Review: Versus: 2 Disc Special Edition

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

Versus (aka Down to Hell 2)
Directed by Ryûhei Kitamura
Arrow Video; WEVCO Produce Company; napalm FILMS; KSS; Suplex; MVD Entertainment
120 minutes, 2000 version
131 minutes, 2004 Ultimate edition
www.arrowfilms.com
www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo/
www.mvdb2b.com

To be clear, there are actually three editions of this film on these discs, rather than two. The first is the original 2000 cut at 120 minutes, then the Ultimate Versus, which is the 130 minutes director’s cut from 2004, and last is Versus FF, which is a 20 minute version, which I am assuming is for film festivals, given the “FF” appendage. It does not, however, contain the 45-minute Down to Hell (1997) which can be interpreted as the demo version of this film before the real thing, though it is available on YouTube HERE.  Still, this is gonna take a while to get through this sumptuous package.

I am not gonna lie; I watched the Ultimate cut from Disc 2 first, then for the shorter 2-hour one, while I did see it, I paid more attention to the commentaries.

As the opening scrawl tells us, there are 666 (of course) portals between our world and the “other side,” and the 444th one is the “Forest of Resurrection” (shades of Pet Sematary) in Japan, where the film takes place. I’m not sure what it is about Japan and wooded areas, but there are at least two other stories about the mysterious arboreal surroundings there, including The Sea of Trees and The Forest (both released in 2016). This story is similar to Down to Hell, but it is quite expanded and bloodier. The plot(s) also has a lot more depth to it.

Two escaped prisoners, the star, Prisoner KSC2-303 (Tak Sakaguchi, who resembles a young Johnny Depp) and the – er – non-star (Motonari Komiya) meet up with a car full of five yakuza hitmen and a cute, kidnapped woman (Chieko Misaka) whose presence, naturally, is more than it seems; her white dress never gets dirty, no matter how much blood is sprayed or how often she is on the forest floor. No names for the characters are given. Through a couple of double crossings and some killings, KSC2-303 (for lack of a better name) and the woman escape into the spooky woods where the hit men have buried dozens of their victims. Problem is, they are now zombies out for revenge. Heck, they even have guns (though are terrible shots; the undead need some practice).

The hit men are quite colorful and give a nice flavor to the story rather than the typical Vincent and Jules types, or any of a dozen hulking masses from mafia films. Here, they range a bit on the hysterical side or are extremely stoic, giving a nice balance. Their leader (Kenji Matsuda) is nuts and seems to act mostly with his eyes and mouth, but he is so much fun to watch, strutting and subtly dressing like the Joker in a green shirt and red tie; whether done on purpose or not, it works. The one I liked the best is the most impassive (Kazuhito Ohba). Then there is the scared and mentally unstable one (Minoru Matsumoto) and the bare-armed fighter (Yuichiro Arai). Lest I forget, there is the one who is too quick on the draw (Ryosuke Watabe).

Joining the mix are two coppers from whom the prisoner escaped, the leader (Yukihito Tanikado, doing his best “Twin Peaks” Dale Cooper) and the other with one hand (Shôichirô Masumoto), thanks to the result of being handcuffed to KSC2-303. One of my favorite lines is said by the cop leader who proudly brags that “I grew up at Yellowstone National Park in Canada.” I am assuming this was an unintentional mistranslation in the captions, but it amused me to no end.

There is a lot – and I mean a lot – of action here, including fisticuffs, guns a-blazing and samurai swords a-swishing. As much as the zombies are there for payback to the hitmen, they will attack anyone. As a result of the fighting and violence, the make-up special effects by Susumu Nakatani look great, in a Dead Alive (1992) cartoony-way; it is easy to tell that this Peter Jackson’s film was an influence as we get to look through holes in people, total dismemberments, and there is blood sprayed everywhere (except, of course, on white-clad Misaka). That the director studied film in Australia indicates that, as well.

Through it all, three more assassins are added to the action (redhaired Takehiro Katayama, Hoshimi Asai, and attractive gun-totin’ Ayumi Yoshihara), and to include at least two more competent women to the cast. And this is all before the halfway point when the film goes into a completely different and unexpected direction that is both a WTF moment and a Hell yeah!” one, as we meet “the boss” of all the hitmen (Hideo Sakaki), who you know from the start will lead to a final showdown with the prisoner.

The film is insane – in a good way – on so many different levels. While I would not dub this a comedy, there are a lot of funny moments, often in a twisted way. Also, there is a traditional fighting cinematic style that is occasionally used, but director Kitamura also uses some wild editing, especially near the end, that plays with the viewers’ expectations on the fights. With all the wild angles, zooms, close-ups and zombies left and right, the action is practically non-stop, and even at this length, went by pretty quickly. Even if you don’t like captions, as this is obviously in Japanese, it won’t matter: the actions speak louder than the words.

