Horror Movie Review: Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver (2011)

Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver is a return to form for the evil biscuit and Full Moon Pictures. After the horrendous follow-up to 2005’s The Gingerdead Man, the series looked to have been left in the oven far too long already. However, the third attempt is the best yet. Simply because it embraces the absurd, ramps up the gore and has some of the funniest writing of the trilogy yet.

If you want to get up to speed with the series so far, you can read our review of The Gingerdead Man here and the 2008 sequel, Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust here.

Released in 2011, it was directed by William Butler who also co-wrote the film with Muffy Bolding. The movie opens with a fantastic parody of The Silence of the Lambs. This sequence is hilarious.

The Gingerdead Man is being held at the Scientific Research Institute for the study of Homicidal Baked Goods. He is the ‘Hannibal Lector’ of the facility but the other inmates steal the show. A French baguette, a ‘baked’ brownie and my favourite, a cream bun with a foul mouth that squirts cream on the FBI agent who is totally not Clarice Starling. Those who know The Silence of the Lambs will have a great time with these scenes.

The parody continues as the Agent quizzes the Gingerdead Man and they share quick-fire responses ala The Silence of the Lambs. She says she wants to study him, to understand why he kills but reveals that she is actually there to destroy him. Why? Well in a surprising moment of continuity, she turns out to be the sister of the homeless man Gingerdead possessed in the final scene of the last movie.

Half-baked? Yes, but we appreciate the attempt to tie the movies together. Before she can destroy him though a group of animal activists break in. They are under the impression that the bakery goods are tortured animals but quickly learn that’s not the case when they free them.

In the chaos, The Gingerdead Man escapes and finds his way to a room in the building that houses a time travel device. The FBI agent is right on his heels forcing him to use it and escape into the past.

1976 to be precise where he arrives at a Roller Disco Beauty Pageant. He tries to use the device to leave but it has stopped working. So, what’s a killer cookie supposed to do when trapped in a time period he doesn’t belong in? Do what he does best!

To fatten out the story, the Roller Disco is to be closed after this night because of unpaid taxes. As well as that, the competition is heating up. With long-term champion Tammy (Kimberly Pfeffer) having her crown challenged by new girl, Cherry (Paris Wagner). She just happens to have telekinetic powers too, just like Carrie.

Expect more spoofs, Gingerdead Man 3 is filled with them. Some more obvious then others which will probably get a few eye rolls. Still, the movie is a lot of fun. Whereas the second film embraced the silliness of it all, it had a mean-spirited streak that didn’t sit well.

Here, everything is played for laughs and often in extremely bad taste. Such as the tale of how roller skating caused the attack on Pearl Harbour. Most of the jokes hit but there are still many that don’t. Mostly in the final third of the movie where things just run out of steam.

Performance wise most put in a good shift, clearly aware of the absurdity of it all but happy to make it work. This time round, William Butler voices the Gingerdead Man and he’s probably the best so far. Whereas Gary Busey was…well, Gary Busey and John Vulich was far too Chucky like, Butler brings a solid performance that sounds unique but not too dissimilar to what came before.

The cookie itself also looks pretty good and some of his facial expressions are funny. In fact, a lot of the effects are decent, at least before CGI takes over. One such graphic scene sees three girls covered in acid whereupon their bodies begin to melt. There’s an obvious moment where the CGI takes over and it doesn’t look good.

Just like the previous movies and many other Full Moon Pictures’ films you have to wrap up a review by reminding everyone that you are watching a horror movie called Gingerdead Man 3. You have to expect a certain level of ‘crapness’ and the movie has that in spades. However, it is a very entertaining load of crapness, the best Gingerdead Man movie yet!