Kult of Ghouls

Tell Me Something (1999) - Film Review

2009-08-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

I was pretty impressed with this Korean horror crime/thriller. It mines much of the same ground as Se7en and other high profile thrillers, but it's decidedly more gory and grisly (which I certainly appreciate). There seems to be a slight "giallo" influence as well (especially one of the killings, which had an Argento-esque feel to it). The story involves a serial killer terrorizing Seoul and leaving his victims' body parts in garbage bags throughout various public locations in the city. The garbage bags contain different parts from different male victims; and the special investigators task force, led by Detective Cho must piece together the human puzzles to determine the victims' identities.

Once the identities are discovered, the task force manages to link all the victims to a former lover, Su-Yeon Chae. Is she a suspect? Or is she the killer's next target? Watch and find out. It's a little slow in places but it does manage to build suspense; and the thriller aspect holds your attention to the end. The cinematography and look of the film is exceptional, and the soundtrack was also memorable. The acting is capable with no real stand-out performances. I only recognized one actor that I've seen in other films, Jung-ah Yum. She played the stepmother in A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, another exceptional Korean film. She also played a small part as the "vampire woman" in the opening scene of Park-Chan Wook's segment of THREE...EXTREMES.

Tell Me Something (1999) Rating:

"Capable Korean Crime Thriller"

Love Object (2003) - Film Review

2009-08-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

I just watched this film again a couple days ago. I bought the DVD when it came out back in 2004, and I thought it was a very well done horror/thriller. What made me watch it again recently is because I just saw the movie LARS AND THE REAL GIRL. Both films have similar set-ups - a lonely introverted man buys a life-like sex doll for companionship. The introverts in both films are also attracted to a female co-worker. But this is where the similarity ends. LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is a decent, touching and lighthearted comedy/drama (and as such, it's not really my type of film). LOVE OBJECT on the other hand travels a much darker and more twisted path. The said introvert Kenneth (played by Desmond Harrington), becomes infatuated with female co-worker Lisa (played by Melissa Sagemiller). He orders a life-like sex doll from a website that lets you customize the doll. He of course endows it with all of Lisa's physical attributes. He also finds out personal information about Lisa (like what kind of music she likes, etc). When he finds out that she likes waltz, he goes so far as to buy a bondage harness from a sex shop so he can dance with the doll!

If this sounds pretty creepy and disturbing don't worry - it gets even more twisted from here. I'm not going into the plot any further, because I don't like giving away too much. Those looking for gore won't find much here, and the sleaze-factor is held in check by the R-rating; but it's still an effective horror/thriller with some decent performances by all the actors involved. Speaking of the actors, Desmond Harrington will be familiar to horror fans as the male lead in the hillbilly splatter-fest WRONG TURN. There are also some great supporting roles, like Udo Kier as Kenneth's nosy apartment manager; and Rip Torn as Kenneth's boss. So if you've seen LARS AND THE REAL GIRL but thought that it could really benefit from some kink, sleaze, creepiness and dark humor then LOVE OBJECT is the movie for you.

Love Object (2003) - Trailer

Love Object (2003) Rating:

Der Golem (1920) - Film Review

2009-08-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

An excellent silent film made in Germany and making great use of the expressionist style of filmmaking from that era. Made by the same studio that produced THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI that same year. It could be considered one of the first "monster" movies as well. This movie was a huge influence on James Whale when he made FRANKENSTEIN in 1931. It involves a Jewish community being persecuted by Christians. The Jewish rabbi uses "black magic" to bring a clay statue to life in order to protect them from the Christian emperor. The cinematographer, Karl Freund, would go on to lens Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS in 1927 and Tod Browning's DRACULA in 1931; and in the 50's he was the director of photography for the "I Love Lucy" show.

