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Comedy Cult Classic

An oversized microwave, a fed-up husband, and a taste for human flesh—dinner is served.

MICROWAVE MASSACRE

1979 · 1h 16m · NR · Comedy / Horror

Fed up of his wife's bad cooking, Donald kills her and turns to cannibalism to satisfy his appetite.

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Vault Note

Proof that sometimes, revenge really is a dish best microwaved.

Programmer's Pick

This is the kind of dinner party you RSVP to with a resounding 'no, thanks'—unless, of course, you like your comedy as black as your humor and your horror served up with a side of microwaved cannibalism. Jackie Vernon’s deadpan performance as Donald turns culinary dissatisfaction into a truly grotesque solution. It’s the only film that could make you wary of both home appliances and potluck leftovers.

— SassyFlix Programmer
Quick Answer
What is Microwave Massacre about?

Microwave Massacre is a 1979 American comedy-horror film directed by Wayne Berwick about a construction worker who, fed up with his wife's cooking, kills her and turns to cannibalism.

Themes & Keywords

Synopsis

Donald (Vernon) is an overweight, middle-aged construction worker with a big problem: his shrew of a wife May (Claire Ginsberg) has started to only cook gourmet foods in a Hyacinth Bucket-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 bludgeons 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 refrigerator. 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 some years earlier 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 severed head in the garage refrigerator, 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 kitchen floor of a heart attack, and some partly cooked 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 (director Wayne Berwick, in an uncredited cameo) 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. 
Details & Specs
Director
Wayne Berwick
Writers
Craig Muckler, Thomas Singer
Release
1979
Runtime
1h 16m
Genres
Comedy, Horror
Also Known As
La masacre del microondas

Why Cult

Kitchen Nightmare Cannibalism

Donald’s culinary revenge on his wife devolves into a spree of cannibalistic cuisine—served piping hot from a Major Electric microwave.

Deadpan Jackie Vernon

Best known for his voice work, Jackie Vernon anchors the film with his dry delivery as the hapless, homicidal Donald.

Gourmet Gone Wrong

The film skewers upscale food pretensions, turning misguided gourmet ambition into a recipe for disaster.

Trailer

Questions from the Vault

What is Microwave Massacre about? +

Microwave Massacre follows Donald, a construction worker who, frustrated by his wife's bad cooking, kills her and becomes a cannibal.

When was Microwave Massacre released? +

Microwave Massacre was released in 1979.

Who directed Microwave Massacre? +

Microwave Massacre was directed by Wayne Berwick.

How long is Microwave Massacre? +

Microwave Massacre has a runtime of 76 minutes.

What genre is Microwave Massacre? +

Microwave Massacre is a comedy-horror film.

Where can I watch Microwave Massacre? +

Microwave Massacre is available to stream on SassyFlix.