Review: La Petite Mort 2: Nasty Tapes

 Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

La Petite Mort 2: Nasty Tapes (aka La Petite Mort II)
Directed by Marcel Walz;
Matador Film; Bogatzki-movie.com Movie Production;
Unearthed Films; MVD Visual
90 minutes, 2014 / 2023
www.facebook.com/la.petite.mort.2/
www.unearthedvideo.com
https://mvdb2b.com/s/LaPetiteMort2NastyTapes/UN-1149

This is the second chapter of this German transgressive cinema directed by goremaster Marcel Walz (who as since moved and started filming in Los Angeles). In the first installment, the yucky stuff was handled by Olaf Ittenbach, who is absent this time. Still, I have no doubt that will not slow down the ultraviolence. Again, the film is in German with English subtitles. But honestly, I get the feeling, the libretto is not going to matter as much as the visual. The gore effects this time are handled by The Gruesome Twosome, and Megan and Ryan (d. 2019) Nicholson. A cult SFX wizard, Ryan also directed the likes of the Gutterball franchise, Hanger (2009), and Star Vehicle (2010). 

In the first piece, LaPetite Mort, released in 2009 (though taking place in 1998), we are introduced to the Masion La Petite Mort in Frankfurt, where travelers are tortured for the deep web viewing pleasure, as well as an opportunity for rich people to fill their violent fantasies (a la the Hostel franchise), but online. Honestly, I would not be surprised if this actually happens, but as I have never been on the dark web and have no intentions of doing so, I will never know, nor do I want to see that.

Yvonne Wolke, Annika Strauss

The new owner of La Petite Mort is sexually amorphous Monsieur Matheo Maxime (Mika Metz; d. 2017), with his two hench – er – women, brunette Dominque (Annika Strauss), who returns from the first film, and blonde Monique (Yvonne Wölke). Both could have been in the video for the Divinyls’ song “Pleasure and Pain.” They are aided by others, such as the Sexy Nurses (Gabriela Wirbel and Nicole Neukirch), the well-named Eva Brown (Bea La Bea), and Matheo’s wife, Jade (Micaela Schäfer).

In the first film, we are introduced to some tourists who end up at the Jail Bar, and how they end up in Masion La Petite Morte, as well as the follow-up. Here, there is no context, just torture broken up into segments that have title cards such as “Sushi Time” with info on the victim, and how much someone is paying to have them eviscerated. As Ralph Kramden may say, “Pins and needles, needles and pins…” Victims are of both sexes, so there is that. There are also “between” segments with testimonials from happy customers who either paid for the chance to kill, or do the body work themselves. And all of it on camera.

Micalea Schafer, Mika Metz

Much of it is from the perspective of the Web cameras, so it is nearly found footage style, but there is also some “backstage” drama with Matheo and the women who work for him. Even this internal tension is caught on video, as the characters occasionally look directly at the camera and comment.

A sort of by-product of this style is that the person watching this is not just a viewer, but is a participant of the feed.

Gabriela Wirbel, Nicole Neukirch

Stylistically, it is actually shot beautifully, focusing on the faces (or parts thereof) in close-ups of most of the characters, in a darkish, reddish tone. Also, for some reason, there is some clips of Carnival of Souls (1962) and Night of the Living Dead (1968) shown on a monitor (the former also of facial close-ups).

Each set piece has a slightly different feel, such as one called “Gasrechnung” (“Gas Bill”) which has a definite World War II feel, with Eva Brown giving herself a Hitler moustache in blood. Most of this segment is in black and white as in a Leni Riefenstahl-style propaganda film. Interestingly, there is an added censor image over certain parts of the uniforms, which show Nazi iconography. German film: detailed torture permitted, but no symbols of the “fatherland.”

Like Tod Browning in films like Freaks (1932), some odd humans are thrown into the mix, such as The Twins (Barbara and Patrizia Zuchowski). There are also some cool cameos throughout from cult genre filmmakers and/or actors, such as Dustin Mills, Haley Madison, Uwe Bowl, Mike Mendez, Adam Ahlbrandt, and Ryan Nicholson (d. 2019).

Despite splashes (drips?) of laughter in a couple of moments, everyone seems to be unhappy, be it through body dysmorphia, boredom while inflicting pain out of repetition, and of course, the subjects of the sharp objects. This is a pretty joyless film, with minimal humor, though there are some dark moments of it scattered throughout.

The first extra on the Blu-ray is the “Making of La Petite Mort 2” (13 min), which is essentially extended scenes showing more detail of some of the tortures. Then there is an “Alternate Scene” (4 min) that is the “Gas Bill” part, without the edited-out images of the Iron Cross, the “SS” Schutzstaffel logo, and of course the swastika armband (wonder if they ever play Lech Kowalski’s 1980 documentary D.O.A. over there).