Der Golem (1920) Rating:

"Influential German expressionism"

Destroyer 666 (In Concert/Charlotte, NC-9/30/09)

2009-08-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Australian thrash/black metal band Destroyer 666 are on tour and will be playing live in Charlotte, NC on September 30, 2009. I'll more than likely be at this show. Here's all the info:

Destroyer 666 w/

VadimVon

Rapheumets Well

Shadow of the Destroyer

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Charlotte, NC

at Charlotte's Underground

4205 Monroe Rd.

Charlotte, NC 28205

Doors open: 8:PM

Show starts: 9:PM

Tickets:

$20 in advance

$25 at the door

18 and over

To purchase tickets online

Destroyer 666 - I Am the Wargod

Doormouse / Venetian Snares - Skelechairs (Hexenkult's Edit)

2009-08-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is a breakcore track by Doormouse entitled "Skelechairs". It was remixed by Venetian Snares. I tampered with it further and the full title should be Doormouse / Venetian Snares - Skelechairs (Hexenkult's Sample Massacre Edit). The video was (painstakingly) edited using still shots from Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

Catacombs (2007) - Film Review

2009-08-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

It could have been (and should have been) so much better. Set among the underground catacombs of France, it should have at least been able to create a creepy claustrophobic atmosphere (like THE DESCENT), but it fails to generate any suspense or scares. And the twist ending just came off as ridiculous to me. In fact most of these types of horror films with the tacked on twist endings are just becoming too cliched now. Oh yeah, this was made by the producers of the SAW films. Blah! That's really all I have to say about this one. Just skip it. It's not even worth an in-depth review. For much more effective excursions into claustrophobic creepiness, check out the afforementioned THE DESCENT and Christopher Smith's 2004 film CREEP, set in the tunnels of a London subway station.

Catacombs (2007) - Trailer
Just watch the trailer, then you don't need to waste your time on the movie

Catacombs (2007) Rating:

"A Wasted Opportunity"

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales / Emperor's Return (1984/1985) - Music Review

2009-08-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

The "Morbid Tales" EP (1984) was the first release of pioneering first wave black metal band Celtic Frost, following the split up of Hellhammer. The line-up was Tom G. Warrior (guitar/vocals), Martin Eric Ain (bass), and Stephen Priestly (drums). In 1985 their second release was an EP called "Emperor's Return". Stephen Priestly was replaced on drums by Reed St. Mark.

The excellent cover art on "Emperor's Return" was done by Phil Lawvere. Like Ed Repka, he did artwork for various album covers, mostly metal bands, including Kreator's "Endless Pain", "Terrible Certainty", and "Pleasure to Kill", as well as Vendetta's "Go and Live...Stay and Die". This CD I'm reviewing combines both the "Morbid Tales" and "Emperor's Return" EPs. It includes such classic songs as "Into the Crypts of Rays" (with lyrics based on the deeds of the infamous French aristocrat Gilles de Rais), the doom-laden metal masterpiece that is "Procreation (of the Wicked)", and the eerie horror movie atmospherics of "Danse Macabre" (the twisted-sounding lullaby voices in this track remind me of something out of a Dario Argento film). And of course you can't forget tracks like "Circle of the Tyrants" and "Dethroned Emperor". Whether you like doom metal, black metal, thrash metal, or death metal, Celtic Frost was a huge influence on all these emerging genres; and for those not familiar with them, this is the best place to start. An essential addition to any metal collection.

Celtic Frost - Into the Crypts of Rays (Live 1985)

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales/Emperor's Return (1984/1985) Rating:

"Influential Metal Classic"

À l'intérieur [aka Inside] (2007) - Film Review

2009-08-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

Before I had heard anything about this French horror/thriller, I actually saw it sitting on the shelf of my local DVD outlet. I picked it up read the back and it seemed interesting; but it was released on the Dimension Extreme label here in the US, and their titles are pretty much hit or miss. I decided to wait. After having it recommended to me many times by various friends, I finally picked it up. I shouldn't have waited. Believe the hype! This movie delivers big time.

If you're into splatter and gore (especially the realistic variety), then do not hesitate to get this movie. But it offers more than that. The story was very involving, the cinematography as well as the soundtrack was excellent, there was tension and suspense in some scenes, the actors performances ranged from adequate to excellent, and the ending didn't suck. The twist ending is nothing new to the horror/thriller genre, but ever since SAW was released outlandish twist endings have become de rigueur. And speaking of twist endings another French gore movie comes to mind - HIGH TENSION. I loved HIGH TENSION and I thought the ending was interesting, but it came so far out of leftfield that it became implausible and left lots of plot holes in the story. I'm thankful to say that INSIDE manages to avoid the outlandish twist ending cliché for the most part. A very astute viewer might be able to figure out where the ending is going, but I didn't see it coming; and when it did come it was believable enough. Béatrice Dalle was fantastic and very menacing in her role as the antagonist.

