Book Review - Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Bright

So I don't usually read horror novels or stories. I'm a visual person but every now and then a book is so well written and the horror so well described I can visualise is as easily as if I was watching it on screen. Only time this has really happened with a horror is Stephen King so when a friend brought round some books for me to try, mostly crime and I found a book by "Poppy Z Bright" amongst them I thought why not.

Exquisite Corpse is the story of two serial killers. One a London based gay necrophiliac who escapes from the confines of his prison cell and travels across the pond and the other a gay cannibal with a liking for young tourists and runaways in New Orleans.

The first killer, Andrew Compton tells his story from the first person in past tense. Getting us deep into the mind of a psychopath. The depth Bright goes into to describe who he is and what he does is intense. Stomach churning accounts of how he murders, rapes and tears apart (in that order) his victims made me nauseous I could smell the blood and other bodily fluids. Compton is complex. The almost genuine love he feels for his victims is poetic and twisted.

Jay, our second killer is told from the third person and while his character is less complex and in depth as Compton he's still an interesting person. Jay is a wealthy man who uses his money to entice young homeless boys to his home where he drugs them, has sex with them and eventually kills them. Eating some, storing others for later use. Eventually the killers meet causing the perfect storm, you can see where it's going to go.

The theme seems to be HIV and Aids amongst gay men in the 80's. All the characters are male, gay and most of them HIV positive. One character, a complicated man named Luke life has been destroyed by testing positive for the virus and as during that time little was known about its cause or effects Luke is angry and in pain mentally and yearns for his ex lover, Tran, a Vietnamese homosexual who is a disgrace to his traditional family.

As far as horror goes, it's not supernatural but pure human destruction. The scariest kind. The story is captivating, devastating and brutal. The descriptions of the characters actions are vivid and in depth. During the climax if I hadn't been in the bath while reading I would have needed a scrub down afterwards!

I highly recommend this book for those intrigued by the criminal mind. It is written like an erotic novel but there is nothing titillating only provocative. I will be seeking out Brights other books but after reading Exquisite Corpse I will have fairly high expectations.

August underground Part Three! (Finally!)

So its been a few weeks since i watched due to health, personal and other crap. So finally here is my review for August undergrounds Penance.

The trilogies finale at last. This is something else. Forget what you saw in the first 2, the 3rd and final part is a whole new level of nasty. You really have to really drop all morality while watching in order to sit through. And many a person has had to watch in parts. I hate doing that so I sat through it from opening to closing without stopping. I won't lie, I did kind of know what to expect. I knew the first 2 were tame compared to this one. Vogel really has outdone himself.

The story is pretty much the same. Now we have Fred and his girlfriend only. How much time has passed since part 2 is unknown. There is no real indication as to what happened to the brother but you can kind of put 2 and 2 together from the ending of Mordum. The atmosphere is very different. As always we see Fred and the girl doing couple things. Messing around, professing their love to each other. Being together like any other "normal" couple. As the film goes on and we see their crimes take place - much more explicit this time I should add - we feel a depressive atmosphere now. It isn't fun and games anymore. There are problems with Fred, personal issues we clearly get to know. He and the girl are not the same as they were previously, the love is dying. During a particularly disturbing and brutal home invasion scene, which I will admit, did get to me we see these issues clear as day. While Fred has become impotent and he needs more sick stimulation, his girlfriend has lost it. She goes from looking rather fresh faced at the beginning to looking tired, depressed and resembling a long term drug abuser. They come to blows eventually and the finale, what I really did not expect is intimate, distressing and just plain sad. To compare it to your run of the mill, emotionless torture porn is inaccurate. There is a lot more going on. Psychologists would have a field day with it. Fred and his girl would make perfect subjects for a psycho-sexual analyst and you can literally choose any scene and pick it apart to read between the lines.

The violence has escalated. A disgusting shot involving a fetus almost, (ALMOST) made me gag. There is a lot of internal organs to be seen. The home invasion scene - taken place during Christmas eve to add insult to injury - is explicit and brutal. Being shot in HD rather than the degraded footage from the earlier films is a bit disappointing. It was one of my favourite elements and gave it that sordid realistic underground feel I love but we do get to see all the blood, tissue and violence in all its glory and it shows off Toe-Tags FX team's amazing talent fully and I can appreciate it even more. I am again, extremely impressed!