The ”Behind the Scenes Gallery” (3 min) is lots of nice shots of the make-up and the cast, and I quite enjoyed it. As for the “Advert” (30 sec), I have no idea what I was looking at. Last, there are a few company trailers, as well as two from this film, and the first La Petite Mort.

As I stated in my review of the first film, “The problem with stories like this, and this is my opinion, is the plot revolves around the action, rather than the action being a result of the story…sometimes it goes beyond what even I can tolerate. If this is your idea of fun, well, please, have at it.”

I realize that this film is a few years old now, but I have to say, the whole premise of strangers being tortured for the pleasure of the rich and/or on the Net for clicks/cash, is becoming a bit cliché, and is merely an excuse for some graphic body horror. Sure, I like a bit of ultraviolence, but my tastes run more to the cartoonish violence, even when explicit, than just someone being tied up and put through the wringer. Also, I like more of a narrative than a string of events. How can one feel anything about any character if there is nothing to bolster the why, other than greed.

 MDB listing HERE

Review: Texas Chainsaw Mascara

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Texas Chainsaw Mascara
Directed by Bill Zebub
Bill Zebub Productions; MVD Entertainment
73 minutes, 2022 / 2023
BillZebubproductions.com/
www.mvdvisuals.com

Man, it has been quite a while since I saw a film by Bill Zebub, an extremely prolific and profane filmmaker; the last release I reviewed of his was Pumpkin Man (the Ultimate Edition) in 2019. 

This clearly states on the cover, “This is not a parody!!!” Zebub is known for off-beat comedies, with films like Zombie Christ (2010), and Dickshark (2016); this film, however, is done as a horror drama.

Manic Panic multi-colored haired Danielle (Dani Bliss) and Andrew (Andrew L. Thomas) are vacationers a loooong way from home, somewhere in rural Texas (hence the film’s title), where they are out to find the house where Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) took place. However, their car gives up the…transmission? They are traveling with Mike (Cheyenne Mobbs) and Bill (Aaron Marquez). Luckily (or not), they run into arm-sleeve local Heather (cute Heather Beck), and Andrew immediately starts insulting her (e.g., her use of the word “cuss” rather than “curse”; yeah, he’s that petty). You may have noticed that many of the characters in this film use the same name as the actors portraying them.

Anthony L. Thomas, Heather Beck

Heather takes them home to her hovel, (except Bill, who stays with the car) where they meet wheelchair bound Zombie (director Bill Zebub) and Piggy (Marc Pearce), who wears the head of a, well, you know. There is also Susan (Maya Waters), married to Zombie, who seems to be in control. However, with Mike telling Andrew some locker room talk and Andrew being a real dick to Susan (e.g., demanding bottled water rather than tap, and having an anti-Christian tee shirt), the Yankees get taken by the Southerners (who have no discernable accent).

An interesting aspect of this family of cannibals is they are not over-the-top nutsy (despite the pig head), such as the Sawyers or even the Fireflys (this film is influenced by Texas Chain Saw Massacre and 2003’s House of 1000 Corpses in its general storyline).

There is also a bit of cultural philosophy thrown around, especially between Susan and the New York crew, with the differences between them in the way they look at their own lives. It is a driver of the film, but not swamped in it. But it does give a nice psychological edge to go along with the violence. It should be noted that Zebub comes from – if I remember correctly – New Jersey, if that means anything to ya. It could be noted that both sides of these groups are making assumptions about the other. Deadly ones. Both sides are assholes, yet they are also empathetic at the same time, which is nicely done.

Maya Waters

Now, let us discuss some sex and violence: Nearly all the extreme violence is done off-camera (low budget necessity), but the post-gore looks really good, especially in the third act, of course. As for body parts, nearly all the women show underwear at some point, but only one gets nekkid (I will not say which); women in underwear is a Zebub trope. Needless to say, not a single piece of clothing is removed from the males. Make of it as you wish.

Yeah, most of the acting is a bit wooden, but again, you know what you are getting, and in this case, it is a decent story and some bloodshed. That works for me.

As with most films, this could have been edited down a bit, such as the “Gethsemane” moment of Bill’s, where he accepts what he must do after cursing out the powers that be; it lasts a bit too long, seemingly long enough for a ballad song to play out on the soundtrack. It is a decent tune, but the point is made half way through it.

The extras on the Blu-ray may not number much, but they are huge. In no particular order there is the Painful Meow video (5 min) of a song called “The Bubble Voyage.” Uh, yeah. Basically it is Zebub rhythmically talking over off-key synth (played by him) with animation that includes a dog floating though the air via a gum bubble, while a man with a pumpkin head and various animals dance around. It is a bit over my head.