For another incredible performance by her, you would do well to seek out the French indie drama/shocker, TROUBLE EVERY DAY (2001). In closing, INSIDE is a very rewarding experience for jaded gorehounds (like myself) and for adventurous arthouse lovers (with strong stomachs).

À l'intérieur (2007) - Trailer

À l'intérieur [aka Inside] (2007) Rating:

Cop Killers (1973) - Film Review

2009-08-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

This is a plodding but somewhat entertaining '70s grindhouse/exploitation action flick. A couple of small-time drug runners are making a trek across the Arizona desert, carrying a bag full of cocaine that they plan to sell for $80,000. Along the way they kill some cops (oh, and an ice cream vendor as well). They also take a female hostage along, who ends up falling for one of the drug runners. It stars Bill Osco and Jason Williams as the drug runners. Bill Osco was also a co-producer of the movie (as well as co-producer for other exploitation gems like FLESH GORDON, THE BEING, and the Herschell Gordon Lewis tribute film BLOOD DINER). Jason Williams acted in a string of exploitation films from the '70s up to the '90s. He's probably best known for playing Flesh Gordon.

The acting in the film consists of bad acting, over-acting, and some really bad over-acting. And the dialog is unintentionally funny in many places; but for those who love '70s grindhouse cinema, you already know that this adds to the charm of these movies. This film is also of note because it marks the debut of special make-up FX genius Rick Baker (who would go on to win an Oscar for his work on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON in 1981). As far as the FX on this film, it's pretty minimal; mainly consisting of the aftermath of gunshot wounds. There's a couple of blood squibs and a spurting neck wound for good measure.

The most gruesome effect is when one of the drug runners stomps on a cops face, breaking his cheek open and then proceeds to stab him in the chest a few times with a stiletto (the knife not the high-heel). Another highlight involves the theft of an ice cream truck (I guess they're not too worried about remaining inconspicuous). They end up making their deal in the middle of the desert with a bearded dashiki-wearing hippy dude and his two horny hippy-chick girlfriends. Right on!

Cop Killers - Trailer

Copkillers (1973) Rating:

"Look Man, I'm Uptight and Wasted!"

Contents of the Crypt

2009-08-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

À l'intérieur [Inside] (2007)

Catacombs (2007)

Cop Killers (1973)

Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985)

Last House on Dead End Street (1977)

Love Object (2003)

Tell Me Something (1999)

Untraceable (2008)

Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927)

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales/Emperor's Return (1984/1985)

Death - Scream Bloody Gore (1987)

RATING SYSTEM KEY

5 Tombstones: An Absolute Ghoul-Feast

4 Tombstones: A Bone-A-Fide Crypt-Licker

3 Tombstones: A Meat-E-Ogre Midnight Snack

2 Tombstones: A Meal Fit Only for a Maggot

1 Tombstone: No Meat on These Dry Bones

Antaeus - Sono l'Antechristo (Custom Video by Hexenkult)

2009-08-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

The music track is Sono l'Antechristo by French black metal band Antaeus , from their 2006 "Blood Libels" album. It's a cover of a song originally recorded by Diamanda Galas in 1986. This track is not listed on the packaging of the CD, but it starts at about 9 minutes into the last track. The video is still frames that I edited together featuring witches as the theme, mostly medieval woodcuts and some still shots from the 1922 film Haxan.

Antaeus - "Blood Libels" (2006)

MmK, lead vocalist of Antaeus

Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927) - Book Review

2009-08-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

Written by: H.P. Lovecraft

This is quite simply one of the best essays ever written on the history of horror literature. It was written by Lovecraft over a three year period from 1924-1927, on the request of fellow writer W. Paul Cook; and first published in a folio-sized magazine called "The Recluse" in 1927.