As always, Arrow Video aims to please, so this Blu-ray is abounding with bonus materials. These appear across the two discs.

The first extra I watched on the second disc (there are only two here, most of the rest on the first disc) was the audio commentary by Kitamura, and members of the cast and crew. This is different that the one on the first disc, but I must say, watch it at your own willingness to spend the time. There is about 20 minutes worth of interesting info disbursed throughout, but most of it is utter nonsense about their kids, kidding insults to each other, and is just plain blather. I watched it in double time and read it faster that way (it is in Japanese, with captions). For most of it I have no idea who said what as there was a large group and they are not identified in the captions. The most interesting stuff is comments on the new material. Speaking of which, the second 18-minute featurette, “Sakigate! Otoko versus Juku,” about the new material shot four years later than the original, with all the same actors regrouping. It’s a fun Making Of, though it does not follow any narrative lines, but rather jumps around quite a bit, which is fine. The action between Sakaguchi (who was the fight coordinator for the reshoot) and Sakaki, which takes a large portion, is the most interesting.

Back to the first disc, I started with an audio commentary by Kitamura and producer Keishiro Shinei, which is happily in English. While there is still a bit of whatever in the conversation, this is focused on the film production, and is a lot more interesting. In the yet-another commentary, this third one is the director, the lead actor, and four of the crew (including, again, Shinei). Unlike for the Ultimate, this one, which is in Japanese with captions, is quite a bit more informative and my assumption is that they said most of what they needed to say, so by the time the Ultimate one came around 4 years later, they had said their piece. This one is also worth the listen, though it does get disjointed at times; it’s like a film of the one for Versus Ultimate in that it is about 80 percent decent and 20 percent fluff.

With “Body Slamming, Body Horror: Jasper Sharp on Ryûhei Kitamura” (16 min), the British expert of Japanese films frames the director in historical context at the beginning of a new wave of Asian Extreme Cinema, such as those by Takashi Miike. It’s a nice overview of Kitamura’s career. “First Contact: Versus Evolution” (10 min), a featurette exploring the film’s origins, is a bombastic telling with no dialogue but Japanese title cards (and English subtitles) that just flashes images in MTV editing style with no piece being more than 5 seconds over thunderous music and language heavy in adjectives like “unprecedented.” Personally, I found it a bit annoying. “Tak Sakaguchi’s One-Man Journey” (14 min), a mostly self-shot featurette on the actor’s visit to the 2001 Japan Film Festival in Hamburg. The first 10 minutes is just him leaving for the flight, his hotel room, meeting his interpreter, food, and expressions of lonely feelings. When he finally arrives at the fest, he signs autographs, looks cool in his Neo leather jacket from the film, and destroys a screen. It was an okay watch, but I don’t feel a need to see again.

“Team Versus” (1 min) is a humorous look inside the napalm FILMS basement office; short and sweet. “Deep in the Woods” (25 min) is a thoughtful featurette of interviews with Kitamura, cast and crew, including Sakaguchi, Matsumoto, and Sakaki. “The Encounter” (13 min) is an interview with well-respected editor Shûichi Kakesu by Versus producer Keishiro Shinei. While he discusses this film, he also talks about different ways to approach editing, and the differences between action and animation (he did 1995’s Ghost in the Shell).

Next up is a fun Deleted Scenes (21 min) with audio commentary by Kitamura, cast and crew obviously done when the main one was completed as it is the same group. As discussed above, there is the Versus FF Version, a condensed, 20-minute recut of the film. While the narrative is obviously in disarray, it’s pretty much a collection of action scenes, mostly with Sakaguchi., and very little dialogue.

“Behind Versus,” a two-part behind-the-scenes documentary exploring the film’s production, the first being “Birth of a Dark Hero” (27 min) and the second “Versus the Legend” (46 min). Both are very well made, one featuring a mix of interesting interviews, especially Sakaguchi again, and filming some of the action; the other is more about the non-fighting parts, like rehearsals, make-up, set-ups, steadi-cams, and the like, but remains fascinating. These are well put-together Making Ofs.

There are two clips from film festival screenings, one being the XXI Fantafestival in Genoa (2 min) and the second is from various other fests where the film won awards (3 min). Again, there is no dialogue, and each edit is less than 5 seconds, over blaring music. This is more ego stroking than anything else, but considering the rightful fanfare it got, who would be surprised. For “side stories,” which are mini-movies featuring characters from Versus, there are “Nervous” (6.5 min) and “Nervous 2” (16 min), along with a featurette on the making of “Nervous 2” (1 min). The first one deals with the two police detectives and their dislike of being called “officer” (is this a Japanese thing?). It’s confusing because one detective has both hands while the other has the cuts on his face from Versus. Either way, the image is a bit over-exposed, but I am assuming that’s on purpose. For the second, directed by Yudai Yamaguchi, four of the characters are in an asylum post-Versus, and can’t remember what happened before, until… It’s quite humorous. The Making Of is a waste, don’t bother.

