H.P. Lovecraft once wrote “And with strange aeons even death may die” attributing it to the ultimate tome of evil, The Necronomicon. And that brings us to the central point of Tyler Amm’s new film BUTCHER THE BAKERS, what do you do when death itself needs to die? When a recently fired Reaper unleashes a wave of killing on a small town, that’s exactly what needs to happen.

Dragomir (Mike Behrens) has been the most feared of the Reapers as long as anyone can remember. But as times change so does his job. Frustrated at being limited to collecting the souls of the old and of stupid teenagers he begins making unsanctioned kills. This gets him fired. His response is to unleash a wave of death on the town of Ottawa Ohio for reasons known only to him.

To stop him Lance The Commissary (Alex Dittmer GRACE’S ROOM) hires two slackers from the local bakery Martin (Ryan Matthew Ziegler) and Sam (Sean Walsh). Together with a motley crew of locals, they have to take a stand against Death itself. And Death is bringing some friends.

As you can probably tell, BUTCHER THE BAKERS is as much a comedy as a serious horror film. Fans of Terry Pratchett or the show DEAD LIKE ME will recognize the bureaucracy surrounding the collecting of souls. And that’s just one of so many things that get roasted. Things like small-town life, gun culture, and religion all come under the hammer.

Throw in references to everything from pro wrestling (Dragomir looks like a slightly thinner version of The Undertaker) to BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, THE TERMINATOR and E.T. add loads of blood and let it simmer. How much you like the results will depend on your sense of humor. I found it funny but often a bit too silly. Those who like their humor that way will appreciate the film a lot more.

BUTCHER THE BAKERS is out now on VOD from genre specialists Dark Cuts.