The Recluse (1927)

Lovecraft continued to make revisions to the essay throughout the '30s, until his death in 1937. It was published with these revisions, posthumously, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei's Arkham House and included in "The Outsider And Others". It was published again in 1945 by Ben Abramson with a Foreword by August Derleth. This current edition that I'm reviewing was originally published by Dover in 1973, and replaces the foreword by Derleth with an Introduction by E. F. Bleiler. In this 128 page essay, Lovecraft not only exposes his influences, but shows a fine critical sense as well. This work provides a virtual checklist of classic literature for horror fans to seek out. Some of the authors covered are well known like Bram Stoker, Joseph Sheridan LeFanu, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, Henry James, and Edgar Allan Poe (who has a whole chapter devoted to him). Others are lesser known today (at least in the mainstream market), but just as important to horror literature; like Charles Robert Maturin, Lord Dunsany, Arthur Machen, and Algernon Blackwood. "Supernatural Horror In Literature" is broken into 10 chapters, arranged chronologically, beginning with the earliest tales of supernatural occurences and continuing up through modern writers that Lovecraft admired.

The chapters are as follows:

1-Introduction

2-The Dawn of the Horror Tale

3-The Early Gothic Novel

4-The Apex of Gothic Romance

5-The Aftermath of Gothic Fiction

6-Spectral Literature on the Continent

7-Edgar Allan Poe

8-The Weird Tradition in America

9-The Weird Tradition in the British Isles

10-The Modern Masters.

For Lovecraft fans this is an absolute must, to see the threads of influences that Lovecraft used to sew his own unique vision of cosmic horror. Even for those who are not particularly fans of Lovecraft's style of horror, this is still a fascinating read that traces the supernatural element from man's first written works all the way up to the 1930's.

Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927) Rating:

Untraceable (2008) - Film Review

2009-08-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

This movie didn't really do much for me. It's a police procedurial suspense/thriller which tries to appeal to the SAW/HOSTEL crowd with a few somewhat gruesome torture/death scenes.

Someone is abducting people and broadcasting there torture and death live over the internet by use of a webcam. The cast are capable, but there's no real stand-out performances. I guess it may be somewhat of a diversion for suspense/thriller fans, but I found it too tedious and derivative of the films it borrows from. Here's the ingredients for the film:
1 part SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
1 part SEVEN
1 part SAW
1 part HOSTEL
By the way, the whole premise for this movie was done before by Dario Argento in his 2004 giallo THE CARD PLAYER. I'm probably biased towars Argento, but I enjoyed his film much more.

Untraceable (2008) Rating:

Death - Scream Bloody Gore (1987) - Music Review

2009-08-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

I first bought this on cassette when it originally came out in 1987, and it proved to be too much for me then. A little back-story is needed here. **Cue the ‘80s flashback sequence** My first obsession, musically or otherwise, was with the band Kiss around 1978, at the tender age of 5.

Hexenkult: The Early Years

By the early ‘80s I had moved on to some harder music like AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, and Motley Crue. In 1986 my second obsession hit – horror movies. This was when I first saw George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, and I became a full-fledged gorehound. Sorry for the rambling, but I like adding some background information to reviews of music, movies, and books that were/are important to me and also others reading this review who grew up during this same era, with similar interests, may be able to relate. Now this brings me to my discovery of Death’s “Scream Bloody Gore”. Thrash metal was still very young, and I hadn’t heard any of it yet. Death metal was in its infant stages, with this album being considered one of the first death metal releases (at the time I wasn’t even aware of this newly emerging genre). But with my tastes changing to more extreme fare, I was ready to hear something harder than Ozzy and Motley Crue. While perusing the cassettes in the heavy metal section of my local music store, the title “Scream Bloody Gore” caught my eye (having recently been a convert of horror movies as I stated above). The cover-art also stood out (more on the artist later) with a skeletal zombie seated on a throne flanked by three other skeletal zombies, all clothed in monk’s robes and raising chalices. A quick look at the lurid song titles (Infernal Death, Zombie Ritual, Denial of Life, Sacrificial, Mutilation, Regurgitated Guts, Baptized in Blood, Torn to Pieces, Evil Dead, Scream Bloody Gore) and this sealed the deal for me. I plucked down my money and went home to have my ears blasted by a racket they had never before been subjected to. After a couple listens it still proved to be too much for me. I was getting accustomed to the music but it was so harsh, and I couldn’t understand most of what the vocalist was saying. I took it back to the store and convinced them to let me trade it in for something else. I had heard of Metallica but never heard there music before, so I decided to go with their latest album, “Master of Puppets”. After listening to this a few times, I was hooked, and this would lead to my next obsession – thrash metal. I would soon discover Anthrax, Megadeth, Overkill, Testament, Exodus, Celtic Frost, Venom, and Slayer. The moral of this story is you gotta learn to crawl before you can walk. By the beginning of 1989, I had become well versed in thrash and decided to purchase “Scream Bloody Gore” again, as well as Death’s second album, “Leprosy”, which had come out in ’88. Now I was ready for it! And I loved both albums. This was about the time that death metal was poised to set the underground metal scene on fire. Within no time I was deep into bands like Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Obituary, Entombed, Cannibal Corpse et al.
As far as “Scream Bloody Gore” is concerned, I consider it an extreme metal classic. It established themes that would continue as death metal progressed. The horror movie theme and gore-obsessed lyrics would become a staple of many burgeoning death metal bands (with bands like Cannibal Corpse and Carcass taking the extreme gore content even further). This horror/gore themed metal mixed with another extreme metal genre known as grindcore, would form its own subgenre – goregrind (got all that?). Death would continue the gore theme, but to a lesser degree, on their second album “Leprosy”. By their third album, ”Spiritual Healing”, they had dropped the gore theme altogether in favor of lyrics about socially relevant issues and philosophical views. Death was formed by guitarist/vocalist Chuck Schuldiner and he would remain the only constant member throughout the band’s existence.