There are five trailers, each one quite different. I love coming attractions, but want to warn anyone with epilepsy to avoid due to the flashing lights. Seriously. Also included are 5 different image galleries, including stills (both publicity and screen shots) and posters. On the tactile side, there is a reversible sleeve for the box featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon, and a glossy, beautifully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film and a reprinted interview with Kitamura by Tom Mes, with notes on the making of the film by Kitamura (this appears only in the first pressing of the Blu-ray).

Note that it took me three days to get through all the films and features. That's a nice package.

Kitamura would go on to make 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars, and most notably what has become an underground classic, The Midnight Meat Train in 2008.

Review: A Record of Sweet Murder

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019

Images from the Internet

A Record of Sweet Murder (aka Aru yasashiki satsujinsha no kiroku)

Directed by Kôji Shiraish

Nikkatsu / Zoa Films / Unearthed Films / MVD Visual

86 minutes, 2014 / 2019

www.unearthedfilms.com

www.mvdvisual.com

How far would you go for your career? Would you risk life and limb? Is your ego that strong?

These are some of the questions that are subtly asked in this film from South Korea (in Korean and Japanese, with subtitles). While less personal than the Irish release, Do You Recognise Me?” (2015) there is actually an overlap in asking those same questions.

The big difference is there is a possible supernatural element in this film. An escapee from an asylum, Park Sanjoon (Je-wook Yeon), is on a killing spree because he is desperate to raise someone from the dead. He claims the voices in his head from God tells him he needs 27 victims, and so far, he’s up to 25; at that point, even those he killed will be resurrected, though he is not sure how. So, a news reporter, Kim Soyeon (Klobbi Kim) and her camera dude, Tashiro (Kôji Shiraish, the film’s director) accept his invitation for an interview and to make – err – a record of sweet murder. Personally, I’m not sure I’d accept the invitation, no matter how much possible glory there might be at the end. But they’re hoping for the best as Soyeon and Sanjoon share a childhood friendship.

When the three meet, no doubt it’s fraught and tense with Sanjoon holding a knife and other assorted weapons. He is waiting on a Japanese couple to show up, and once he’s done away with them, it’s showtime. But – and it’s a big one – things are not as simple as they appear. This couple have their own excitable violent issues (and one of them, Ryôtarô Yonemura, seems to have an issue with overacting), which continues to keep the viewer guessing what will happen next.

The tension constantly builds and by the half-way point the ferocity never lets up. Most of the action takes place in a single room of an abandoned apartment building, which gives you the feeling you and they can not escape without some damage being done. I won’t go into detail about that, but it’s definitely brutal with so many twists and turns, there is little burnout for those of us who enjoy this kind of thing.

All the action we see is through the single lens of the camera held by Tashiro. Normally, found footage films bore me, but this takes a different angle in that the entire film is one continuous shot; not like Hitchcock’s Rope which had to have subtle breaks because of how much film a canister could hold, but in a digital world, this is possible. Needless to say, everything is in real time.

Because it’s all in one shot, I wonder about the pragmatics of the film, such as rehearsal and script. Was it mostly adlibbed or strictly written? These are the kinds of thoughts films like this bring to mind to those of us who study cinema rather than as a casual viewer.

Most of the acting is quite good, but Je-wook Yeon is the standout by far (Tsukasa Aoi does a pretty good job of it in a very physical and primordial role). While it’s clear he’s quite nuts and will do whatever it takes to achieve his deadly goal, he is also pitiable because it’s not a method he’s comfortable with and it pains him to take lives. At one point he wails, “I can’t do it by myself anymore.”

As for the violence itself, it’s not on the level of something like Audition where it’s more torture porn than story; here it’s the very real process of stabbing, clubbing, choking, etc., and the camera doesn’t lovingly swarm around it, but rather keeps it shocking and uncomfortable (though I’m betting there are those who might wish it was the other way around).

This is being put out by Stephen Biro’s company, Unearthed, that has been releasing some interesting Asian films such as the Guinea Pig Series and others like Brutal (2018) from Japan. Their catalog has been consistently fierce and yet with quality. A Record of Sweet Murder is a great addition to their canon.

