Motel Hell is a 1980 American comedy horror film directed by Kevin Connor[2] and starring Rory Calhoun, Nancy Parsons, and Nina Axelrod.

The plot follows farmer, butcher, motel manager, and meat entrepreneur Vincent Smith, who traps travelers and harvests them for his human sausages.

Because of its low budget, the original intent was to make a serious horror film, with moments of disturbing wit and irony.

He buries the victims up to their necks in his "secret garden", then cuts their vocal cords to prevent them from screaming.

She gradually becomes attracted to Vincent's honest manner and folksy charm, much to the dismay of Bruce, who tries to woo her without success.

She ambushes Bruce and knocks him out, then holds Terry at gunpoint to the meat processing plant where Vincent reveals his secret.

He goes to the plant but finds that his brother has armed himself with a giant chainsaw and placed a pig's head over his own as a gruesome mask.

He gasps his final words, leaving the farm and "secret garden" to Bruce and lamenting his own hypocrisy for using preservatives.

United Artists (UA) also rejected it, but reconsidered several months later, following executive changes and the rising popularity of shock films.

[5] Besides Hooper, the Jaffes had also been impressed with director Kevin Connor's 1974 horror film From Beyond the Grave, and ultimately hired him to direct Motel Hell.

[9] Roger Ebert gave the film a score of three out of four stars, writing: "What Motel Hell brings to this genre is the refreshing sound of laughter.

"[10] Adam Tyner of DVD Talk gave the film four out of five stars, writing, "With its cacklingly dark sense of humor and some unforgettably twisted visuals, Motel Hell still feels fresh and wildly unique even all these decades later.

praised the film, calling it a successful imitator of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Comparing it to Hooper's film, Gallman wrote, "Motel Hell is one such successful imitator because it doesn’t just tap into these comedic implications—it unlooses them like a driller would a fount of oil, as its crude but wicked sense of comedy eventually spews forth, soaking the film’s proceedings with an offbeat vibe that forces audiences to consider just what in the hell is really going on here.

In his review, Maltin wrote that, although it was nice to see Rory and Wolfman share screen credit and commended its lively finale, he felt that the film still failed to distinguish itself.

[16] TV Guide wrote, "Motel Hell could have been a great black comedy, but the uneasy direction of Kevin Connor fails to get most of the picture off the ground.

[19] It would take six years from its theatrical release in 1980 for “Motel Hell” to arrive on VHS courtesy of MGM, in an over-sized box featuring the original poster art.

In 2002, MGM released Motel Hell as part of its "Midnite Movies" collection of double-feature DVDs with the 1974 Deranged.