Chuck Schuldiner

The rest of the line-up on “Scream Bloody Gore” includes Chris Reifert on drums and John Hand on rhythm guitar. This is the only Death album they appeared on. Chris Reifert would go on to drums and vocals for death metal band Autopsy from 1987 to 1995 and then death metal/grindcore band Abscess from 1995 to the present. He’s played drums in other bands as well including The Ravenous and Doomed. I have no idea what happened to John Hand.
As far as the sound on “Scream Bloody Gore”, it’s pretty raw and the production is not as “full” as later albums would be. However, this is not a negative aspect in my opinion – I like the raw sound, and you can still hear the complexity and melody of the song arrangements that Death is known for. This sound would progress through their subsequent albums and spawn another subgenre of death metal known as progressive death metal (defined by these complex arrangements and melodic song structures). “Scream Bloody Gore” was produced by the legendary Randy Burns, who produced many important metal albums from bands such as Possessed, Dark Angel, Megadeth, Nuclear Assault, and Kreator. All the tracks on “Scream Bloody Gore” are strong. I never skip any while listening to it, but some stand-out tracks include Zombie Ritual, Denial of Life, Mutilation, and Regurgitated Guts. Regurgitated Guts being a tribute to Lucio Fulci’s film City of the Living Dead (also known on video as The Gates of Hell for those of us who grew up in the US in the ‘80s). Check out some of the lyrics: “Suicidal preacher hangs himself/Unfaithful servant goes straight to Hell/When he returns your life will end/Down from the skies maggots descend/Least expecting his horrible face/Your decayed guts you soon will taste/Unholy feeling grows deep inside/Choking on your guts you open wide/Regurgitated guts/Satisfy his needs/Regurgitated guts/Now you’re gonna bleed”. Ah good stuff! And the lyrics to the title track Scream Bloody Gore seem inspired by Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator: “Decapitated head licking your cunt…”,”Intestinal guts taking their hold…”,”Controlling the minds of the bloodthirsty dead…”,”Inject the reborn terror…”,”Orders to destroy, rip and tear apart/Wishing for the end, your death is just the start”. The CD version of “Scream Bloody Gore” includes two bonus tracks, Beyond the Unholy Grave and Land of No Return, that were not included on the original LP and cassette release. Beyond the Unholy Grave is from their 1985 demo “Back from the Dead”, and Land of No Return is from their 1986 demo “Mutilation”.
The excellent cover art for the album was done by Edward J. Repka, who would also do the cover art to Death’s next two albums as well as albums by Megadeth, Possessed, Dark Angel, Atheist, Evildead, Ludichrist, Biohazard, Uncle Slam, Necro, Toxic Holocaust, Misfits, and NOFX to name a few.