Penance is definitely the highlight of the series. It is brutal, emotional and disturbing and while some changes were made, for better and for worse, the film stays true to its predecessors. Watching the self destruction of the serial killers is powerful. The way they go from youthful and excitable to tired and miserable is harsh. If they weren't who they were we'd feel sorry for them. Vogel, you've turned me! I was pretty negative towards this kind of horror before watching the series but now I've experienced it, I take back anything I've ever said!

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Overall, the series hasn't been enjoyable. I am glad I sat through them and each one in full (Yeah I can now show off that badge of honor!). It certainly is an experience, but not one I'd recommend unless you know what to expect to an extent. This isn't a walk in the park and it is the epitome of extreme underground horror. While I wouldn't make them a regular watch I cannot fault them for being so bold. The talent among Toe-Tags is undeniable. Credit where credit is due, I am pleased, although not pleasantly, with the films. If you're an avid extreme horror fan and have doubted that August Underground is anything more than a torture porn for the hardened, give it the chance it deserves!

You can buy all 3 AU DVDs from the Toe-Tags website in the US from - http://www.toetag.biz/
Alternatively, you can find them on amazon, but expect a hefty price tag...

August Underground Trilogy - Part 2

Last night I wrote about the first in the trilogy of the extreme indie movies, August Underground. Not one to turn down an opportunity for something to actually effect me it only felt right to give the second a look!

August's Underground Mordum. 

Vogel returns as the sick and twisted camera killer with two new buddies. His girlfriend who can only be described as a complete fucking psycho and her brother a long haired man child who takes sexual violence to a whole new level. This time around Vogel has something to really show us. While the first wasn't all that violent or visually disturbing and relied on humiliation to really unsettle us, Mordum is out there. It's again presented as a degraded VHS tape that's been way over used, we still get mundane stuff, the trio with their mates drinking and being stupid, going to see gigs, getting piercings, messing around together. This time however, it's more chaotic. The girlfriend who is unhinged and to be honest a ticking time bomb, her brother a simple mind. Childlike and obviously disturbed. I really cannot imagine what their back story would be if they had one. As well as being in a relationship with Vogels character, the girl is having sex with her brother! Disturbing enough for you?

Violence in this one is stronger, and more sexually motivated. Simulated blow jobs with severed penises, necrophilia, rape its all there and it's not pretty. One scene involving the gaping stomach wound and the brother's weird fetishes almost made me vomit in my mouth a little! A very late scene involving a small child is pretty nasty. The dialogue during was sickening and indicated there really is more to why they are like they are, the girlfriend in particular. One thing is, this will offend people. Not everyone but the majority of people, even a lot of horror fans will be upset by this. Children, babies and animals are killed even though this is mainly off screen and to avoid the animal death just don't watch after the credits.

Again the effects are spectacular. Realism is achieved perfectly. It's exciting as a horror fan to see such amazing effects even from 2003. If they can do it with barely a budget then Hollywood certainly can! The characters are realistic. I've met people like them, probably don't go around kidnapping and killing people but on the outside these characters are people we know and are generally normal apart from their hobbies.

I was disappointed in a few things. I thought sometimes it was too chaotic. Everyone these people know are killers of some kind. A guy later on in the film has quite the party piece in his basement and we are treated to witnessing his own sick killing. There is a real escalation from 2 mates pissing around to 3 people who are now seasoned killers. I don't know how much time is supposed to have passed between the first film and the second. I think it concentrated too much on the two new faces I kinda missed seeing more of Vogel! It isn't until the end when he quite obviously loses it with his girlfriends brother we see him properly or at least his other scenes just weren't as memorable as the other two. I also thought the sexual element was too much sometimes. However, Vogel and co wanted to gross me out and appall me and that they did. Again.

While I "prefer" the first, again I didn't enjoy it but this one is certainly more effective in what it sets out to do and hasn't put me off finishing the trilogy.... Part 3, August Underground's Penance coming soon.... Watch this space!