There is also a series of shorts called “Gaylord” (26 min). Yeah, I am clueless on this, too. It is a bunch of bits strung together about some feminine gay themes. It is more annoying than anything else, honestly. They focus on said “Gaylord” (Brian Gelitz, a seemingly straight guy cartoonishly “acting” gay) who plays stereotypical. These feel more like either a blooper reel or “extra scenes” thing from around the filming of Dirtbags, but it is not connected to anything. Oy. I kinda gave up at 18 minutes. Personally, I would have liked to have seen some Zebub trailers, instead.

The big extra is a 119 minute 2023 re-cut of a 90-minute feature, Dirtbags (2002). Zebub has a history of rejigging his earlier films, such as one of my favorites, Worst Horror Film Ever Made: The Remake (2008). This is, however, the first time I am getting to see Dirtbags in any variation:

Basically, Dirtbags is a meandering story about three – er – dirtbags. There are drug dealers Bill (Bill Zebub), who is going to college to study Nursing, and George (George “The Slayer” Stiso), and their buyer Scott (Scott Tergeist). Scott is a bit of a ne’er-do-well who lives with his hyper Christian dad (Parker Weller).

The whole point of the film, it seems, is to see how offensive they all can get. The film is highly racist (including a blackfaced “Ebonics” speaker with bulging fake eyes, putting down Black history, and even the use of the word). Meanwhile, Scott frequently zones out and fantasizes about near-naked women dancing around or usually tied up with the camera zooming around their “bits,” sometimes while he takes himself in hand. Scott also keeps asking his father ridiculous questions about his faith (I am an Agnostic and can ask better questions than If God creates, and Jesus was born, how could he be the Son of God?, for example}. Then there is a homophobic depiction of an effeminate gym boss (Tom Cartier) hitting on his employee Andy (Carl Williamson), and coming on to Gaylord (Brian Gelitz).

Sybelle Silverphoenix

Bill has the hots for George’s sister, Anne (Bronx-born Hungarian model and Sean Weathers’ muse Sybelle Silverphoenix). There is also a random cameo by Peter Steele (d. 2010), the bassist of Type O Negative, in obvious inserts into the film, not that I have a problem with that.

It is pretty obvious that a lot of the dialogue is ad libbed around a planned story which, again, I find fine. I did find myself double-speeding the film on the parts with no dialogue. My favorite scene, however, concerned a pizza delivery guy. It is also fun when the film employs the music from “The Little Rascals”/”Our Gang.”

Bill Zebub, Silverphoenix

There is also an attempt at philosophy with the helps of a Dream Goddess (Suzi Lorraine).

For me, the important thing about including Dirtbags is seeing how much Zebub has grown as a film maker from 2002 to 2022. It is like going back and reading something you wrote as a teen after you have been writing for a while. It is also noteworthy on how the style of music included in his films have changed. In the early years, a lot of it was death metal (see Zebub’s documentary, Extreme Metal Retardation), whereas now it has more of an off-kilter melodic tone.

It is the main feature, Texas Chainsaw Mascara, that is the real find here.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: Amber Road

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Amber Road
Directed by B. Luciano Barsuglia
Koa Aloha Media
87 minutes, 2022
www.facebook.com/amberroadmovie
https://koaalohamedia.com/amberroadmovie/
https://amberroadmovie.com

Amber Road, for the purposes of this film, is a Dark Web site where you can order drugs, food, and a host of other things that are technically illegal. But it also has an audience that it caters to who are interested in watching people being tortured and snuffed. Internet torture for hire has been a common theme lately, with the likes of La PetiteMort (2009) and Death Count (2022), among many. Like Hostel (2005), it is merely an excuse to push the envelope on body horror, or what others may call torture porn.

This release is a bit stylized, showing customers making requests (cameos by the likes of Tom Sizemore and Robert LaSardo, both of whom were in the similarly themed Death Count) on what will happen to the captives. And right off the bat, while the film introduces the protagonists (see second paragraph down), it is inter-mixed with scenes of torture, such as involving removal of fingers, which is nicely intercut with someone cutting a hedge using shears: the mundane and the malevolence.

 Rachel Riley

The first couple being tortured during this intro, Mary (Janet Wang) and James (William McNamara), are given a drug to paralyze them, but they can still feel the pain. My question is, why are they bound to a chair, and why do they have ball gags in their mouths if they are immobile (though they easily move their heads and facial expressions do not seem to be affected by the drug)? The perilous mistress of distress is Pauline (Rachel Riley), professionally a mortician we learn early on, who gets pleasure from her “work.”

