The early 80s brought the advent of the oversized VHS display box (or at the time, Betamax). These cases were usually made of glossy cardboard and housed a black clamshell videocassette case. The average video store patron knew exactly what they meant - unsavory entertainment. In reality, many wouldn't classify it as exactly that, but such a category would include gory horror films and cheap exploitation movies. Microwave Massacre was both.

Of the video distributors that sported such colorful (and at times, tasteless) packaging, Midnight Video, a division of SelectATape, delivered classic gore to the masses. Herschell Gordon Lewis and Andy Milligan films were their specialty. However, Microwave Massacre remains one of their more collectable titles. Anthem has released a DVD edition of this film, and is not about to disappoint.

Donald is a humble, yet disgruntled, construction worker. He is sick of May, his wife, making a fuss over their new microwave. She insists on making TV dinners every night and passing them off as gourmet food. Because of this recent regimen of cuisine, Donald wants to eat nothing but simple and messy food. After a series of arguments that seem to have been a long time coming, Donald chops up his wife and keeps her parts out in the garage freezer.

One late night, Donald wakes up hungry, and accidentally eats May's hand, mistaking it for some other piece of food in the freezer. Discovering a new taste for flesh, Donald decides to go out and meet single women, all for dining purposes only, of course.....

Microwave Massacre is a poorly-acted film chock-full of sophomoric humor. However, the late 1970s atmosphere and Jackie Vernon's less-than-charming presence help to make this gory film watchable. The inclusion of a one-line comedian in a horror film has become a common practice. Herschell Gordon Lewis' Gore Gore Girls featured Henny Youngman as a bar-owner and Soupy Sales has acted in the now-classic television show Monsters.

Anthem features Microwave Massacre 1.33:1. Because this is a budget disc, one would expect the quality to be that of a VHS transferred to DVD. However, this is not the case. This is the sharpest the film has looked on home video, allowing the viewer to see more sharp detail and vivid color than one would think possible with 16mm film. The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound is almost as sharp as the image, if it were not for the limitations of the sound equipment used on such a low-budget film. A video-promo trailer for Microwave Massacre is included, and gives the viewer most of the film in a nutshell.

High-quality treatment for a low-budget film. Some may object, however, anyone used to renting (or collecting) those big-boxed videos from around 20-25 years ago will appreciate how far we have come with digital technology.