Microwave Massacre
Encyclopedia
Microwave Massacre is a 1983 dark comedy/horror film directed by Wayne Berwick and starring Jackie Vernon in his final feature film role. Considered a trash film by critics, it has grown a cult following over the years.
-style misguided effort to make themselves seem classier than they are. While his friends Roosevelt (Loren Schein) and Phillip (Al Troupe) dine on simple bologna
-and-cheese
sandwiches for lunch, Donald is saddled with crab sandwiches and other cooking atrocities. To his horror, he discovers his wife has bought an unusually large Major Electric
microwave oven
, which makes the meals worse in half the time.
After coming home drunk one night and getting into an argument with May, Donald loses his temper and bludgeon
s her to death with a large pepper grinder. He wakes up the next day with a bad hangover, no memory of the night before, and a growling stomach. He discovers May's corpse in the microwave and after the initial wave of horror passes, he starts to take it in stride, telling his co-workers that he and May separated. After work, he then cuts up May's body and stores it in foil wrap in the fridge. A running gag
involving May's head retaining some sort of sentience is introduced during this scene.
Looking for a midnight snack one night, Donald unintentionally takes a few bites
of May's hand, and (again) after the initial wave of horror passes, he realizes it's the best thing he's ever eaten. He even brings some to work with him and shares it with Phillip and Roosevelt, who concur. He soon starts picking up hookers and using them for meat in his recipes.
While cooking one night, Donald has a mild heart attack and goes to his doctor, who tells him of a pacemaker
that was put in when he had some excess weight, but says he is fine overall. May's equally shrewish sister Evelyn (Sarah Alt) shows up, having not heard from her sister in some time. She finds her head, and is gagged with bread and thrown, tied up, in Donald's closet.
Donald's lunches continue to be a hit with his friends, and he decides to cater an outing to a wrestling match with a new recipe he calls "Peking chick
." When Roosevelt and Phillip show up to pick up Donald, they discover him dead on the floor of a heart attack, and some body parts in the microwave. They leave in horror and disgust, realizing what Donald had been serving them.
Some time later, the house is up for sale and movers are taking the furniture out. A repairman examines the microwave and discovers a problem with the wires, commenting that it would be bad for someone with a pacemaker. We then zoom into the fridge, which opens to reveal May's head. Her eyes glow orange as the film ends.
Plot
Donald (Vernon) is a construction worker with a big problem: his shrew of a wife May (Claire Ginsberg) has started to only cook gourmet foods in a Hyacinth BucketKeeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...
-style misguided effort to make themselves seem classier than they are. While his friends Roosevelt (Loren Schein) and Phillip (Al Troupe) dine on simple bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
-and-cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
sandwiches for lunch, Donald is saddled with crab sandwiches and other cooking atrocities. To his horror, he discovers his wife has bought an unusually large Major Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
microwave oven
Microwave oven
A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
, which makes the meals worse in half the time.
After coming home drunk one night and getting into an argument with May, Donald loses his temper and bludgeon
Club (weapon)
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
s her to death with a large pepper grinder. He wakes up the next day with a bad hangover, no memory of the night before, and a growling stomach. He discovers May's corpse in the microwave and after the initial wave of horror passes, he starts to take it in stride, telling his co-workers that he and May separated. After work, he then cuts up May's body and stores it in foil wrap in the fridge. A running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
involving May's head retaining some sort of sentience is introduced during this scene.
Looking for a midnight snack one night, Donald unintentionally takes a few bites
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
of May's hand, and (again) after the initial wave of horror passes, he realizes it's the best thing he's ever eaten. He even brings some to work with him and shares it with Phillip and Roosevelt, who concur. He soon starts picking up hookers and using them for meat in his recipes.
While cooking one night, Donald has a mild heart attack and goes to his doctor, who tells him of a pacemaker
Pacemaker
An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...
that was put in when he had some excess weight, but says he is fine overall. May's equally shrewish sister Evelyn (Sarah Alt) shows up, having not heard from her sister in some time. She finds her head, and is gagged with bread and thrown, tied up, in Donald's closet.
Donald's lunches continue to be a hit with his friends, and he decides to cater an outing to a wrestling match with a new recipe he calls "Peking chick
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
." When Roosevelt and Phillip show up to pick up Donald, they discover him dead on the floor of a heart attack, and some body parts in the microwave. They leave in horror and disgust, realizing what Donald had been serving them.
Some time later, the house is up for sale and movers are taking the furniture out. A repairman examines the microwave and discovers a problem with the wires, commenting that it would be bad for someone with a pacemaker. We then zoom into the fridge, which opens to reveal May's head. Her eyes glow orange as the film ends.