And speaking of work, our main protagonist is police deputy Emma (Scream Queen Elissa Dowling), whose husband – also a copper – was murdered, is being helped by her brother, Deke (Jed Rowen); meanwhile the nasty Dark Web (sometimes here described as the Deep Web) group is working on the married couple. At the early stage, the two stories flash back and forth. You just know at some point in the storyline, the trains of Emma and Aber Road will meet. But I am still on Act 1.

Elissa Dowling

Eventually, we get to meet the police that are after the Webbers, led by Sherriff Taylor (Vernon Wells), who has nothing to do with Mayberry, or perhaps it is Opie grown up? Yes, there are lots of cameos throughout the film.

When the big reveal comes at the start of Act 3, it will either surprise the hell outta ya, or you will have seen it coming a mile away (I was somewhere between the two). My only issue is I think they gave away the gravy a bit too early in the telling.

The torture parts are actually spaced pretty far apart in the storyline, with lots of dialogue in-between. Do not get me wrong, what we see is gruesome, but I get the feeling some gorehounds are going to get a bit restless. Not only does the gore increase in the third act, but they find places to hurt that I have not seen before, which is – er – refreshing, in an imaginative way.

Jed Rowen

The acting here is great for a low-budgeter, but it is important to remember that most of the cast each has a long history in cinema, so that is hardly surprising. While Dowling is the de facto lead actor (i.e., not cameo), this is totally Riley’s film, as she has the most screen time, and her character is so germane to the violence that occurs.

The effects look good and gross, but I do wish there had been a bit more of it. Sure, it is effective and gooey as bits are snipped away, but there is long gaps between, even if the practical SFX works.

Throughout the film, they employ either a dark filter, or color correction in post-production, which gives the visuals a mostly bluish haze that seems unnecessary. Well, not to this extent, anyway. I understand the practical SFX may look better if it is harder to see, but it gets tiresome after a while, and is employed by too many films these days.

It feels like there is a lot of overlap with the films by Michael Su (who directed Death Count), and those put out by the Cinema Epoch/CineRidge Entertainment group. It is a mix of many of the same actors of the former and style of the latter, which combine to make a low-budget film that is interesting on many levels. It is good to see all these legends in the same film, though none interact together (again, one-day-work cameos), but most seem to be on Zoom, which makes sense in the story. More than a plot of sheer malevolence for the sake of malevolence, this is a tale of greed above all else, even more than, say, revenge.

For reasons I have stated above, this is a between-the-cracks film, in that it may be too mild for the gorehounds and to extreme for the average viewer. But the story works, and in my humble opinion, that is what makes it watchable.

IMBD listing HERE

Review: La Petite Mort

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

La Petite Mort (aka La Petite Mort: Die Nasty)
Directed by Marcel Walz
Laser Paradise; Matador Film; Unearthed Films; MVD Visual
77 minutes, 2009 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.mvdvisual.com
https://myspace.com/lapetitemortmovie

German transgressive cinema, at the moment, has two shining stars of gore and, well, more gore: one is Marcel Walz, and the other is Olaf Ittenbach, both of whom deal with a combination of directing and practical SFX. Their films are certainly not for the squeamish. Naturally, the film is in German, with well-defined English subtitles.

For this film, we get a double-whammy. It is directed by Walz, and the SFX are under the guidance of Ittenbach. What can these two come up with? Well, this release of purposefully questionable taste.

The (translated) title cards let us know this is in 1998, and states this is a true, infamous story, and lists the names of the victims. I hate when that is done (and, unfortunately, so many “true stories” or “found footage” – which this is not – does that very thing). I do not want to know; I want to see and be surprised.

Inés Zahmoul, Anna Habeck

We are introduced to our protagonist/victims right off the bat, as they arrive in Frankfurt during a stopover on their way to Mallorca. They are the couple Simon (Andreas Pape, who was also producer and cinematographer) and blind Nina (Inés Zahmoul), and their companion on this vacation, Dodo (Anna Habeck)

After a way-too-long exposition of the three walking through the city, including the seedy, industrial side, they get mugged. To drown their sorrows, they end up in a local bar called, ironically (or not) Jail’s, where the music is loud, the dancing is raucous, the denizens are scary, and kidnapping is nigh after an argument with their obnoxiously flirtatious waitress, Dominique (Annika Strauss).

From this point (i.e., Act 2), they are now in what is known as Maison la Petite Mort (“House of Little Death”), located in an abandoned factory, which has rooms with the names of the likes of “Slaughterhouse” and “Surgery,” each of which has its own primal colors of blue, red, and cyan. If this is starting to sound a bit like Hostel (2005), yeah, it is a similar theme, but instead of just having customers pay to torture, the action is live streamed for profit.. The joint is run by middle aged Maman (Manoush), who runs it like a business, stealing from her victims.