Repka and Vincent Locke are two of my favorite artists for metal album covers. Locke did the artwork for many of Cannibal Corpse’s album covers, and he’s a comic book artist/illustrator whose work includes the original Deadworld comic.
In closing, this album is a must for those who want to hear the origins of death metal; along with Hellhammer’s “Apocalyptic Raids” (1984), Possessed’s “Seven Churches” (1985)(two releases that are also important to the first wave of black metal); Sepultura’s “Morbid Visions” (1987); Necrophagia’s “Season of the Dead (1987); and Morbid Angel’s “Altars of Madness (1989).

Death - Zombie Ritual (Live in Houston, TX - 1990)

Death - Scream Bloody Gore (1987) Rating:

"Early Death Metal Classic"

Last House on Dead End Street (1977) - Film Review

2009-08-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

Let me start off this review by saying this is a one of my personal favorites, and for those who seek it out based on my review (or any other positive reviews) may not see it in the same light. Despite the title, it's not a rip-off of Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and I feel it's actually superior to Craven's movie. It's certainly more vicious and disturbing. The film begins with Terry Hawkins being released from prison after serving one year for selling drugs, and through his "inner monologue" we learn more about his pissed off and nihilistic view of society. "I'll show 'em. I'll show 'em all what Terry Hawkins can do!". And show them he will.

He finds an abandoned building and decides to use it as his "production studio", exclaiming to the girl who's with him, "I wanna make some films here - some really weird films!". He meets up with a former "business associate", Ken, who has film equipment and has been making movies with a porno filmmaker named Palmer. We learn some of Ken's sordid past. He had worked in a slaughterhouse for a while; and we're shown some foreshadowing inserts of cow slaughter. Apparently Ken was a bad boy though, and he some time in an institution for porking dead cows, as he explains to Terry, "You know how horny you get? You'd stick it in a mud puddle if you could find one, but you can't find one in the middle of winter, you know." So Terry and Ken decide to partner up on these new films Terry plans to make.

Next Terry meets up with another former associate named Bill, who's a camera man. Terry uses his winning personality to convince Bill to join his entourage, "Now get all this crap together and be ready to go in an hour!". Now we move to a crazy little shindig being thrown at Palmer's house (the porno filmmaker I mentioned earlier). His wife Nancy is a kinky one and likes painting her face black prior to being whipped by a mentally handicapped hunchback, as the party guests laugh and cheer her on. An oddly surreal scene, no doubt.

Meanwhile, her husband and his producer, Steve, are in the study viewing Palmer's latest film, which the producer is not too impressed with, "Palmer, you sit here showing me 10th rate porn while your wife is in the next room getting her ass whipped, and you have the nerve to talk to me about your reputation?!". Steve then tells Palmer they should hook up with this guy Terry Hawkins, who's planning on doing some films no one's ever seen before. Now we cut to the chase. Terry's "new style of film" is snuff films. His crew wears these creepy, semi-transparent theater masks while he dons a huge Greek god-style mask, and they kill their victims on camera.

Steve, the producer, finds a lucrative underground market for the films, but makes the fatal mistake of cutting Terry out of the profits. Terry repays the favor by using Steve, Palmer, and Palmer's wife as "actors" in his final masterpiece. What follows is a gruesome, disturbing and often graphic account of their last moments caught on film.

The foreshadowing slaughterhouse scene I mentioned earlier plays out here in the end, involving a branding iron, throat slashing, stabbing, mutilation, dismemberment, and disemboweling. In one sickeningly surreal scene of humiliation, Steve is forced to fellate a deer hoof, protruding from between the legs of one of Terry's female crew members, as another crew member holds two other hoofs up to the girl's head (as though they were devil horns).

It's a bleak and nihilistic film with a suitably bleak ending, although there's some tacked on narration stating that Terry Hawkins and the other members were later apprehended and are serving time in prison. This narration was never part of the original film and was probably added by or at the request of a distributor who thought audiences couldn't handle such a bleak ending without some form of punishment for those involved.

