by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

For my second pick, I went with a film that I had watched for the first time a few months back known as Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker. This gem called out to me because it was recently added to the Shudder streaming service and was one of the films included on the infamous Video Nasties list in the ‘80s. For those unfamiliar, the British Board of Film Classification would refuse video certifications to certain films they designated as “Video Nasties”. Well-known films like Last House on the Left and The Evil Dead graced this list as well as lesser-known gems. Dealers could be fined or jailed for selling these films that were typically featured gore, sex, and other “unsavory” acts. After seeing Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker, I am not at all surprised that it ended up on this blacklist.

The film centers around the relationship between Billy (Jimmy McNichol) and his aunt, Cheryl (Susan Tyrrel). Billy’s parents die in a tragic car crash when he is a baby. So he is taken under the guardianship of his aunt. Flashforward to Billy in high school, thinking about college. He is hopeful that he will get a scholarship through his skill as a basketball player. When he brings it up to Cheryl she makes it clear she has no intention of letting Billy leave her. She attempts to sabotage his plans and even goes as far as killing a man in his presence to do so. Billy continues to pursue his dreams of college and a life with his new girlfriend, blissfully unaware that Cheryl will stop at nothing to keep Billy all to herself.

This film was directed by William Asher, who is the man behind shows like Bewitched and I Love Lucy which is shocking once you see this. Somehow Asher manages to blend a soap opera with a slasher in the best, and weirdest way possible. Susan Tyrrell (Big Top PeeWee, Cry-Baby) stars as Aunt Cheryl and gives a hell of a performance. Cheryl kills for the noblest reason of all, love. She is a woman who was lonely and has a history of men leaving her, and ultimately that makes her cling to whatever relationship she can, and unfortunately, the only one she can cling to is Billy. She loves Billy (much more than an aunt should) and if he left her she would have no one. So she does what she can to make sure anyone who gets in her way is not a problem. Her first kill (that we know of) is the repairman that comes to the house. She dresses up in a revealing outfit and attempts to seduce him. When Billy appears, she stabs the repairman saying it was self-defense and that he was attempting to rape her. It seems that her hope is that Billy will see how vulnerable she is and how much she needs his protection.

However, the problems mount for her and Billy after the cops show up to question them about the murder. Detective Joe Carlson (Bo Svenson) heads up the investigation and is convinced that there is more going on than a case of self-defense. And while he may be right about that, he is wrong in his suspicion that Billy murdered the man. His suspicions only grow when he learns the man murdered was secretly dating Billy’s basketball coach. The detective comes up with the idea that Billy was involved in a love triangle between these men. Detective Joe Carlson goes so far with his theory that he gets the coach fired, and confronts Billy’s girlfriend about their sex life. Huge trigger warning with this character folks. He is sexist, racist, and homophobic and continuously uses derogatory language that will make you very uncomfortable. It is unclear what Billy’s sexual orientation is, and it truly does not matter to the film, because Auntie Cheryl is clearly the one capable of murder. The film does do its job in letting us know that this man of the law is a bad person but it is still hard to sit through at times.

While Aunt Cheryl’s behavior is meant to seem crazy to the viewer, it seems like most of the people in her life treat her normally. She is simply the “eccentric” lonely aunt and no one seems to think she would be up to anything potentially harmful. However, she will do things like wake Billy up by scratching his back and purring in his ear, she refuses to let him bring his girlfriend over the house, and she is suspiciously quiet about her past. The lead detective remains uninterested in Cheryl, which might be a further sign of his misogyny; he can’t believe a woman would commit this horrible act. His partner, Sergeant Cook, is the only one who has some suspicions. He learns about a man Cheryl knew who disappeared and finds mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Billy’s parents. Cheryl flies off the handle anytime he comes by to ask her follow-up questions which he shakes off and does little to figure out what is happening until it is too late.

Things in this film escalate to the point where Cheryl is slowly poisoning Billy so that he will mess up during his basketball game in front of a college scout. Yet good boy Billy still drinks the poisoned milk and lays in bed letting aunty take care of him. Cheryl’s nosy neighbor friend eventually becomes suspicious, but this is after Cheryl already has Billy’s girlfriend captured and waiting for her death in the basement. It is hilariously obvious how insane her actions have become and no audience member can feel real sympathy for her yet the people in her life are blissfully unaware. Cheryl basically becomes a full-on movie monster by the end and it becomes impossible for anyone to ignore that something bad is going on with Aunt Cheryl. Miraculously Susan Tyrrell gives herself a bad haircut, manages to contort her body and make herself look like a hunchback, and starts lurking in the darkness to fully become the monster that everyone seems to be blind to.

Ultimately the lack of suspicion, while completely unbelievable, does lead to a full-on massacre at the hands of Aunt Cheryl. Jan de Bont worked as a cinematographer on this film for one week, uncredited, to shoot a decapitation scene. So you know things go absolutely wild by the end of the film. Even after all of the bloodshed, the homophobic detective walks in and still tries to pin everything on Billy. His problematic ignorance truly makes him one of the worst cops in movie history.

It is still so strange how little suspicion falls on Aunt Cheryl even when there are red flags all over the place. But when you think about it, it is hard to believe a sweet-looking middle-aged lady could be capable of something so heinous. Now, most lonely older women do not become incest crazed and start killing people for the love of their family members. Perhaps that makes it that much easier for Cheryl to get away with it. Even though by all means Cheryl is very bad at covering up her crimes and might simply have sexism to thank for years of freedom. And clearly, those who did not suspect Cheryl pay a heavy price in the end. There is also Tillie Klimek who was arrested in 1946 for several murders. She would pretend to predict when someone would die when in actuality she was just murdering them herself. It is very easy to underestimate a woman, and sometimes that can be your downfall.