Magdalèna Kalley, Habeck

I will not continue on and tell you the types of ordeals they go through, as this is typical torture porn at its highest standard. However, I will honestly say, I turned away when the rusty-looking sewing needles came out (needles and eyes are my Kryptonite, and while it is not all that happens, it happens). After all, the whole purpose of these types of transgressive cinema pieces is to revolt and disturb its audience in intimate detail, most of whom watch it with glee or disgust. There is no middle ground, though my tolerance is somewhat varied, depending on the action.

The problem with stories like this, and this is my opinion, is the plot revolves around the action, rather than the action being a result of the story. This is not meant as finger-pointing, as I have a relatively high tolerance for onscreen violence, but sometimes it goes beyond what even I can tolerate. If this is your idea of fun, well, please, have at it.

The film looks really good, with just the right industrial tone, and acid-laced and occasionally philosophical dialogue. The imagery of the story proper actually looks really fine, which is no surprise since both Walz and Ittenbach have experience as filmmakers (and SFX), knowing how to get the right look, tone, and desperation feeling that suits the gorehound’s tastes.

The women who run the Maison, Maman and her “servants” Dominique and blonde Angélique (Magdalèna Kalley), are almost like Cenobites, Maman phrases it by telling Dodo that she will “…take you into a world of your own. A world of your own secret dreams and fantasies…” as she begins her work on Dodo.

While estrogen-based at its core, like Hostel, Maman “rents” out the victims to men who pay large sums to do as they wish, all of which is painful. For example, there is Klaus de Kobold (Thomas Kercmar), with half his face burned and mutilated (fire? Acid?), who gleefully watches as the women are tortured to his specific requests (he does not do it much of it himself, unlike Hostel).

And through all the explicit gore, I still laughed at the occasional title cards that separates some scenes, which are all in French, rather than German. I wonder if this was a nod to Donatien Alphonse François, also known as the Marquis de Sade (d. 1814). Or, perhaps, Giles de Rais (d. 1440). Or both.

It is interesting that there is a subtle Christmas theme to parts of this. But will there be some revenge or will the bad guys…I mean girls win?

As gross as the film was, as it was meant to be, the credit can easily go to Ittenbach who did all the practical SFX. There is no doubt this does not have a cartoonish look, but instead has a strong sense of realism. Tom Savini learned about the insides of the human body as a medic in Vietnam. I wonder where Ittenbach learned his craft, as it is that exact.

Just know, along with the heaping of torture and gore, on occasion there is an additional sense of unsettling, thanks to a shaky, handheld camera. Not to the nauseating level of, say, Cloverfield (2008), thankfully, but it serves it purpose to keep the action on uneven ground, as it were.

I did not see the Blu-ray, which has the following features: a “Making of La Petite Mort” featurette, a commentary with Marcel Walz, an interview with director Marcel Walz and with SFX wizard Olaf Ittenbach, deleted scenes, a gallery, and trailers.

If this film floats yer boat, there is also the sequel, La Petite Mort II: Nasty Tapes (2014).

IMDB listing HERE

Review: Dr. Lamb

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 202
Images from the Internet

Dr. Lamb (aka Goh yeung yee sang)
Directed by Danny Lee; Billy Hin-Shing Tang
Grand River Film Ltd.; Heroes United Films Ltd.; Unearthed Classics; MVD Entertainment
89 minutes, 1992 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.MVDVisual.com/
Hong Kong is not well known for having serial killers making headlines (there have been two as of this writing). This story is somewhat loosely based on one of them. Released in Hong Kong in Cantonese (also available on this Blu-ray in Mandarin or English subtitles), it became one the highest grossing horror films in the city, gathering a Category III Rating (adults only). This new 30 Anniversary Edition is completely uncut, taken from the original negative in 2K, so it is nice and crip.

Simon Yam

The main characters here are Lamb, Lam Gor-Yu (Simon Yam) as the InCel taxi-driver/photographer wannabe turned serial killer, and the main police officer chasing him, Inspector Lee (co-director Danny Lee). The change from Lam to Lamb (I will call him Lam going forward) was most likely a mistake on the English translation, or to keep hidden somewhat that it was a foreign film. At the time this was released, it was towards the end of the great Chinese influx of films, that were mainly Kung Fu or police dramas. With waning interest, and the closing of many Chinese-exclusive theaters (I went to one in Chinatown in New York on occasion with Shaw Bros. aficionado Mariah Aguiar that was torn down shortly after this film came out), and Blockbuster-type superstores that did not show these Category III films very often and were usually grainy or heavily edited, there was a reason to lean to the avoidance of foreign releases. The original Cantonese title translates as “Hong Kong Female Butcher.” But it was the start of a new resurgence of Extreme Asian cinema from Hong Kong.

