{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Butcher Boys | image = | alt = | caption = One sheet movie poster featuring original title. | director = {{plainlist| * Duane Graves * Justin Meeks }} | producer = {{plainlist| * Kim Henkel * Ian Henkel * Patrick Cassidy }} | writer = {{plainlist| * Kim Henkel }} | starring = {{plainlist| * Ali Faulkner * Johnny Walter * Derek Lee Nixon * Tory Taranova * Gregory Kelly * Phillip Wolf * Matt Hensarling * Sonny Carl Davis * Jack Lee * Tom Byrne * Tank Turner * Justin Meeks * Tony Wolford }} | music = {{plainlist| * Josh Morrow }} | cinematography = Ricardo Diaz | editing = {{plainlist| * Duane Graves }} | distributor = Phase 4 Films (North America) | released = {{Film date|2012|08|04|Fantasia International Film Festival}} | runtime = 86 minutes | country = United States | language = English }} '''''Butcher Boys''''' is a 2012 American horror cannibal film written and produced by Kim Henkel, who co-created 1974's ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' with Tobe Hooper. The film was directed by Duane Graves and Justin Meeks. It was originally titled ''Boneboys''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.joblo.com/new-artwork-release-information-for-butcher-boys-formerly-boneboys-from-tcm-scribe/|title=New artwork, release information for Butcher Boys (formerly Boneboys), from TCM scribe|website=JoBlo|date=2013-08-08}}</ref>
The film was picked up by Phase 4 Films<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3249757/exclusive-clip-from-phase-4s-butcher-boys/|title=Exclusive 'Butcher Boys' Clip Offers You A Cookie, and Death|website=Bloody Disgusting|date=2013-08-21}}</ref> shortly after its world premiere at the 2012 Fantasia International Film Festival,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/07/fantasia-fest-announces-new-satoshi-kon-animation-award-announces-set-of-films-for-2012-fest-242061/|title=Fantasia Fest Announces New Satoshi Kon Animation Award, Announces Set of Films for 2012 Fest|website=IndieWire|date=2012-07-06}}</ref> and later made its US premiere at the 2012 Austin Film Festival.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/article/Austin-Fest-features-S-A-ties-3960186.php|title=Austin Fest features S.A. ties|website=MySA|date=2012-10-18}}</ref> Phase 4 Films released the movie in theaters on September 6, 2013, under the tagline "You Are What You Eat."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.movieinsider.com/m11916/butcher-boys|title=Butcher Boys Movie|website=Movie Insider|date=2013-10-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3250833/chew-on-the-trailer-for-butcher-boys/|title=Chew On the Trailer For 'Butcher Boys'|website=Bloody Disgusting|date=2013-08-27}}</ref> In 2016, PopHorror named it one of the "Top 10 Cannibal Themed Horror Movies of the 21st Century."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pophorror.com/top-10-cannibal-themed-horror-movies-21st-century/?fbclid=IwAR2NJMBCPkoziRp5ZqC-9QjBfgXRc4VNmXM-1U-zFiWeEQ4tK905ewCD8Ig|title=Top 10 Cannibal Themed Horror Movies of the 21st Century|website=Pop Horror|date=2016-03-21|archive-date=2022-04-03|access-date=2022-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403072710/https://www.pophorror.com/top-10-cannibal-themed-horror-movies-21st-century/?fbclid=IwAR2NJMBCPkoziRp5ZqC-9QjBfgXRc4VNmXM-1U-zFiWeEQ4tK905ewCD8Ig|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Plot== A group of Texas youths are celebrating a birthday at a posh San Antonio restaurant when they cross paths with a ravenous clan of cannibals called the Boneboys. Mercilessly stalked through the darkened streets of the city, the young revelers must fight back against their attackers with sheer ferocity in order to avoid having their bodies defiled, and their flesh devoured.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/butcher-boys-v585447|title=Butcher Boys (2012)|website=AllMovie|date=2013-09-06}}</ref> ''Butcher Boys'' is described as an updating of Jonathan Swift’s 1729 satirical essay ''A Modest Proposal'', which suggested poor people sell their children to the rich as food. Writer Kim Henkel imagined the descendants of folks who actually took Swift up on his proposal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2013-10-08/a-texas-chain-saw-pedigree/|title=A 'Texas Chain Saw' Pedigree|website=Austin Chronicle|date=2013-10-08}}</ref>
==Cast== {{Cast listing| * Ali Faulkner as Sissy * Johnny Walter as "Bossboy" * Derek Lee Nixon as Benny * Tory Taranova as Barbie * Gregory Kelly as "Amphead" * Phillip Wolf as Mikey * Matt Hensarling as Kenny * Sonny Carl Davis as Carl Wayne * Jack Lee as Buddy * Tom Byrne as "Doc" * Tank Turner as Ollie * Justin Meeks as Caesar * Tony Wolford as "Ton" * Katie Patterson as Rachel }}
