Themes: Serial Killers, Cannibals, Cooks and Chefs
Main Cast: Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Susan Saiger, Ed Begley, Jr.
Release Year: 1982
Country: US
Run Time: 83 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Eating Raoul was celebrated at the time of its release as the perfect marriage between mainstream moviemaking and the so-called "underground" cinema. Cult-film icons Mary Woronov and Paul Bartel (both of whom directed) play a married couple who decide to cash in on the sexual perversions of others. Posing as a hooker, Woronov lures the "johns" in and indulges their every kinky whim, whereupon Bartel kills the unwary client, steals the valuables, and sells the corpse for dog food. Though they see nothing wrong in what they're doing, they react in prudish disgust at the sexual preferences of their victims. Eventually, Raoul (Robert Beltran), the fellow who transports the corpses to the dog food concern, proves expendable--and extremely edible. Eating Raoul features a high-powered comic supporting cast, among them Buck Henry, Ed Begley Jr., Richard Paul, Hamilton Camp, and Edie McClurg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Paul Bartel's black comedy about a middle-class couple who want to open a restaurant has become a cult classic. Bartel and Mary Woronov play a staid couple who formulate a plan to murder and rob "swingers" to finance their dream of opening a gourmet restaurant. Bartel, who dealt in black comedy long before it became fashionable, has created an oddly affectionate satire of this Moral Majority couple, whose righteousness is concealed behind anonymous polyester surfaces, and are literally dubbed the Blands. Although they believe that the "swingers", i.e. anyone single who is having sex, deserve to die for their terrible transgressions, they're so humane toward their victims that they evoke especially unctuous undertakers. Mary Woronov, a fixture of Warhol's Factory in the '60s, and someone whose mien always suggested the unspeakable, is a witty choice as the homicidal wife, and Bartel adopts the role of tract-house suburbanite with eerie aplomb. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Dan Barrows - Bobbie R.; Dick Blackburn - James; Ralph Brannen - Raoul's Friend; Hamilton Camp - Mr. Peck; Buck Henry - Mr. Leech; Edie McClurg - Susan; Billy Curtis - Little Person; Garry Goodrow - Drunk Swinger; Darcy Pulliam - Nurse Sheila; John Shearin - Patient; Don Steele - Host; Robert V. Barron - Butler at Swingers Party; Anna Mathias - Secretary; John Paragon - Sexshop Salesman; Allan Rich - Nazi; Mark Woods - Hold-up Man; Rick Waln - Doris' Admirer; Myron Meisel; Arlene Harris - Swinger; Carol Bahoric; Richard Paul - Mr. Kray
Credit
Paul Bartel - Director, Alan Toomayan - Editor, Arlon Ober - Composer (Music Score), Bob Schulenberg - Production Designer, Gary Thieltges - Cinematographer, Anne Kimmel - Producer, Paul Bartel - Screenwriter, Richard Blackburn - Screenwriter, Gary Graver - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Myron Meisel - Production Assistant