The film is nicely broken up into consecutive sections. The first deals with Lam’s childhood in an overcrowded city, living with his extended family, including parents, siblings, aunt, uncle and cousins, all in the same small apartment. Even as a pre-teen, the sexual component of his personality was already showing signs of, well, being weird.

Danny Lee

The second section is post-murders, and he and his whole family are arrested, though they know it is Lam who is the killer. He is abused by the police (something quite common in that period, from what I know) and even his own kin.

In the third, when the police focus on Lam, we get to see his crimes in quite shocking detail, including butchery with a saw and scalpel (hence the title), as he keeps body part “mementos.” Yes, this is a pretty gruesome third act that gives it the Category III rating. Definitely not for the squeamish as there are close-ups of his actions. This is a gorehound’s dream that is worth the wait.

And as malevolent as Lam is, it actually doesn’t come close to what the real killer did in his crimes. This would definitely be considered a “Video Nasty” in Britain at the time of its initial release in 1992.

Comic relief cops

There is definitely a level of social commentary mixed in with the story, especially with the abuse Lam had suffered through most of his life, between the tight-quartered family who were not nice people, and the police violence against him. But it is not overt and does not hit the viewer over the head with it. It also does not make any excuses for Lam’s extreme actions.

Yet, with all the violence and body parts, the film is quite beautifully shot and edited, especially during the murder sequences, with odd angles, cool red lights, and a focus on the horrific action. I also enjoyed the scenes in the rain, which reminded me of Blade Runner (1982). Speaking of Runner, as Lam drives around in his taxi, we see some scenes of the city, full of bright neon lights. It is a bit overwhelming and yet beautiful at the same time. Reminds me in some ways of the lights over the bar at CBGB, times 10.

There are some really nice extras added to the Blu-ray, including a full-length commentary by Art Ettinger, editor of Ultra Violent magazine, and Bruce Holecheck, of Cinema Arcana). Their commentary is a bit dry, but their history of the genre is riveting, as they discuss the real case, the history of Category III films, and the backgrounds of the directors, the cast and the crew. Then there are the documentaries and interviews.

First up is “Lamb to the Slaughter: An interview with filmmaker Gilbert Po, who initiated the Dr. Lamb film project” (20 min). In English, Po explains with history and humor, how the idea of the film originated, about the Category III rating, filming anecdotes, and the placement of the film in the culture of both Hong Kong and the rest of the world. Next up is “Three Times the Fear: Film Critic James Mudge on the Golden Era of Category III” (21 min.). This could have been pretty mundane, but it is kept interesting because rather just focusing on the overview of the genre, he mainly discusses the film’s placement in the culture, and how the two leads of this film also did many other Category III films, thereby subtly bringing up multiple others.

Then there is “Cut and Run: Film academic Sean Tierney aka The Silver Spleen remembers Dr. Lamb” (16 min). I was a bit nervous about this one due to the term “academic” and I thought it was going to be dry as dust, but Tierney is actually quite engaging, and I totally respect that he does not just glorify the film, but also points at some flaws (in his opinion), which is actually rare in these commentaries. The last featurette is the “Atomic TV Interview with Simon Yam” (9 min), which is the only one of the four documentary extras that is archival, from a 2000 Anime convention. Yam discusses his overall career.

The last two extras are a bunch of trailers from Unearthed, all but one has been reviewed on this blog. The other is a nice glossy color print collector’s booklet that comes in the clam shell.

It is no surprise to me that this had a Category III rating. There is a lot of nudity, and torture; typical Unearthed fare, which is a strong compliment.

IMDB listing HERE

 

Review: Tokyo Decadence

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Tokyo Decadence (aka Topâzu; Topaz)
Directed by Ryû Murakami
Cinemabrain; Melsat; Unearthed Classics; MVD Entertainment
112 minutes, 1992 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.MVDentertainment.com

It is hard to nail this one down when it comes to categorization. Exploitation? Sexploitation? Asian Extreme Cinema? Transgressive? Well, I guess the film has its leather boot in and on all of them.

This film is infamous, and to be honest, before this, I have never seen it, so I am looking forward to catching up. Despite a penchant for vengeful ghosts, Japan genre releases are more known for violence, gangsters, and underage women and other sexual deviances (that term conditional to the individual viewer).

