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In case you were worried that a movie called "Microwave Massacre" might take itself too seriously, the filmmakers set the tone very early on: a woman is walking aimlessly through a construction site, being ogled by the miscreant men around her. She happens upon a plank of wood with some holes cut out about chest high. Inexplicably, with zero attempt to explain her reasoning, she puts her bare breasts through the holes, enticing one of the creeps to come over and attempt to give her a honkin', only to have his efforts rebuffed.

This is stupid. Incredibly stupid. And exploitative. But also deftly goofy. At no point does this film evince the slightest bit of mean spiritness. From start to finish it is an incredibly joyful affair.

The film stars Jackie Vernon, an old timey stand up comedian whom those of us born after 1945 or so will most likely remember only as the voice of Frosty the Snowman. Vernon was a rotund man with a kind face who was known for his gentle, deadpan delivery. This makes him, by far, the least scary psycho killer in the history of slasher films.

Now, no one is going to claim this is a tightly constructive film, and it falls far short of the upper echelon of 70's horror pictures. But it's still very enjoyable. Most of the jokes land. The premise is just absurd enough to keep you engaged. And, unlike most low-budget horror comedies, at no point does script become unfollowable. It seems professional in spite of its cheapness. The cast and crew all seem like they were having a wonderful time making it.

I don't have anything intelligent or especially insightful to say about Microwave Massacre other than that it's a very enjoyable film. Anyone who doesn't take themselves or their movies too seriously should check it out.

Much has been written about this film's troubled development--rushed dailies apparently led to ruined shots, forcing a reliance on recycled footage, and upward of an hour was cut post-production. I'm judging the film as it actually appears on the screen, not what it could have been.

And what appears on screen is messy. It feels like it was shot from a first draft of a script. There's no real character development, the pacing is nonsensical even by slasher movie standards, and the script introduces key plot elements without regard to the fact that they were completely missing from the previous films in the series. Also, the two protagonists are flat and lifeless and unappealing played.

In spite of these setbacks, the film is still pretty enjoyable. The script is messy but not incomprehensible. Most importantly, the practical effects are far and away the best in the series--memorable kills combined with some very cool body horror elements. While the main characters aren't engaging, the supporting cast is great. Steven Williams shines as the bizarrely out of place bounty hunter, and Rusty Schwimmer damn near steals the show as a venal, domineering cafe owner with an undersized boyfriend and a thick Wisconsin accent.

This is far from a necessary picture, but it's plenty enjoyable if you're looking for a goofy slasher movie with great, gory effects.

The horror films I enjoy usually fall into one of two categories: excellently made, or not well-made but still enjoyable in a trashy or kitschy way. This is a rare example that straddles the line between the two.

The film was obviously made with very little budget and by people with only minimal experience in film. But the cast and crew still had experience in the art world. They had good ideas. They knew how much a movie could be driven by its aesthetics.

To start with the negatives: the pacing is off, the acting is sometimes amateurish, and while the dialogue is okay, the script is hard to follow. You don't walk away understanding much regarding character motivation, or how action A led to consequence B.

But those are secondary concerns if a film is pleasurable overall, which this one is. The framing and lighting are disquieting throughout, with some dream-like scenes producing eerie effects that I've never quite seen before. Certain images--such as a closeup to a distorted view of the main girl's head wrapped in plastic, or a tracking shot of a bleeding man being slung across a ceiling in some kind of otherwise purposeless contraption--will haunt the view regardless of whether or not she could follow the plot.

The film's strongest aspect is probably its sound effects and minimalist score, which a blu-ray extra explains were made by a duo consisting of the director's older brother and a man who had been a military audiologist (seriously). The "weaponized" sound effects overcame technical limitations to produce a simulacra of bass-heavy "fear notes," the likes of which were copied and stolen by hundreds of horror pictures.

Overall, I'd consider this an important film if it were more well-known. I'm not exactly a horror buff, but I'm somewhat knowledgeable and I'd never heard of it until it was released on Blu Ray by Arrow Films (it's not even mentioned in the Psychotronic Video Guide). But its effects upon trash and horror cinema are palpable, and it's plenty enjoyable for anyone who has a moderate interest in such films.