatly enlivened by an appealingly giddy sense of dark humor, a reasonable smidgen of gore, outrageously broad characters, and a catchy soundtrack. Moreover, the enthusiastic acting from a game no-name cast qualifies as a major plus, with especially stand-out turns by Kathryn A. Mensik as the vicious, stuck-up Muffy Fairlane, Steve Kollin as Loden's nerdy bespectacled sole friend Cameron, Tammy Pescatelli as the snarky Elizabeth McKay, Jim Boggess as snooty pageant chairwoman Betty Prunish, Kimberly Ann Kurtenbach as the vacuous Alison Murphy, Laura Schutter as the antsy Shelley Styles, Matthew Speak as jerky jock Paul Whitewater, and Peter Soderberg as dogged private detective Dick Richards. Jeff Carney's competent cinematography and Dana P. Rowe's bouncy score are both up to speed. Granted, at almost two hours this movie does drag quite a bit here and there, but overall it's a funny and enjoyable romp.

Pure Camp

[traderjo · 6/10 · 19 September 2007]

There's a lot to gripe about in Beauty Queen Butcher. It's shot on video and looks it. The characters are two dimensional and over the top. The soundtrack at times reeks of a 1980's infomercial. But at the same time, I just can't deny liking the movie. It's made "just" well enough to keep you watching. I smiled, a lot. It's pure camp, and I would venture to say the filmmakers knew it. Ultimately, it plays out like a zero budget Carrie with some so bad it's good bits of acting. Of the Camp Motion Picture releases thus far, I can honestly say I enjoyed this one the most.

Whether or not you chose to rent it all determines on one question. Do you enjoy cult movies? I do, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

A Comedic SOV Slasher Beauty Pageant Version of 'Carrie'!!!

[Pumpkin_Man · 10/10 · 27 May 2019]

I found this on Roku today and decided to give it a try. It actually wasn't too bad for what it was. There were definitely some comedic moments, especially from Jim Boggess playing the female teacher, Betty Prunish. Rhona Brody plays our main 'hero' Phyllis Loden. Phyllis is a shy quiet overweight girl who is tricked by the other beauty pageant contestants (Muffy, Elizabeth, Alison, and Shelley) to be apart of the pageant so none of them would come in last place. The girls torture Phyllis by calling her terrible names and making her feel bad about herself. The movie is about 2 hours long, so the first half is just them making us hate the popular girls so it'll pay-off to see them die in the last half.

After the pageant, the girls randomly decide to kill Phyllis's cat, which is what sends her overboard to the point where she wants to kill them all. She slowly stalks them and kills them one by one. An overweight detective is hot on her trail. Will Phyllis get her revenge and avenge her cat? If you love cheesy campy comedic slashers that are SOV, you'll definitely love BEAUTY QUEEN BUTCHER!!!