A new film shot in Greater Cincinnati is getting its big debut at a local theater.
“Hands Across Tromerica” is a traveling film festival by Troma Films that will showcase six of their newest genre flicks. The festival kicks off at Clifton’s Esquire Theatre on Saturday, March 22 and includes the premiere of Sweet Meats, a horror-musical comedy by Northern Kentucky filmmakers Ricky Glore and Nicholas Hiance.
Written and directed by Glore, Sweet Meats tells the story of country music legend Bobby Sweet, who is also the world-renowned face of his restaurant, Sweet Meats, which he and his wife first opened in 1978. But how does Bobby get his meat to be so sweet, and how did his restaurant take off so quickly?
“Sometimes a ‘secret ingredient’ should stay that way,” reads a description of the film. “They always say, ‘You’d be disgusted if you knew what you were really eating!’ They might be right…’”
The film’s narrative is enhanced by over a dozen twangy country and rock tracks — and a couple of jingles — that tell the story behind Bobby and Sweet Meats.
“Just from watching the trailer, you get the sense that there’s a love for the grindhouse horror movies of the late ‘70s, but there’s also an almost Christopher Guest-like mockumentary vibe to it,” Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Films, said in a press release.
Sweet Meats was filmed in and around Cincinnati, with much of the film taking place inside the recently demolished Bobby Mackey’s honkytonk in Wilder. Glore co-stars in the film alongside Timmy Barron, Eileen Earnest, Andrew Gordon and Amanda Chilelli. It’s the second full-length film by Glore and Hiance, who also created All Your Friends are Dead.
Sweet Meats premieres at Hands Across Tromerica at Esquire at 6 p.m. on March 22. The other films being shown during the festival include, Bring on the Damned!, Curse of the Weredeer, Kill Dolly Kill, Rise of the Super Tromettes and #ShakespeareShitStorm. You can purchase a ticket for only the premiere of Sweet Meats for $20 or $35 for the whole event.
Watch the trailer for Sweet Meats below.
Esquire Theatre, 320 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, More info: esquiretheatre.com.
This article appears in Feb 19 – Mar 4, 2025.