Review: The Song of Solomon

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018

Images from the Internet

The Song of Solomon (aka American Guinea Pig: The Song of Solomon)

Directed by Stephen Biro

Oddtopussy Films / Unearthed Films / MVD Visual

91 minutes, 2015/2016

www.unearthedfilms.com

www.facebook.com/AmericanGuineaPig/

www.mvdvisual.com

There are key phrases you come across that instantly gives you a lot more information on what is happening than is conveyed by the simple message. If you’re a genre fan, one of these is “Guinea Pig.” This may drive you away or draw you near, but you know it means extreme and transgressive cinema. Stephen Biro, who runs Unearthed Films and also directs features, has taken on the Guinea Pig moniker and concept from Japan and created his own branch series to continue the franchise, called American Guinea Pig [AGP].

This is the second of the AGP series that he directed, though he produced and/or wrote others. Happily, he’s starting to branch into more story-based tales of gore and mayhem. It seemed like the first films had limited narrative that was there to support the extremity, but finally it’s starting to feel like the story came first in importance, without losing any of the ultraviolence. Of course, that is not to say that the gooey stuff doesn’t ride shotgun.

Exorcism films (being possessed by demons, not to be confused with merely controlled by ghosts as in the haunted house genre, e.g., the Amityville franchise or The Black Room) seemed to be the rage just a few short years ago, and they have certainly ramped up the violence from, say, The Exorcist days, to where on occasion the host dies in the process; unfortunately in real life, during many deluded exorcisms, the religious figure gets overzealous, as told in 2005’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Jessica Cameron: The eyes have it

In our story, Mary (the lovely Jessica Cameron under a lot of well-done make-up) is hooked up by our demon before the film even starts, so we don’t get to really know much about her as a single entity. Now, she has a way of talking sarcastically out the side of a twisted mouth (such as, and this is not a direct quote, “so you think you can do something?…let’s see”).

In a parallel and overlapping story, a high-ranking Roman Catholic Bishop sends in a series of priests who have been drained and damaged by previous exorcisms (think of the action film trope where the hero is living on an island somewhere and is “damaged,” and then the boss comes and says, “I got one more job for ya.”). This all seems to take place over a single night, so there is an expectation of a sinister overarching purpose to it all.

Speaking of which, it’s easy to see the ending coming from early on – in fact it’s kind of telegraphed if you listen to the dialog (something I strongly recommend, as does Brio in more than one interview), a habit I tend to do – but it’s important to remember the genre, and the purpose is the very violent and extreme road to getting to reach the conclusion, not just to achieve being there.

There are a number of nods to other exorcism films, such as The Exorcist, with a younger priest accompanying the older, more experienced one. Of course, things don’t follow the same flight pattern, thankfully. I should point out that if you’re a devout Roman Catholic, well, first of all, what the hell are you doing watching a film like this? Lately, the RC Church has been getting a lot of (rightful) flack for behaviors of (most?) of its priests, so they have made themselves the prime targets of films like this, and again, I’m okay with it for that reason. It should also be noted that Biro is a devout Catholic and tried to make the story and dialogue as realistic as possible.

For a story this controlled, especially since a large portion of the action takes place in one beautiful wooden house (essentially the entranceway, staircase and the bedroom), there is a nice relative body count. And beyond the fatality number, the level of violence we witness is… heavenly?

For me, the big drawback of this genre of film is that often the violence goes beyond the function and it becomes almost fetishized, so the scenes tend to last longer than they need to, honestly. Stab someone in a body part and twirl it around, yeah; keep the close-up of the twisting for five minutes straight, well, it becomes tiresome and loses some of its power. While it doesn’t happen all that often here, there are a few bits that could have been – err – chopped down a bit. Please note that this is my own take on it, and I’m not being critical, actually, it’s just a personal choice of comfort/attention level.

Cameron, who is also a writer, producer and director in her own right, holds her own as her worsening character is the center hub of the story as the demon gets more control over her and her environment. Cameron seems to revel in the role and it shows. Most of the other cast is played a bit broadly, especially the priests, but considering all that happens, it’s kind of the wiser directorial choice.

In previous releases in the AGP collection, there is little dialog, minute character development and nothing to stand in the way of caring about the victims who are being tortured in the most gruesome manner by those in control. This film, I’m happy to say, takes another direction, but still manages to stay loyal to the premise. For example, while there is some mind control by the demon on those around it, most of the violence done to the human physicality is performed directly by the victim in response to past sins that come to the surface.

Need I add that the gore looks spectacular? Marcus Koch’s and Jerami Cruise’s practical / appliance SFX and make-up are central to what we watch, and both shoot for the top. There are also come really cool eye lenses used to great effect.

There are hours of extras on this Blu-ray, such as individual single-camera interviews with lead actor Jessica Cameron (20:52) who is almost unrecognizable as Mary (so kudos to Marcus and Jerami) giving great anecdotes about filming key scenes, writer/director Stephen Biro (26:37), SFX master Marcus Koch (28:07; one of the fuckin’ most fuckin’ interesting of the fuckin’ group), and Director of Photography Chris Hilleke (35:15; I lasted until 15 min) discusses how he approached the shoot and what it was like to shoot SFX.