There are two versions of this film: the first is the U.S.-released “soft core” 92-minute version, but this is the longer, Japanese 112-minurte “harder” one, with more sado-masochism in certain scenes (neither of them is hardcore). Needless to say, the film is in Japanese with English subtitles. The director and writer, Ryû Murakami, is no stranger to over-the-top storytelling, having written the novel upon which was the foundation of Takashi Miike’s Audition (1999). This film is also based on one of his own best-selling novels.

This Japanese production was filmed in Tokyo, at a social stratum I am certain I will never achieve in my lifetime (unless there is a full Lotto in my future).

Miho Nikaido

Right off the bat, we meet a mostly nekkid and tied down Ai (Miho Nikaido) before the credits roll. She is a high-end call girl who specializes in sado-masochistic role playing for incredibly rich men, especially on the receiving end. Her exploits are shown in very loving photography and highly erotic stylings. The first half hour is dedicated to a couple of her couplings, but one really needs to be into that kind of thing for it to be effectives, but I must admit, it’s not my style, either the humiliation, the leather, nor the domination. Artistically, I can marvel at the lighting and the way the camera is used, but the action leaves me cold and – er – unresponsive. I never really understood Japanese kink.

Despite the psycho-sexual tone of the film, the story itself moves at a glacial pace, as Ai superstitiously gets advice from a medium (Yayoi Kusama), who gives her advice such as to put telephone books under her television (like to see her try that now).

Ai starts having a change of heart about her life’s work after a few clients go just a bit too far…okay, way too far, and she begins to want to get out (somewhere in my head I hear Al Pacino saying, “But they keep pulling me back in”). While she pines for an ex-lover, a well-known man (Hiroshi Mikami) who appears on television, and is now married to a famous opera singer (Chie Sema), she is also drawn to a statuesque dominatrix drug addict, Saki (Sayoko Amano).

Sayoko Amano

The camera seems to love Nikaido and shows her emotions through extremely contrasting use of light, with people wearing mostly black and white, with the background dark and the people lit sharply. But still, she looks quite beautiful even in this harshness. There is also a sharp use of the adding of the color red, used seductively, in things like shoes, nail polish, lipstick, and especially Ai’s nearly ever-present oversized handbag to hold all her sex-toy and attire accoutrements. The shots are long, following the action with relatively few edits. The scenery is also worth mentioning, as most of the first two acts is of the city at night, with incredibly tall building with industrially florescent lighting inside the structure’s windows. It feels both organic and incredibly designed at the same time. When we do see nature, usually trees, it almost seems out of place.

Ai’s journey of dealing with rich people who need her but do not really care about her, and trying to get out of the life reminds me quite a bit of the framework of the story of Bob Fosse/Neil Simon’s Sweet Charity (1968), except it’s not a musical, other than the incidental music here is by Oscar™ winner for The Last Emperor (1987), Ryuichi Sakamoto. The music is extra helpful because Ai doesn’t really have too much dialogue, relatively speaking to most of the other characters in the film, and when she does talk, often it is almost whispered. It is like she is on a boat without oars, and she just floats in the direction the waters take her.

While I found the S&M scenes cringe-worthy, for me the most uncomfortable moments were the last act, where Ai goes looking for her ex-lover, and her further humiliation on the journey itself, even before possibly meeting him, a series of bizarreness worthy of Fellini or even Philippe de Broca’s King of Hearts (1966).

The extras for this “Blu-ray Special Edition” include an English dub version for those who have an aversion to subtitles, but know that I watched the original Japanese versions with the English subtitles turned on. I did spot check in on it here and there, and the dialogue comes close to matching the subtitles, but not quite. As a non-Japanese speaker, I really cannot say which of the two is most accurate. A “Featurette” is included from when it was first released, which is an odd mix of an extended trailer that focuses on each of the actors through clips, and interviews and pieces from the film’s opening (it looks like at a festival, but it could just be a theater and the after-party. It’s in Japanese with subtitles, but that’s no surprise, I am going to surmise. Along with a “Stills Gallery,” and a nice box slip-cover, there are trailers that include a bunch of Unearthed Classic releases, and two different versions of the one for Tokyo Decadence: from Japan and Germany.

I can certainly understand why this is considered a classic: the beautiful way it is shot, its languid style among the brutality, and the story arc, almost like an opera, but I will not be revisiting it, honestly.

IMBD Listing HERE  

Review: Fear PHarm 2

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

Fear PHarm 2
Directed by Dante Yore
Make the Movie; Indican Pictures
76 minutes, 2021
www.facebook.com/Fear-PHarm-2-101714982278980
www.indicanpictures.com

Picking up a sequel before seeing the first one? Hmmm. I had a choice, and decided to watch the first one – er – first, and then report back to you.

