Small Town Myths and Slasher Mayhem in Butcher’s Bluff [Tubi Horror Review]

Genre – Horror
Directors – William Instone and Matt Rifley
Writers – William Instone and Renfield Rasputin
Cast – William Instone, Brinke Stevens, Paige Steakley, Jeremy London, Johnny Huang, Bill Oberst Jr., Paul T. Taylor, Michael Fischer and Shawn C. Phillips
Runtime – 123 Minutes
My Rating For Trashy Dumb Fun – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆

Watch/Stream Butcher’s Bluff on Tubi for free

If you know anything about me, you will know I like watching low budget trashy horror films, for some of dumb fun and good to put on when I want to turn my brain off. and Tubi is the perfect platform to find them.

So I will be doing mini reviews, well more statements, about these films, much shorter than my other reviews, and my ratings for the films will generally be based on how much fun they are in a trashy dumb way, because not many of them are actually good in the objective sense.

All my Tubi horror film reviews

Butcher’s Bluff

A group of film students travels to the isolated town of Butchers Bluff to document the dark local urban legend of “The Hogman,” a grotesque, pig-masked killer.

My Thoughts on Butcher’s Bluff

Classic slasher foundation

A group of students traveling to a small town to document a local legend is pure old-school slasher DNA, and the movie clearly knows what lane it’s in.

Opening kill

The film opens with a late night truck scene, where the pig masked killer attack sets the tone quickly and tells you exactly what you can expect from it.

The Hogman legend

The backstory featuring a disturbed boy, warnings about the woods, and a town that half believes the legend helps give the killer a solid sort of mythic foundation to it all.

Outsiders feeling vulnerable

The sheriff’s warning to stay out of the woods feels like a classic slasher red flag waving proudly.

The Town interviews

Hearing different versions of the Hogman story helps to give the setting some personality and intrigue.

Fun genre cameos

Brinke Stevens, Bill Oberst Jr., Jeremy London, and Shawn C. Phillips all add some slasher credibility, and their appearances feel like love letters to genre fans.

Michael Fischer

Fischer delivers the best performance out of them all.

The Hogman

The pig mask is a strong visual choice, I mean, who doesn’t like a pig mask in a horror film?

Kills are decent enough

The violence is decent enough, and features some smart cutaways, too.

Characters make frustrating choices

Survival instincts often vanish when the plot needs it, which is nothing new in the horror genre, and Butcher’s Bluff is no different, with bad decisions being repeated.

Runtime

It’s way too long for what it offers, and trimming it would have improved the pacing.

Sequel tease felt unnecessary

Ending with sequel setup undercuts it a bit, especially after such a long runtime.

Final Thoughts on Butcher’s Bluff

If you like old skool type dumb slashers, Butcher’s Bluff delivers something – not much mind you, but something.

It’s all very familiar with the same type of tropes as you would expect, but it has that old slasher energy vibe to it that kept me watching.

Final Score for Trashy Dumb Fun: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆

UP: Classic slasher setup, strong opening, Hogman design, genre cameos, solid kills, forest atmosphere
DOWN: Overlong runtime, pacing dips, frustrating character choices, unnecessary sequel tease

Butcher’s Bluff Trailer

Simon Leasher

A lover of cinema for over 35 years, I have watched many films from around the world in many different genres, yet I still normally always come back to trashy slasher horror films when in doubt. More

And yes, The Godfather 2 is better than The Godfather.