Ritual sacrifice meets sleaze in this cult grindhouse shocker set during Mardi Gras.
MARDI GRAS MASSACRE
Everyone is celebrating nobody hears the screams of the victims for the sacrifice.
Police try to capture someone who is commiting ritual murders of women during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
The only parade in New Orleans where beads aren’t the most dangerous thing flying.
If your taste runs toward the lurid end of the horror spectrum, Mardi Gras Massacre delivers with ritual Aztec sacrifices, a masked killer, and enough sleaze to turn Bourbon Street green. Jack Weis leans deep into the grindhouse gutter—nudity, gore, and a crime procedural all sloshed together in the Big Easy.
— SassyFlix Programmer
Mardi Gras Massacre is a 1978 American horror film directed by Jack Weis about a series of ritual murders targeting women during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
- Director
- Jack Weis
- Writer
- Jack Weis
- Release
- 1978
- Runtime
- 1h 37m
- Country
- United States of America
- Language
- English
- Genres
- Horror
- Also Known As
- Emisario del Terror
Synopsis
Sergeant Frank Hebert and his partner are assigned to Shirley's murder case after her body is found on train tracks in the city. When questioning other local prostitutes, Hebert meets Sherry, and discovers from her that the man whom Shirley had left with the night she died wore an unusual gold ring.
Meanwhile, John continues to stalk local strip clubs and bars for further female victims, performing the same evisceration and sacrificial murders on them. Hebert eventually comes upon a delivery man who helps lead police to the apartment belonging to John, where he has three women held hostage for a ritual sacrifice planned for the Mardi Gras celebration.
The police raid the apartment and save the three women, but John escapes on foot, finds a car, and begins a high-speed chase that ends with him crashing in the Gulf of Mexico. When they pull the car from the Gulf, they find the ritual mask, but John is nowhere to be found.
Why Cult
The killer isn't just after victims—he's offering hearts to the goddess Coatl in full Aztec sacrificial mode.
This is pure low-budget sexploitation, packed with graphic violence, nudity, and the kind of content only a grindhouse could love.
New Orleans’ Mardi Gras isn’t just the backdrop—it’s the perfect carnival of vice for ritual murder and mayhem.
The film's masked murderer brings a distinct, unsettling presence to each ritual, leaving a trail of bodies and bizarre ceremonies.
Questions from the Vault
What is Mardi Gras Massacre about? +
Mardi Gras Massacre is about police trying to capture a killer committing ritual murders of women during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
When was Mardi Gras Massacre released? +
Mardi Gras Massacre was released in 1978.
Who directed Mardi Gras Massacre? +
Mardi Gras Massacre was directed by Jack Weis.
How long is Mardi Gras Massacre? +
Mardi Gras Massacre has a runtime of 97 minutes.
What genre is Mardi Gras Massacre? +
Mardi Gras Massacre is a horror film.
Where can I watch Mardi Gras Massacre? +
Mardi Gras Massacre is available to stream on SassyFlix.