directed by: Gary Sherman
starring: Donald Pleasance, Norman Rossington, David Ladd and Sharon Gurney
runtime: 87 minutes
available at: Amazon.com

the plot: In London, college students Alex (Ladd) and Patricia (Gurney) find a man passed out on the stairs of the Brussels Square tube station. They tell a constable, but when Alex and the cop go back to fetch the man, he's gone. Alex dismisses the whole ordeal and is shocked the next morning when Inspector Calhoun (Pleasance) drags him to the local police station for questioning. Calhoun discovers the disappearance is the latest in a string of missing persons cases in Brussels Square, a station with its own dark past. Underneath the station lie the ruins of a mining cave-in that trapped eight workers in 1892. But as Calhoun and Alex soon learn, the miners didn't die, and their last living descendant is on the hunt.

why it's good: Raw Meat is a tight little thriller with a great concept. The movie's title is about as subtle as things get-rats are gnawed, shovels are stuck in heads and other bits of unpleasantness befall unsuspecting subway dwellers. The film has a few great eerie moments, including one long tracking shot that reveals all the gruesome details of the monster's lair. Ladd and Gurney give passable B-movie performances, but the real star of Raw Meat is Halloween veteran Donald Pleasance, who barrels through the film like some Victorian steam-powered sarcasm machine. Also making a brief appearance is Christopher Lee, playing a bowler-clad, umbrella-toting MI5 agent who exchanges barbed quips with Pleasance in one of the film's funniest scenes.

why you should own it: An underrated, unknown gem, Raw Meat deserves to be watched. Unfortunately, MGM's skimpy DVD features a grainy, muddled transfer of the film with tinny sound. It's worth tracking the film down for a rental, but don't bother buying.