I didn't expect to like this funny and gory horror comedy as much as I did. It's certainly not for all tastes; even though it runs only about 80 minutes (including the long closing credits),the pace is extremely slow and nothing much really happens throughout. The gore effects are cheap but effective. The villains are a really twisted gang: the foul-mouthed, abusive, wheelchair-bound matriarch, the clumsy and slightly retarded son, the sadistic hottie daughter (no nudity from her, though the opportunity does come twice - what a shame!). The "hero" is an alcoholic ex-cop who has to put a stop to their activities implied by the title. All of the acting is amateurish, but at least the actors don't take themselves too seriously and seem to be in on the joke. This film will probably be appreciated only by those viewers interested in low-budget horror film-making. (**1/2)

A number of Grade-Z horror icons like J. R. Bookwalter and Dave DeCoteau were involved with this turkey. The leads are played by non-actors Mary Jackson, Scott Spiegel and Susan Rothacker. The result is exactly what I deserve for haunting a dying video store and buying its used tapes for five bucks a pop. A homicidal mother and her two grown children–the Crawdaddy Clan, no less--all look the same age as they travel around butchering and flaying convenient victims. Then their van breaks down and they're forced to stay with some equally weird country yokels. Mother Dear, a scraggly-haired, wheelchair-riding one-eyed wonder, is rude to her hosts and eats like a wild hog at the dinner table but the nerds let her stay anyway. The son and daughter are grubby, foul-mouthed, incestuous and so inept that most of their victims don't die the first time, so we get to see some of the same people hacked on more than once. The dopey hosts don't catch on to what their guests really are until just before they're murdered and hung up to dry. This is one of the most scatological horror films ever and there's not one likable, normal or even rational character in the whole picture. The acting is over-the-top, the writing and plot are negligible and most of the production values are rock-bottom but SKINNED ALIVE, if nothing else, lives up to its name. Except for one fake hatchet murder the numerous splatter effects are convincing and there actually is one live skinning with the killers playing with the peeled hide afterward. In the best scene a Jehovah's Witness walks up to Mrs. Crawdaddy and asks "Are you happy with your life?" She pulls a Colt .45 and blows him away. Maybe she isn't so bad after all.

A traveling family of sickos, an inept brother/ sister team and their wheelchair-bound mother, Crawldaddy (Mary Jackson of "The Waltons" fame),have their car brake down after they kill a guy. So they stay at the neighbors of an alcoholic ex-cop and continue nonchalantly killing people. Will the cop exorcise his demons long enough to put an end to Crawdady and families reign of terror? Due to the ultimately jaw-dropping awfulness, Will we even care? To be fair the first 10 minutes hold a little promise and the last 20 are OK by me. It's just the endless minutes of stupid slapstick 'comedy' in the middle where the movie becomes a chore to sit through. and what a painful chore it is. The film would have been a good short film. But as it is now, it's not even passable entertainment.

My Grade: D

DVD Extras: Commentary with JR. Bookwalter and David Lange; Isolated music score audio track; 35 minute Making-of; Behind the scenes; camera and wardrobe tests; About the Remastering; Artwork and Stills Galleries; an episode of 'Roomates"; Theatrical Trailer; and Trailers for "Ozone", "Eddie Presley", "Dead and Rotting", and "Hell Asylum"