Motel Hell



""It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent fritters.""

""Meat's meat and man's gotta eat!""

Motel Hell is a horror comedy film from the year 1980. It was directed by Kevin Connor and stars Rory Calhoun (Night of the Lepus), Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod and Paul Linke. John Ratzenberger also appears in a bit part.

The film centers around Motel Hello, which is run by sister and brother duo Vincent and Ida Smith. They have been killing people and turning them into meat pastries to lure in customers, which has been working fine for over three decades. The man-to-food process works thusly: They bury their victims neck-deep into a hidden field, where they are forcefed for a while until they are dug back up and are taken to the Smiths slaughterhouse.

One day, Vincent causes a passing pair riding a motorcycle to crash. As he is taking them back to his farm, he takes a liking to Terry, female passenger of the duo. He fabricates a story that she and Bo, the rider, had an accident and he had to bury the deceased Bo (half of that statement is true) to the graveyard. Having no place to go, Terry decides stay in the farm as she is also starting to fall for her "rescuer". Vincent's little brother, Sheriff Bruce Smith, also falls in love with Terry, thus complicating the matters as the truth about the motel is coming closer and closer to the light.

A remake for the film is in talks in Development Hell, with Arthur C. Miller (Automaton Transfusion) currently attached to do the directing.


 * Affably Evil: Vincent and Ida are surprisingly a very likeable pair.
 * American Gothic Couple: The original poster.
 * Chainsaw Good: Emphasis on the word "good".
 * Chase Scene
 * Conveyor Belt O' Doom
 * Cool Mask: The pig's head which Vincent wears in the climax, as seen above.
 * Curiosity Killed the Cast: Averted.
 * Deep South
 * Depraved Bisexual: The french couple who attend the motel at one point.
 * Evil Laugh: Farmer Vincent loves chainsaw duels.
 * Everything's Better With Bob: Both Vincent and Ida are overjoyed when Bob the health inspector becomes one of their "plants".
 * Everything's Messier With Pigs: Vincent has pig farm alongside with his motel.
 * Force Feeding: Victims are forcefed to make them fatter for smoking.
 * Gender Blender Name: Terry.
 * Girlish Pigtails: Ida has them.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Smith siblings' "crops" manage to escape and bury Ida headfirst on their field.
 * I Am a Humanitarian: Vincent has been making his special meat for over 30 years.
 * Inn of No Return
 * Instant Sedation: Vincent's sleeping gas and the drink that Ida serves to Terry at one point.
 * Love Triangle
 * Make-Out Point: Bruce takes Terry to one when they go see a drive-in movie.
 * May-December Romance: Between Terry and Vincent.
 * Neck Snap
 * No-Tell Motel: Vincent poses his motel as such at one point.
 * Rescue Romance: Terry falls in love with Vincent when he "rescues" her in the opening.
 * Rhymes on a Dime
 * The Sheriff: Bruce, Vincent's kid-brother.
 * Shoot Out the Lock
 * Shovel Strike: Done to Bob.
 * Sibling Rivalry: Vincent and Bruce start feuding when they both fall in love with Terry.
 * Signs of Disrepair: Forms the film's title.
 * The Speechless: Smiths victims, who can only make out unintelligible gurgling due to Ida's surgery on them.
 * There's No B in Movie: Terry and Bruce go to watch The Monster That Challenged The World, which is playing at the drive-in.
 * Wet Sari Scene
 * Whip It Good