Popular reviews

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  Review by Bob McCully ★★★★ 10

  The most crystallized document of proto-slasher experimentation in full effect, morbid tropes invented and stabbed into a mystery plot till it bleeds revisions of terror.

  A debt of guilt is acquired by a group of men who just 5 years prior were trapped in a cave together, nearly resorting to cannibalism to survive. The man who drew the shortest straw had his arm severed but then moments later, before the meal could even begin, they were unexpectedly saved thus rendering them all complicit in destroying this man's life.
  Now they are targeted by a mysterious killer, an axe-wielding assailant who skulks around the shadows. What ensues is a slice of slasher glory too fresh to clot but menacing enough to…

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  Review by BeardofTsu ★★★½ 5

  When six friends get trapped in a cave to survive they decide someone has to offer up their arm for the survival of the group. After drawing straws the unlucky man is Ted Rogers whose arm is forcibly cut off with the intention of the rest of the group to eat it....but of course, before that happens they are rescued. So they have to fabricate a story to keep their secret hidden as the victim vows no matter how long it takes he will get his revenge!

  THE SEVERED ARM picks up five years later with a fantastic opening scene where a severed arm is being wrapped, posted, and sent to one of the friends, Is this mysterious killer who…

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  Review by belial_carboni ★★★½ 6

  The Severed Arm is a claustrophobic dread filled nightmare that really gets under your skin. Bleak, bloody and filled with slasher tropes it would lay the blueprint for many films that followed. The POV camera shots of the killer, creepy synth score and the slow unraveling mystery of murder and mayhem. And they even do the whole "the caller is calling from inside" bit one year before Black Christmas!

  A group of 70s hunks have ventured deep into a cave while exploring an old mine. When the entrance collapses they become stranded underground. Facing starvation they come to the difficult decision that one of them must sacrifice their flesh for food. The unlucky  bastard who draws the short straw has…

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  Review by matt lynch ★★★

  A simple little thing that seems almost like a fable to me now. I saw this a bunch on VHS and TV more than thirty years ago, and to little Matt its glacial pace, glimpses of gore, shadowy cinematography, and blissed-out synths seemed like the definition of spooky (the Vinegar Syndrome blu-ray looks fantastic).

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  Review by Helen_S ★★★½

  That was not the dumb shit you might expect from the title and poster. It was so deranged and grubby with a fantastic dark twist. It woulda got a higher rating only it got a little dull around the middle.

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  Review by The Great Owl ★★★★½

  When six friends explore an abandoned mine during a two-week vacation, they become trapped underground due to a cave-in. On the verge of starvation after spending several days without food, the men draw straws to decide which of them will have to sacrifice a body part in order to provide nutrition for the rest. Mere moments after five of them use a sterilized knife to cut the arm off of the unlucky sixth, however, the entire group is rescued. The five make a promise never to tell anyone the truth, but the amputee, Ted, swears to them that he will never forget what they have done to him.

  Years later, someone begins to prey on the five friends, one by…

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  Review by Zay ★★★½ 3

  After spending weeks trapped in a cave during an exploration gone wrong, a group of men decide that in order to stave off starvation one of them will have to sacrifice human flesh. One unlucky fella gets his arm chopped off and they end up get rescued almost immediately after...

  Fast forward 5 years...there's someone targeting the group of men. Looking to take them out one by one. The Severed Arm is a revenge fueled murder mystery that plays out like a slasher/giallo mashup. Solid 70s horror gem. Another one of those films I'm glad Vinegar Syndrome got their hands on.

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  Review by Scrambled Face ★★★ 4

  Here's one I've been curious about for a while, an early '70s brownout with a real grabber of a title that seems to have set up most viewers for great disappointment. A guy (David G. Cannon, an associate producer in his only screen role) gets a mannequin arm in the mail and freaks out, driving to the office of his doctor friend (John Crawford) so they can have a long flashback. You see, these two and four other guys you cannot believe are friends went spelunking. One doofus (Marvin Kaplan, the voice of Choo-Choo on Top Cat) got them caved in for so long they started thinking about eating part of one of them. Because they'd only gotten as far…

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  Review by Matt Winfield ★★★ 2

  Another killer slice of 70's psychotronic proto-slasher INSANITY! Six dudes out exploring some abandoned mines get trapped by a cave-in. No food, no escape, no hope for survival - the weeks pass by as the thunder in their bellies cries out for human flesh! After a game of draw straws the first unwilling donor is decided, and right as his arm comes dangling off, in come the rescue crew a second too late. Years later, the remaining five get hurled into an armless vortex of revenge!

  Such a crazy flick that could only come out of the grindhouse era. I totally love the electronic wobbly fuzz of a soundtrack that emanates off every inch of this movie. A hopeless score…

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  Review by coles84 ★★★★ 6

  In my opinion Vinegar Syndrome keep getting stronger and stronger. Each release provides something that bit different yet consistent that my monthly sub package is completely worth every penny. Each blind buy is exciting and the special features always fascinating as we hear from people you would not normally hear from and their stories are often the best about the trials and tribulations of the movie business. 

  The film itself broke boundaries with supposedly the first ever digital soundtrack, it reminded me a bit of XTRO in terms of weird loopy sounds that help provide mood and distortion to proceedings. A small but tight cast help craft tension amongst the excitement of a killer on the loose. Each character has…

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  Review by Liz ★★★½

  Willing to overlook the fact that nobody gets murdered by an actual severed arm because of that soundtrack.

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  Review by Justin Decloux ★★★½

  Proto slasher that ticks all the right boxes: A very weird series of kills (Arms only!), an askew visual sense (It was shot by the cinematographer of SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSSS SONG), and an amazing electronic score by the composer of MESSIAH OF EVIL. It's a little slow, and doesn't have a great climax, but it ends on a fun ironic note.