Cameron cleans up nicely

On top of that there is an informal Behind the Scenes featurette (70:22) that is not organized but rather a collection of the shoot through set-ups that are interesting – albeit rather long – as its main focus is the SFX. For me especially, I was fascinated by the creation and workings of the magic bed. This is followed by Outtakes filled with both oopsies and practice (8:31), and a Photo Gallery containing 161 images of mostly behind the scenes stills. Oh, and did I mention there are a bunch of Unearthed trailers? Most of them have been reviewed on this blog.

Of course, the centerpieces are the two full-length commentaries. The first is with Brio and Cameron: Biro does most of the talking while Cameron sits a bit far from the microphone so she fades a bit in and out. About half of it is really good (i.e., better than most), with stories about not only the filming, but the research behind it. Being a history buff, this piqued my interest. The second is Brio, Koch (and his distinctive arm ring tats) and Cruise (who has since worked on a number of mainstream Marvel multi-million dollar extravaganzas), again filled with anecdotes about the filming; the guys go into detail about their work, though sometimes it’s a bit hard to tell who is talking. But in this case, the content is what matters, so that’s fine.

This may sound a bit strange, and I mean this in all respect to Biro and his work: as much as I like his American Guinea Pig franchise, I’m kinda hoping he’s got a comedy up in sleeve at some point soon. Hear me out. Biro co-wrote the hysterical 2014 Bubba the Redneck Werewolf, so I know he’s got it in him, and I truly believe it’s important to mix it up a bit in order to keep some sense of balance and freshness. Like, if all you eat is White Castle (mmmmmm…), you’d want to mix it up with some Asian or Tex-Mex occasionally to help you appreciate your next mini-cheeseburgers with pickles and ketchup.

Oh, and by the way, where I grew up the proper term for the first means of death in the film is a Sicilian necktie.

Review: Dreaming Purple Neon

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2016

Images from the Internet

Dreaming Purple Neon

Written, filmed, directed and edited by Todd Sheets

Extreme Entertainment / MVD Entertainment

111 minutes, 2016

www.dreamingpurpleneon.com

www.facebook.com/DreamingPurpleNeon

www.zombiebloodbath.com
www.mvdb2b.com

Fanzine publishers know it. Self-recorded musicians know it. So do indie film producers and directors. It is the knowledge and experience that sometimes you just have to go all in: take out the credit card, empty the bank account, fuel your dream and take a shot. It’s about putting into reality what you visualize in your head.

Thus is the micro-budget Dreaming Purple Neon, which went from Todd Sheets’ wallet to being available on VoD since Halloween of 2016. The thing is, experience has shown me that when it comes to indie…well, anything, some people know how to make the best of their finances by stripping down as much as possible (single room, minimal number of actors, shot in their own houses, for example). Others try to overdo it, making up for what can’t be afforded to be made up for more readily in digital post-production. Then there are the Todd Sheets of the world, who know how to work the balance between the simplified and the over the top digitalization.

Man, I don’t know how they did it with such a small budget, but there is a hell of a lot packed into this film, which looks way more than its budget suggests. Sure the acting is somewhat questionable (as with many indies), but the sheer size of the cast is amazing. The body count alone is bigger than most productions. Sure there is a lot of digitalization in the last 5 minutes (which looks great, by the way), but most of the gore – and there is a hell (pun intended) of a lot of it – is appliances and real liquid (as opposed to digital spray).

I’m kind of jumping ahead of myself here, but let’s get back to basics, namely the plot. There is a new recreational drug on the market called, of course, Purple Neon. But its root is even more nefarious and diabolical than just greed, which we also see in abundance. The focus is on a couple of drug dealers (while I’m not happy that they are Black, which can be interpreted by us PCers as stereotypical, they are not the only actors of color, so I’ll let it slide) in Kansas City, who are after someone who nipped their stash. [Postnote from Todd Sheets: "Ricky (Farr) was a manager at a chain store and he had a dream of playing that character, so I kind of tailored it to him, and Antwoine (Steele) has worked with me for 25 years and he wanted the part of Ray Ray to prepare for a similar role in a script he has been writing for a few years that I am going to produce for him."]

The dentist, the drug enforcer, the best friend
and the love interests

In a separate story, which you just know is going to link up with the other, poor lovesick Dallas (Jeremy Edwards) has returned to town, mooning over his lost love Denise (Eli DeGeer). I’m assumed he’s named Dallas because he wears a wide-brimmed hat, which is weird considering he’s from KC (though the name of the town is never mentioned). Anyway, with the help of his bestie, Chris (Grant Conrad), he’s out to see how she’s doing.