==Production== Kim Henkel originally wrote ''Butcher Boys'' in 2008 as a modern sequel to 1974's ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'', which he co-created with Tobe Hooper. He later re-wrote ''Butcher Boys'' as a standalone film.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://dailydead.com/butcher-boys-qa-with-directors-duane-graves-and-justin-meeks/|title=Butcher Boys Q&A with Directors Duane Graves and Justin Meeks|website=Daily Dead|date=2013-08-09}}</ref> Richard Whittaker of ''The Austin Chronicle'' wrote, "...a cannibal film, loosely adapted from Jonathan Swift's ''A Modest Proposal'', in rural Texas? Hard not to see the connection."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2022-02-18/the-bulgarian-chainsaw-massacre/|title=The Bulgarian Chainsaw Massacre|website=The Chronicle|date=2022-02-18}}</ref>
Production took place in both Austin and San Antonio. It was directed and edited by two of Henkel's previous film students, Duane Graves and Justin Meeks, with whom he had collaborated in 2009 on the Bigfoot horror feature ''The Wild Man of the Navidad''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.outlawvern.com/2020/10/01/butcher-boys/|title=Butcher Boys|website=Outlaw Vern|date=2020-10-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2008-09-19/674074/|title=Beware: Bigfoot Ahead|website=The AC|date=2008-09-19}}</ref>
==Reception== {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|0|2.4|5|ref=yes|access-date=30 January 2024}}
Reviews of the movie were polarized. Bloody Disgusting described it as "tainted meat you've tasted before."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3252682/bd-review-butcher-boys-is-tainted-meat-youve-tasted-before/|title='Butcher Boys' is Tainted Meat You've Tasted Before|website=BloodyDisgusting.com|date=2013-09-11}}</ref> Evan Saathoff of Birth. Movies. Death. described it as "a strange, misguided film."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2013/08/26/movie-review-butcher-boys-is-nearly-unwatchable|title=Movie Review: BUTCHER BOYS Is Nearly Unwatchable|date=2013-08-26}}</ref> ComingSoon.net explained "this is one of those films that will split people right down the middle. It may have nothing to offer some and others may find its madness exhilarating. The performances are certainly unhinged and played to perfection."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/horror/news/734960-review-butcher-boys|title=Review: - Butcher Boys|date=2013-08-29}}</ref> Joel Harley of ''Horror DNA'' wrote "it's brutal, gory and disarmingly amusing, ''Butcher Boys'' is a fun film by ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre''’s less remembered co-creator and two exciting new directors."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.horrordna.com/movies/butcher-boys-movie-review|title=Butcher Boys Movie Review|date=2014-11-04}}</ref> DVD Exotica proclaimed "''Butcher Boys'' is not an official TCM movie in name. But it is absolutely, 100% the next chapter in the story."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdexotica.com/2015/03/texas-chainsaw-massacre-5-butcher-boys.html|title=Texas Chainsaw Massacre 5: - Butcher Boys|date=2015-03-04}}</ref> While Outlaw Vern concluded, "it’s worth completist viewing for ''Chainsaw'' series fanatics like myself."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.outlawvern.com/2020/10/01/butcher-boys/?fbclid=IwAR2vrigvfN6NrTQe5Hc5wJ81W8rZjIt4Wnjcxk4yGKs-HKcQ0as2NdUL1w8|title=Butcher Boys|date=2020-10-01}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|1740476}} *{{Official website|http://greeksfilms.com/films/butcher-boys/}} *[https://dailydead.com/butcher-boys-qa-with-directors-duane-graves-and-justin-meeks/ Interview with co-directors Duane Graves and Justin Meeks at Daily Dead] *[https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/47860/exclusive-kim-henkel-talks-butcher-boys/ Interview with writer Kim Henkel] at Dread Central {{The Texas Chainsaw Massacre}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butcher Boys (2012 film)}} Category:2012 films Category:2012 horror films Category:American independent films Category:American slasher films Category:Films about cannibalism Category:American exploitation films Category:Films set in Texas Category:Films shot in Texas Category:2012 English-language films Category:2012 American films Category:English-language horror films Category:The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise)