You have to be a pretty serious gore fan to have seen the first three Violent Shit films–they were low budget German gorefests from filmmaker Andreas Schnaas and they really had no redeeming artistic value other than the sheer amount of (admittedly cheap) splattery special FX work on display. Schnaas, like his contemporary Olaf Ittenbach, was working with limited funds and subpar equipment–so that they were even able to make feature length films at all is something of an accomplishment.
The Violent Shit films were never big on plot–they basically revolved around Schnaas donning a metal mask and calling himself Karl the Butcher while obliterating his fellow humans in some of the most disgusting ways imaginable. Think Friday the 13th with essentially no plot, the gore quotient multiplied by like a thousand and production values on par with the home video footage you took of your cousin’s bar mitzvah and you’re in the ballpark.
It’s been nearly 11 years since the last Violent Shit film–and Schnaas has apparently decided this is as good a time as any for Karl to make his triumphant return. Cinema Suicide shared a link to this trailer for Violent Shit 4: Karl vs. The Axe. I have no idea who The Axe is, and it probably doesn’t even matter. What’s most interesting is that Schnaas is using some better technology this time around and the trailer looks almost professional. It also features a really great exploding head at the end.
No idea when this thing might come out, but it’s good to know that Andreas and The Butcher are still out there and primed for a return. Fans of low budget gore cinema will want to keep an eye on this one.
Oh, and it should go without saying, but the trailer is NSFW–it’s got some gore and boobs. Some bosses tend to frown on that, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out why.
I’ve written a lot of reviews over the past decade, but for some reason there are movies I saw (usually a screener mailed to me by a filmmaker or a public relations person) that I never got around to writing about. My recent cross country move means that I’ve had a chance to go through a big chunk of my movie collection (and believe me, big doesn’t even begin to describe it—I left a lot of stuff back in the Bay Area)—and I’m trying to rectify some of the oversights that happened over the years. Re-watching things and writing about them now is generally fun.
One of the films I liked but never wrote about is Conor McMahon’s Dead Meat. Billed as the first Irish zombie movie, it could still very well be the only film in that wildly popular subgenre to emanate from the Emerald Isle. A loving homage to the gory morti viventi films of men like Peter Jackson, George Romero, and Lucio Fulci (and a tone similar to that of the other 2004 zomedy, Shaun of the Dead), Dead Meat makes up for its budgetary shortcomings with a lot of heart (and more than a few brains, too).
One of my goals of the past few years has been to make it to the FanTasia Film Festival. Not making it each year is one of those things that genuinely bums me out. When I heard that Coffin Joe was not only showing his latest film (the long awaited Embodiment of Evil) but receiving a lifetime achivement award at this year’s FanTasia film, I was more disappointed about missing the fest than I usually am.
Thanks to Fangoria, those of us who couldn’t make it can at least see video of the event and read an extensive interview with the man of the hour himself. You can check out the video below (which features not only Coffin Joe receiving his award but a lengthy interview with co-writer Dennison Ramalho) and an overview of Coffin Joe’s career and an interesting interview with the icon by clicking here. Fango deserves a big thanks for bringing this footage to the masses.
Back in February (Christ, this year is flying by…) I posted some photos and a teaser trailer for John Lechago’s Bio-Slime. I thought it looked really good for a low budget flick–the special FX work, in particular. A newer trailer has turned up on Youtube, so check it out below–I think gore fans are going to be pleased with this film. It reminds me of a low-budget version of John Carpenter’s The Thing.
Here’s the synopsis, in case this is your first time hearing about the movie–there’s a longer one back on the original story if you want even more info about this flick.
Seven people are trapped in a room with only one door and no windows. Their cell phones do not work and no one outside of the building can hear their calls for help. The group is under siege as a shape shifting creature tries to seep inside. They are picked off one by one until it is obvious that they cannot out wait this predator. A plan is hatched to retrieve the case that the creature came in to see if it holds any clue to control it or destroy it.
Still no release date for this one, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for any new information.
Of all the modern throwback slasher films I’ve seen (and I think I’ve caught almost all of them by this point), Ryan Nicholson’s Gutterballs is the one that most perfectly encapsulates why I love stalk-and-kill movies from that era. Where movies like Hatchet ape the aesthetics of the golden era of slasher movies (while modernizing them in the process), Gutterballs revels in not only the style that defined these films, but the gore, sleaze, and over-the-top excess. To the uninitiated viewer, Gutterballs could very well have been made when Reagan was still president. It’s the kind of flick you expect to see on VHS-in a giant cardboard box with the logo of a company like Wizard or Gorgon on the label.
I posted some of the recent gory set photos (courtesy of Fangoria) from Alex Aja’s Piranha 3D a few days ago. Turns out there were even more lurking about.
Brutal As Hell (another horror site I highly recommend checking out–it’s chock full of good shit) did some digging and found some more disturbing shots (apparently they came along a day after the first batch) from Fangoria/Gorezone.
The new stills are every bit as gross as the last batch (the floating severed leg is a nice touch), but just to keep things interesting, they’ve mixed in shots of lots of women in bikinis as well. Clearly, the photographer realizes that all horror fans love a little T&A with their blood and guts.
Piranha 3D is due out on March 19th of next year. Based on the stills alone, I’m getting pretty excited to see just what Aja has in store for us with his latest remake.
With his feature film Header, director Archibald Flancranstin has done the impossible-he’s managed to bring one of extreme horror author Ed Lee’s most infamous and shocking works to the big screen without losing any of the things that made the novella so repulsive and beloved in the first place. Fans worried that a cinematic adaptation of Lee’s “Redneck Greek Tragedy” would be a neutered and spineless affair can rest easy-this is the same Header those of us fortunate enough to own a copy of the long out of print novella remember. It’s a rip-roaring, over-the-top, insane redneck splatterfest with subject matter so bizarre and offensive that most people would flee the room screaming if you played a scene or read a few sequences aloud. Seeing it recreated in front of a camera is both incredibly cool and very shocking.
Alex Aja’s Piranha remake seems to be coming along quite nicely. Every time a new set photo emerges, it’s someone who’s been on the wrong end of a piranha attack. Today is no exception.
Fangoria scored some exclusive photos from the shoot–and once again, they’re highlighting the stellar FX work of KNB studios. KNB is set to handle the FX chores on this Predator reboot/sequel everyone’s talking about–and if you were concerned about the team’s ability to pull it off, their work here should allay your fears (and if you’re a horror fan, you weren’t worried in the first place–KNB’s been doing fantastic work for years).
Anyway, that’s one of the new set photos above. Go here to see more–it’s worth the click.
March 19th of next year can’t get here soon enough…
The fourth annual Toronto After Dark Film Fest is set to run from August 14th to the 21st–and to get you in the mood, the event organizers have announced the first batch of movies that will be featured at this year’s celebration of genre cinema.
Fans heading north of the border will be able to check out Trick ‘r Treat, Grace, Embodiment of Evil (the newest film from Jose Mojica Marins aka Coffin Joe), British horror flick Franklyn, a French heist film known as Black, Japanese gore flick Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl, The Forbidden Door, and Someone’s Knocking at the Door. Nine more features will be announced on July 29th–the same day tickets go on sale.
I’m a big fan of this new wave of French horror films. Those crazy French bastards are making some of the most extreme, daring, and thought provoking horror cinema out there. Even when they don’t hit one out of the park, the end result is still better than 99% of the bullshit remakes and uninspired sequels Hollywood foists on us.
One of the films I’m really interested in is The Horde. It’s a French zombie film wherein a group of cops and criminals are forced to team up to combat a horde (oh, I see why they chose that title now…) of zombies in a high-rise apartment building. It’s a cool premise, and early images from the shoot have showcased a lot of gore.
Now, French site Motion Sponsor has posted a teaser trailer for the film. It’s short (just over a minute), you don’t see a lot (but the last shot is awesome), and it’s in French (although the language of gory zombie movies is universal) but I still highly recommend checking it out. If this film isn’t on your radar, you need to get a lock on it posthaste.