The catalyst of all the action, or the fork in the road of where the stories converge, is a demon-worshiping cult in a magical and unending basement that reminds me of a theme from Grave Encounters (2011), which is a link to hell. There are some other homages as well, to the likes of Hostel (2005), Demons (1985), and even arguably Goldfinger (1964), but nothing that really feels like a rip-off.

Even with the rubbery looking internal organs (there’s one intestine that looks like it was used a few times), the gore effects look pretty decent, and I’ll always go for appliance over digital. Lots of blood and gnawing and tearing with teeth give it a smile-inducing factor (for me). As the film flows on, the level of blood (and other secretions) pours even more.

Usually, I posit that indie films that are over 90 minutes really need to do some editing to keep interest keen. Now, at 111 minutes, this film could arguably use some trimming, but to be honest, it went by pretty fast as the pace of the film – especially the second half – is pretty consistently on a fast track.

Just for the heck of it,
a publicity shot of Millie Milan

Points of contention? Well, as I said, some of the acting is not very strong, and the two romantic leads are lacking in the chemistry department, but I like that most of the cast look like everyday people as opposed to prom queens/kings (one of the exceptions being the sultry Millie Milan, whose character is key to bringing all the storylines together). There is also one plot question which baffles me, and I’ll try to say this without giving away anything substantial: when a character leaves behind some drugs, why not keep the guns, considering the situation? Now, if that’s the worst I can come up with, well, this film is more than just leaning into the positive side.

I didn’t know what to expect walking into this release, but I was more than pleasantly surprised by how much fun it is. From the first scene, which always has to have a bit of violence in it to bring in the modern, jaded audience, we are pulled in, and even most of the expositions move at a decent pace.

The sets are interesting, as well. It’s obvious the scenes in the Dentist’s office (said DDS, played by Nick Randol, is possibly my fave character: unassumingly nerdy – despite the numerous tats – with the heart of a warrior) is an actual location, as the real dentist’s name is still on the door; I Googled it, which is how I knew it was in Missouri. The basement sets are cool and dark, but with decent lighting so you can see the action. The editing is sharp, with the occasional extreme-close-up that hides the ultra-violence, but again, overall it is very well done.

Other than a couple of moments here and there of “hunh?” dialogue, most of the storyline works well together, bringing it to a satisfying conclusion (watch past the credits for some eggs). The pace, as I said, is just right, which makes the few weaknesses here and there less egregious and forgivable.

There’s a fine line here walking the artiness of the whole gizmigollogy that still maintains its meat’n’taters horror base, which is where I like to go. Yeah, stripped down has its place, but when you add a flair to it, especially when dealing with a single camera, it’s the mark of a decent director.

If this is the kind of output Sheets can manage with a micro-budget, with some decent funding I bet he could open up the seams even more, and give a great bloodletting story that would soak your socks.

Link to trailer: HERE

Review: Madness of Many

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2016
Images from the Internet                                                                                                                  

Madness of Many

Written, produced, directed, make-up effects and edited by Kasper Juhl
Hellbound Productions / Unearthed Films / MVD Visual
73 minutes, 2013 / 2016
www.facebook.com/madnessofmany
www.facebook.com/hellbound666productions
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.mvdvisual.com

Danish director Kasper Juhl may be young (b. 1991), but he has a good sense of the camera, as shown by this artistic and abstract treatise on life and pain (which Juhl claims as his own philosophy in the commentary). And while this is neither here nor there as it is not reflected in the film directly, Juhl is also the lead singer of the death metal band Abscission (aka dead, fallen leaves).

Told mostly through soliloquy narration, we meet/meat Victoria White, as she flatly describes a childhood full of sexual assault by her family. But this is only the start of her ordeal, as we are given verbal details that are eventually manifested into the visual. I should note here that although filmed in Scandihoovia, the entire dialog is in English.

Thanks to all of this pain in her life, we quickly find that she is a bit of a nihilist, claiming that she was “born to be exploited by others.” Despite this, she is not ready to end it all, stating she is more afraid of dying than its result. By the way, this is also an idea posited by English writer Henry Fielding in his 1751 novel Amelia, where it is stated “…it is not death, but dying, which is terrible” (yeah, I admit it, I’m a Fielding fan).

After being drugged and subsequently tortured for a year after escaping her parents, she starts to develop multiple personalities to avoid the pain. This is quite cleverly handled by having different actresses playing the same role, in different situations. Body type, face, and even tattoos differentiate Victoria’s shattered lives. Ironically, the man/men (credited as The Shadows) who torture her is/are never given a face (occasionally we see white masks or are blurred and distorted), though she has many.

By using a high level of abstraction, Juhl uses a lot of different devices to play out Victoria’s mind, such as removing or muting the colors to the point of near grayscale or high black and white contrasts. But the point of where artistic merit end and being opaque is a delicate one, and it is a line that is crossed often. Many of the scenes last way too long without promoting the story (what there is of it), such as watching someone putting on eye make-up, or puking up blood (sometimes through the literal hands of a Shadow down a throat, others by self-infliction).