I remember first reading about this film in some article by Chas Balun, either in Gorezone or Deep Red, back in the late '80s. It was originally distributed on VHS by Sun Video in small quantities. I was actually lucky enough to have found a rental copy back then and dub it. It seemed like such a dangerous film made by reckless filmmakers who just didn't give a damn about playing by the rules. To add to the film's notoriety, all the people involved were hiding behind pseudonyms. It was later revealed that the writer and director of the film was a New York resident named Roger Watkins, who also played the role of lead maniac Terry Hawkins. His main influence for the story was Charles Manson and his followers and the rumor (now an urban legend) that the Manson family had made some snuff films.

He and a dedicated group of theater and film school friends shot it back in 1972 (while he was in a meth-fueled haze, according to Watkins). The original title was THE CUKOO CLOCKS OF HELL, a reference from Kurt Vonnegut's novel Mother Night (which has nothing to do with the film, by the way). The running time of this original print clocked in at nearly 3 hours. At some point it was cut down to the lean and mean 80 minute version that exists now. Unfortunately, the original 3 hour print has been lost, and all that remains of it is about 20 minutes of silent footage, included on the Barrel Entertainment DVD. Hopefully this print will resurface one day, because I would sure love to see it. In 1977 it was retitled THE FUNHOUSE, and it made the rounds through the grindhouse and drive-in circuit. It was later retitled LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET and raked in more money at the grindhouses by using an ad campaign that cashed in on the success of Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT - "It's Back! The Evil That Had You Screaming...It's Only A Movie!".

It also played on some double bills with Craven's THE HILLS HAVE EYES. The movie was shot on 16mm film which gives it that grainy and gritty documentary-like feel that is perfectly suited to films dealing with this subject matter. It was also shot without sound, with the dialogue, sound effects, and music dubbed in later. This can usually hurt a film, but here it gives it a disjointed feeling. That, combined with the minimal synthesized soundtrack and the looping and echoing of various dialogue, add to the unsettling effect of the film. It's like the visual equivalent of listening to Nurse With Wound, Coil, or some other early industrial artist. One aspect I love about this movie, and other ultra-low budget DIY movies like it, is that it's a big defiant "middle finger" in the face of the money-hungry Hollywood studio system. This subtext is actually in the film itself, with Steve and Palmer representing the Hollywood studio system, out to make a buck by feeding the masses what they want to see. But their product has become boring and trite, and they're losing money. In comes Terry Hawkins, an underground independent filmmaker with a vision to give people something they've never seen before. Of course, "Hollywood" rips off his product, puts their own name on it and run with it, cutting the independent filmmaker out of the picture all together. The only difference here is that "Hollywood" pays the ultimate price in the end.

If you're a fan of hardcore horror and exploitation films you should track down a copy of LHODES. The folks at Barrel Entertainment released a definitive 2-disc DVD set back in 2002. I think it's out-of-print now, but it's definitely worth seeking out. It still packs a punch today. For better or worse, this movie along with Michael and Roberta Findlay's inferior film SNUFF, gave rise to the whole pseudo-snuff genre; and are the predecessors to the Japanese GUINEA PIG series films DEVIL'S EXPERIMENT and FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD, as well as the AUGUST UNDERGROUND films. Roger Watkins died in 2007. Prior to his death, he had written a sequel to LHODES and was set to direct it, with the help of Fred Vogel's Toe Tag Pictures (the guys behind the AUGUST UNDERGROUND films). The last I heard, Toe Tag still owns the screenplay and may eventually shoot it.

Last House on Dead End Street (1977) Rating:

"I wanna make some films here, some really weird films!"

Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985) - Film review

2009-08-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

For fans of underground horror, this film needs no introduction. It's one of those (un)holy grail movies for gorehounds that's usually perched near the top of any extreme horror list along with CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, MEN BEHIND THE SUN, and more recently the AUGUST UNDERGROUND films. And like those films, it has a polarizing effect among even diehard horror fans. It usually divides viewers into those who see (and enjoy) the film as pure shock value entertainment with over-the-top gore FX; and those who see it as pure exploitative garbage appealing only to "sickos" of the lowest common denominator. I happen to fall into the former group, and I have no problem defending the merits of extreme cinema (as anyone who's read my reviews already knows). Then again, I've always admired movies and filmmakers that go beyond the pale of good taste, that try to shock and shake the foundations of the viewers sensibilities, even if that means inspiring as much disgust and revulsion in the viewer as possible.