In last year’s Fear PHarm (2020), for which the filming of this is piggy-backed, I am assuming due to the overlap of cast, four (annoying) 20-something struggling actors go into a Halloween-themed corn maze at the Cool Patch Farm (a real place in Dixon, California, a half hour west of Sacramento). Oh, note that there will be a couple of spoilers for the first film here, but not the second. They are picked by the owners, the Walker family, to go to a “special maze” where they are hunted down through the maze one-by-one as they are separated early on by the large Sawyer-like family tribe of normal lookers and freaks. Knives, machetes, and chainsaws abound. The body count is low, but gruesome. That’s the basic plot of the first film. But I’m not here to review that one, but rather the sequel.

John Littlefield

The villainous family is quite populated with clowns, “Leatherface” types and big brutes. But there are two worth pointing out. The first is the head of the clan, Hershel (John Littlefield giving an outstanding performance). He really should be right up there with Mick from Wolf Creek (2005). Then there is his intense and brilliant yet sadistic machete- and bow-and-arrow-wielding only daughter, Gemma (Aimee Stolte), who wears next to nothing but embodies Second Wave Feminism, with her anger towards men she meets who she deems inferior (and yes, in this story, some are, especially her brothers, who are dumb as stumps; only Hershel seems to have his shit together). She gets frustrated having to explain everything to everybody.

The “PHarm” pun is actually quite smart. First there is the use of “PH” as an “F” sound followed by “Harm,” and then there is also the “PH” as in “pH,” the measure the level of water’s acidic base level. It is often used in skin care products, such as moisturizer, which is the sideline of the Walker family, who are searching for just the right skin to harvest; this is in every film description, so I’m not “spoiling.”

Tiana Tuttle

The nice thing about filming two stories in a row is that the continuity has a better chance of flowing. In this case, PHarm 2 picks up right where the first left off, with Melanie (very cute Tiana Tuttle, who has an Eliza Dushku feel about her). Like Gemma, she is a strong woman who happens to be trapped in an impossible situation. The Walkers are using her as a source material for skin for their face creams. But strong women when they meet in a genre film is fuel on the fire. And you just know at some point there is going to be a strong woman showdown (I write this near the beginning of the film).

There are a couple of origin stories of how the Walkers came from nutsy mom Florence (Nadine Sentovich) making the violent discoveries, through the family selling the cream at farmers markets and televised infomercials.

Part of the “farm” is the harvesting of skin off a group of youngn’s (mid-20s) in an induced chemical coma. But thanks to some Walker brothers (no, not the guys who sang “The Sun Ain’t Gonna ShineAnymore”), the human “crop” is up and about. But can they get through the family and find their way outta da maze?

Of course, those of us of a certain age are going to make some similarities and connections to Motel Hell (1980), though Fear PHarm 2 is not about cannibalism, per se. In this case, there are a gaggle of skin herdees who escape into the cornfield filled with the Walkers, motion sensors, and some booby-traps. The main thing is, between the large family and the extra number of those on the run, this leads to a much larger body count. The blood and SFX are much stronger in the sequel, helped by the body count and that it is filmed at night, making the darkness of the surroundings mixing well with the black oozing of the blood.

Aimee Stolte

I do like how the director makes both the villains and the victims human. What I mean by that is, for example, the masked killers are not invulnerable, chasing and always catching up. In one case, a chainsaw Walker has to stop to catch his breath. That made me smile. Both the bad guys (mostly) and the good gals (mostly) are fallible, making the cornfield a veritable abattoir for both groups. It feels less hopeless than being chased by, say, Michael and Jason, who you know aren’t going to die. Here, everyone is human, everyone is up for grabs. And that is definitely part of the fun. It also makes everyone, even the psychos, a bit sympathetic (their losses, not their actions).

Most of the kills are quite fun, with a bit of fourth wall interaction with the camera lens here and there. There is also an undercurrent of humor that runs throughout with the inanity of some of the characters, such as one of those running complaining about fat shaming one of the Walkers.

Also, it is interesting to watch the evolution of Hershel, from his shock at his wife’s actions to the insanity that is to following being normalized. His daughter is as over-the-top insane as his late wife was, all of his kids having grown up in the harvesting business, but the leader has evolved, and that “trip” is there for us to see. Fortunately, Littlefield proves that he is up for the role. Don’t get me wrong, there is some good acting here by the leads, such as Stolte ant Tuttle, but Littlefield outshines everyone.

The question now is about watching the second part without the first. Yes, it can be a standalone, but honestly, having the background makes it flow, especially if watched as a stream, one to the other. It is almost like a much longer film, but yeah, the second can be seen without the first, especially considering how annoying some of the victim characters are presented in the first. Everyone is more interesting in the second part, even those in both, as more depth, character and story is shown.