Which brings me to the gore: this film has been compared to A Serbian Film (2010), but it does not come anywhere near that. In fact, American Guinea Pig was much more effective and relentless, and Flowers (2015) handled the art side of personal pain with a bit more flair and was more accessible without losing any of the creativity. When it is applied here, it’s quite effective. I mean, there’s lots of manhandling of the woman/women, such as multiple scenes of choking, but the ultra-violence is kept sparingly until the final act. That being said, even early on, when it’s more intense it works.

As for the psychological torture aspect, honestly, I was more freaked out by the similar themed (i.e., abuse leading to Multiple Personality Disorder) two-part television film Sybil (1975). The whole rising of enlightenment through pain may have some thinking of the recent 50 Shades of Gray, but honestly it reminded me more of The Who’s Tommy (“I’m free!!”).

It could be said that this film is on the sexist side. I mean, we see the female form being tortured, but there is no mention of comeuppance of the males who do the perpetrating. So, do we say that there is a lot of females abused when they are all supposed to be the same one, or is that a cop-out? I don't have an answer for that, but it wasn't comfortable for me in that aspect. 

Juhl explains that he likes slow-paced films, which is good because he has definitely made one. It will take a lot of patience to sit through it, especially in this, the post MTV editing / instant gratification period of cinema. Even the final credit roll by very slow, with no sound through most of it.

There are some nice albeit limited amounts of goodies here in the extras section, such as a long list of Unearthed Films trailers and a decent commentary by Juhl, but if you want to dive in deep, there is also a three-disk version available (including the soundtrack CD and many other features not in the basic DVD package, including some “Making Of” documentaries, a short film by the director, and deleted scenes), of which 1000 were produced. Collectors’ item!

I know I’ve whined a bit about it, but it’s a very strong piece if you have the patience to swim through the philosophizing of good and evil, pain and pleasure, and story and idea, you may connect to it. I’m looking forward to seeing what else is under Juhl’s directorial sheet, but just know with this one, if you’re expecting something relentless it may be a bit of a letdown. For those out there who like a thoughtful piece of torture porn, well…

 

Unrelated to this DVD bonus:

 

Review: American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2015
Images from the Internet

American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore

Written, directed and edited by Stephen Biro
Unearthed Films
73 minutes, 2014 / 2015
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.mvdvisual.com

If you are looking for a complex and deep storyline about searching one’s soul and the meaning of life, well, you’ve come to the wrong place. The premise is that two women are kidnapped, given a nerve inhibitor drug so that they can’t move, a shit load of LSD, and then are systematically tortured and eviscerated until dead. Except for a brief prologue and coda, all the action takes place in one room, and filmed mostly in real time and chronological order. Yep, what is promised and that is what is delivered.



The Director, Second Unit, The Actor, the first Victim

The cruelty is perpetrated by a bunch of guys: The Director (Scott Gabby) on 8mm camera, another camera person with a VHS camcorder (David Hood), a Second Unit on 8mm (Rogan Russell Marshall), and the bulky guy with the “Hard Times” tattoo on his pecs, credited as The Actor (Eight the Chosen One) who does all the dirty work. All the men wear masks, as the Director tells the Actor what to do (“Always start on the left, never on the right!” he commands repeatedly). We see the action through the lens of those cameras. This is supposed to be the 1980s, and that’s why the old equipment.

 

This is certainly a minimalist film just as the premise is a single note struck over and over again. That’s not to say it’s redundant, but it is pretty straightforward, making it less of a distraction from the hacking and sawing and poking and pulling. There is a kind of Zen to it all, I suppose. Look, I’m going to admit that I like a good story with my gore, even with something like A Serbian Film (2010) or Collar (2014), but the core of the matter is the look of the gore¸ which I will get to shortly.

First of all, the actresses who play the victims (Caitlyn Dailey and Ashley Lynn Caputo) are in films after that, so it’s a story of a snuff film, not an actual one. I say that specifically because of two reasons. First, it’s all “found footage” of a sort, as the film is shot by the actors in the story. There is the occasional break while the 8mm stock is replaced, and then it goes on. Second, I have to commend the SFX people, Oddtopsy, because the body parts look real, with the right flexibility and tone. I watched the whole bit-by-bit vivisecting things without turning away…okay that’s a lie. I did turn my head with the eyeball stuff, one of my admitted Achilles heels with this kind of thing.