If these types of films offend you, or if you just like horror movies that "play it safe", then you should probably stop right here because this is the kind of film that throws down the gauntlet, so to speak. It delivers a cinematic sucker-punch to the gut and dares you to keep watching.

There is no real plot to speak of in this movie. One night a man chases, chloroforms and abducts a girl off the street in Japan and binds her to a bed in his blood-stained "slaughter room".

He proceeds to drug her, and while donning a Samurai helmet, systematically tortures, dismembers, disembowels and finally decapitates her, all in full gory detail and using a variety of sharp instruments.

In between the butchery he delivers some poetic dialogue likening the spurting blood and grue to the blossoming of flowers (hence the title of the film). So basically, it's a pseudo-snuff film. And for those who don't know, the GUINEA PIG films were a series of shot-on-video mini-movies (about 40 to 60 minutes in length), produced in Japan in the mid to late '80s, directed by various Japanese filmmakers, and aimed squarely at the burgeoning home video market. FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD is the second in the series, following the similarly-themed and equally grotesque DEVIL'S EXPERIMENT; and it was written and directed by famed manga artist Hideshi Hino.

The fourth installment in the series, MERMAID IN A MANHOLE, was also written and directed by Hino, and it also features plenty of the "red stuff". For MERMAID, Hino drops the pseudo-snuff angle and goes for a story that resembles the dark visions of his manga books like Panorama of Hell and The Bug Boy.

The Guinea Pig films were never officially released on video in many countries, including the US; and were distributed via underground VHS bootlegs, which is how I first came across it. And let me tell you, watching FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD on a 5th or 6th generation VHS bootleg is a much more disturbing (and realistic) experience than watching the remastered version on the Unearthed Films DVD. Not to mention that the old VHS bootleg had no credit sequence or dialogue, which added to its mystery and notoriety. I have to give props to Unearthed Films for releasing the GUINEA PIG series in the first place, but also for including a VHS bootleg version of the film as a hidden "easter egg" on the DVD.

There are a few interesting stories surrounding FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD. One is the legend that it's based on an actual snuff case. This story was most likely concocted by someone involved with the film (probably for added shock effect), who claimed that the director received a parcel in the mail containing one 8mm film reel, some still photographs and a letter all detailing the ritualized dismemberment and slaughter of an unidentified girl, which they handed over to the authorities (after viewing it of course). They insinuated that the case had to be kept quiet so as not to cause a public outcry, because the killer was never caught. And FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD was supposedly a recreation of the 8mm snuff film. This is highly unlikely. I don't care how "quiet" the case was kept, some information and details of it would have leaked out if it were real. This legend, of course, just boosts the notoriety of the film and has the same effect that the narration at the beginning of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE had about it being "...an account of the tragedy that befell a group of five youths...The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history." And to this day you'll find people who swear up and down that TEXAS CHAINSAW happened exactly as the events portrayed in the film (rather than being very loosely based on Wisconsin's favorite ghoul, Ed Gein). Another story about FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD happens to be true. Noted genre journalist, author, and all around horror guru Chas Balun had acquired a copy of the film, and at the request of a staff member on Chas' Deep Red magazine, he edited together the goriest bits of FLOWER with a slew of gory scenes from other horror films, to be played at the staff members' birthday party.

Within no time, the tape had been bootlegged and distributed all over the West Coast. At some point, Charlie Sheen saw a copy of this tape and believing it to be an actual snuff film, he reported it to the FBI. The GUINEA PIG films had already been under investigation in Japan and were, of course, determined to be fake. Another more horrifying story involves the Japanese serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki, dubbed "The Otaku Murderer", who killed four girls between the ages of 4 and 7 in 1988/89.

The atrocities he inflicted on the bodies included mutilation, necrophilia and cannibalism. When the authorities searched his home they discovered a collection of nearly 6,000 pornographic and/or violent videos (including the GUINEA PIG films and videotape footage of some of his victims corpses). He supposedly re-enacted some of the scenes from FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD on one of his victims. That brings to a close the sordid legacy behind one of the most notorious gore shockers ever made.

Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985) Rating:

"A rose by any other name..." (Yeah, I'm a sick bastard)