Combining elements of horror and comedy isn't easy. Though usually rather pathetic or miles off the target, the mixture is occasionally successful: to mind come Roman Polanskis "Dance of the Vampires" and Peter Jackson's "Brain Dead". Another thing that comes to mind are (often) gritty European productions of the 1960's and 1970's, that where brimming with pitch-black humour and which combined horror and comedy at a well-balanced 50/50 level. And among the finest example is "Lo strangolatore di Vienna": The story is very similar to the Sweeney Todd tale: Otto, a humungous, mentally unstable butcher is released from the madhouse and ends up with a string of (originally unintentional) murders on his hand. Post-war times being hard and meat scarce, Otto does what comes closest and grinds his victims to sausage meat. The sausages are bestsellers and eventually even the Viennese police are on the Ottos list of customers.I've mentioned that it's hard to believe that this film actually is Italian, not Austrian. That's mainly because I've watched the synchronized German version which has been dubbed into finest Viennese dialect, as you'd only find it backyards and working class quarters. If familiar with (Austrian)-German, it's a joy to watch; the quick-talking yet always wordy and always biting dialogue – it's about authentic Viennese as it gets.Pillar of the film is actor Victor Buono – Buono shines in sweaty role, slowly transforming from a gentle, even though mentally instable hulk, originally murdering (almost) by mistake, to a truly scary, blood-thirsty psychopath. Buono has that rare gift to convincingly appear mild, kind-hearted, creepy and psychotic at the same time – the nearest one could compare this to would be some of Donald Pleasances finest performances.Granted, those 1970's Euro B-flicks have often not aged very well, today coming across as 1960's Doris Day and Tony Randall kind-of affairs (just with more nudity) and slightly gorier Hammer productions but if names like Brad Harris or Karin Field ring a bell, then this may well be a little, forgotten gem, wrapped up in a original Viennese sausage – just remember: never mix swine and beef and try to go for the German dubbed version if you have a chance! 8 from 10 points.

Vegetarians, and all those with an aversion to red meat (like me), should be warned away from the 1971 Italian/German horror comedy "The Mad Butcher" (or, as it is called here under its earlier title, "Meat Is Meat"). Though the film's violence is not explicit and is mainly limited to bloodless throttlings, the initial close-ups of bloody chops, steaks and schnitzels being sliced and torn is guaranteed to turn the stomachs of all those soyboys and soychicks. In the film, Victor Buono plays Otto Lehman, "the best butcher in Vienna," who is released from a mental institution, after three years, for beating a customer over the head with a raw liver. (She had it coming, as it turns out!) Otto's wife, brother-in-law and neighbors soon rouse his temper to a murderous pitch, however, and before long, his pushcart sausages are sporting a new, all-natural ingredient! Made on the supercheap, rarely funny, and with poor dubbing and sound to boot, "The Mad Butcher," like Otto's sausages, is a real mixed bag at best, though there are some joys to be had. For one, the score by Alessandro Alessandroni (who had so impressed me with his wonderful music for such disparate films as "Killer Nun" and "The Devil's Nightmare") is quite amusing and catchy, reminiscent of a Munchen beer hall in the 1920s. And Buono himself is quite marvelous, by turns sympathetic, amusing and scary. The sight of him, with his 300+-lb. bulk and wielding a straight-edge razor, practically frothing at the mouth in a berserker rage, is one that will surely stick in the memory. The film is rarely interesting when Buono is offscreen--such as during the tedious scenes of a Chicago reporter romancing one of Buono's neighbors--but when he's on, you can't take your eyes off him. An amusing curiosity at best, "The Mad Butcher" might still do you the favor of forever turning you off to those mystery monkey-meat sausages you've been scarfing down with your breakfast!

When formerly respected local butcher Otto Lehmann (Buono) is released from a mental health asylum (calmly explaining he's now cured of his ills after a good lie down), his wife's incessant nagging quickly flips his crazy switch, and he soon finds his murderous impulses escalating out of his control. Intrepid local reporter Brad Harris suspects Otto might not be as cured as his small-goods, but lucky for Otto, his knackwurst are proving to be a hit, particularly with the local constabulary.Looking at the box cover to the video version of this movie, one might be reluctant to view, for fear of the unsavoury content that might be lurking within. Having seen this movie a few times, I can say with confidence, that such a reluctance would be unwarranted. Far from being another inept slasher movie, this Italian offering is an inspired black comedy, that benefits from a deliciously maniacal performance by the inimitable slapstick villain, Victor Buono. His camp acting more than compensates for the paltry production values and often claustrophobic staging. Performances like this, underline the untimeliness of Buono's death in the early eighties.Perhaps this was the movie from which sausages attracted the rather unpleasant colloquialism of "mystery bags"? But then "meat is meat", as they say.

With Buono's comedic performance as a butcher who decides to take back over his butcher shop after 3 years in the asylum, and the film's overall tongue-in-cheek approach to the story, this film is an entertaining, dark-humored thriller. The film's bloodless approach to the subject matter is also a welcome change as well to numerous others of its ilk. Also, watch for the well-directed climax!!