Of course, the questions that arises through this is the why they are doing this. It’s obvious the VHS guy is being blackmailed (“Remember, we have your kids, so don’t fuck it up!”) into it about a third through, which further, again, the reason for the extremity of the torture. Early on, the Director mentions that the women were specifically chosen for their “role,” and I wondered if that could be a further clue to the reason for the actions. It feels like this is just the first of a series, but according the one of the commentary tracks, it is not. I was hoping it was so perhaps we’d learn piece by piece (pun intended), sort of like the conspiracy arc of Lost or The X-Files, more of the background story over time.

For me, the major problem is not that this is a gorefest, and superbly done at that. Okay, it’s partly that it is two women who are tortured, not a male, but that’s not the biggest issue I had though it made me uncomfortable, nor that the characters live way past the level of what a human body can actually endure. It is as follows (this is my issue which is mine, too; aheeeem): When you just have splatter that is one tone and consistent, without a context for the action, it gets kind of, well, mind-numbing. I’m not saying this is a boring film, I’m saying it becomes a little bit tedious. Chop, saw, poke. Saw, saw, poke, chop. Chop, chop, poke, saw, chop. Spam eggs sausage and spam (oh, what a giveaway; sorry…).   

I do understand that this is part of a homage to the Japanese underground Guinea Pig series that had bootleg tapes passed around, and was infamous for its unprecedented levels of unrelenting violence and graphic sadism, especially the second of the series, Guinea Pig: Flowers of Flesh and Blood (1985); there is an indirect mention in this film when the Director comments, “Let’s bleed this flower out.” It makes sense, too, as Unearthed Films also released all seven of the Guinea Pig films in a deluxe DVD box set. It’s also probably part of the reason the film is set in that decade.



The Actor

This DVD is also loaded with extras. To start, there is the trailer, which I have not included below due to its extremity (the one I've linked was supplied by MVD and stars Eight the Chosen One, and can lead you to the actual trailer, which as the words "Series 2" in the title). The next one I watched was the 40 minute single-camera interview with two cast member who are also aficionados in their own right: Pete Townsend look-alike Jim Van Bebber (The Editor), who is the director of films including Dead Beat at Dawn (1988) and The Manson Family (2003), and Scott Gabbey (The Director), who is also president of Ultra Violent Magazine, as well as an actor. While a bit long, it is chocked full of interesting stories and back-stage anecdotes, so it mostly kept my interest. The only thing I found annoying, and I may get picked on for this, is the constant calling of the two actresses as “the girls.” None of the rest of the cast and crew is called “the boys,” but the N-word does make its presence.

 

An almost 5-minute music video of “Chambers of Perdation” (appropriately meaning "Chambers where there are attacks") by the band Perdition Temple (for those that don’t know, “Perdition” is the time spent in hell). The song is classic death metal with the chucka-chucka guitar sound and the solos, and the growling, distorted voice where you can’t make out a single word (captions, please!). It is interspersed with graphic clips from the film, so don’t look for it on VH1, but perhaps in a future Metal Retardation release from director Bill Zebub?

I was looking forward to seeing the 21-1/2 minute “Preproduction Video,” to see some of the behind the scenes work, and wasn’t disappointed. We see the face masks being made, Gabbey rehearsing his lines, and the full body casts. They don’t show how they do the internal body gore, I’m sorry to say, but still very enlightening.

The first commentary I watched was of director Steve Biro and fellow director / actor / director of photography of this film, Jim Van Bebber, who contributed to the interview segment above. Van Bebber tends to commandeer the conversation, often loudly interrupting Biro to the point of annoyance, but there is also a fuck of a lot of information that I didn’t get from the film that I learned from this commentary, including some religious significance, and the relationship of the two women. It is also the closest that it comes to explaining motive (just the fact that the two women were named after Biro’s ex-wives says a bit).

The final commentary is Biro again, but this time with main person who did the SFX for the film, Marcus Koch (pronounced “cook”). I always start at the end of the extras and work my way through to the one I’m looking forward to the most. However, though there is some info, this commentary was particularly a letdown as there was hardly any talk about the effects, and a lot of it was repetitious from the other extras. At the end, Biro mentions that Koch will direct the next American Guinea Pig, which should be interesting as he knows what he is capable of doing, SFX-wise. Brio also disses commentaries, saying how only the fanatical watch them. Yes, but it is precisely those enthusiasts who are the fans of this kind of extreme fare.

Between the film and its two commentaries, I essentially sat through the film three times, not counting the clips included in the likes of the music video. What is the end result? Yes, this is an extremely brutal film for both the characters, and the audience. But it is bound to reach the audience who it is directed at, which is the point, so in that way, it is very successful. It has an interesting look via the mix of 8mm, 16mm, and VHS, and if you can keep your eyes on the screen, it will keep your attention, in the same way a magic trick is performed. I guarantee there will be moments of “How the fuck did they do that?!?!?!” To me, that screams achievement.

I’m also curious to see how they top this one.