August Underground Trilogy - Part 1

Its not often curiosity gets the better of me. I'm not a person to give in just because a film has a hype. Not many films get the same controversy as the August Underground Trilogy. When I first heard of it, I was skeptical given the way people described it. "no plot, lots of violence". It's pretty off-putting when even the most open minded horror fans describe it this way. I figured it must be pretty nasty, given the story that while Fred Vogel was travelling to Canada with copies of the films, they were seized and he was kept in a cell for 10 hours before they dropped the charges. On reading another person's review lately (you can read Dani Carnage's review HERE!) I thought sod it, got a copy and went for it.

August Underground: 

First things first, there is no plot. That is true, the film follows two killers. One behind the camera who we never see, only hear his sick giggles of enjoyment and excitement. The second killer played by Fred Vogel who also produced, wrote and directed the film is the star of the show and despite him playing a complete psychopath he's actually oddly likable in the same way as we all love Captain Spaulding in The Devil's Rejects. The film is highly degraded, like it was watched a lot, gives it that hush hush feeling about it. Like its been passed about by friends and collegues then discussed in hushed whispers. I love this! The authentic feeling that this is a well kept secret only the hardcore horror fans are privy to. Sound is pretty good. It's to be expected that the sound would be as distorted as the visuals but its actually quite clear. Now for the gory details, literally. Actually, August underground is not as shocking and gory as i'd come to expect. However, the effects are stunning. If I didn't know better I'd have questioned if it was in fact a truly authentic snuff.

Now I know I said this was absent of a true plot, the reason is it's supposed to be real. I'm yet to see a home movie with a well written story and strategically placed plot devices. This isn't Hollywood, this is raw underground with a shoe string budget. I wonder exactly how much was written in a professional script or if most of it was ad-libbed. The conversations seem natural. Clearly, Fred and his co-star are friends in real life. Their dynamics as a duo are spectacular. Just another thing to add to its realistic feel. There is also a lot of mundane shots, them being jokers in a store before turning on the customers by assaulting and humiliating them. Going to see bands play in local clubs, before being kicked out for fighting, just messing around together and with friends. While they can't seem to go anywhere without causing some sort of trouble they're pretty normal apart from the naked women and dead bodies in their basement.

To say I enjoyed this film would make me look pretty sick. There's no way a sane person can enjoy August Underground. Instead I feel impressed, I didn't "like" it but the film was so well done I have a great respect for all involved. Vogel definitely has talent. What I thought would just be a pure endurance film turned out to be a whole lot more. Dig deep enough you can see this may be missing the important factors like story and coherence but instead it's a character study through the eyes of a serial killer.

I am glad I was persuaded to give it a go. I had completely misjudged it, shame on me!!

Next up.... August Underground's Mordum.

UV supports Indie! - Legitimate (screener)

This week I had the pleasure of being contacted (Thanks to a friend) by a new and upcoming director, Izzy Lee. I had the privilege to see her screener of "Legitimate".


The film opens with a quote "if it's legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting down" (Todd Aken). At this point, I knew I was going to see something here. As a politician is led to his chair, given his usual drink and given a show from a beautiful stripper, bound in rope, becoming unbound as she dances. The politician seems to fall asleep, most likely drugged. Waking for a moment we're shown 3 women holding something grotesque in a jar. When he awakes again outside, confused we're treated to our punchline. 

It's difficult to make a point when you only have a few minutes to do so. Izzy Lee makes her point right from the off. The undertones of female empowerment are subtle even during the dancing. As the dancer get more into it she is unbound. From what I could get, freedom from male oppression. The punchline is where you really get the point. I did let out a chuckle. It tackles sexism and the vile view of rape that sadly, some people still have. While doing this, it doesn't become a feminist tirade. Instead, taking someones view, and twisting it so the shoe is on the other foot. I doubt the use of a politician character was accidental either. 

The filming felt professional, effects clever, while absent of real gore. 

I am thoroughly impressed with this short. It was intelligent without being pretentious. I like that. I look forward to what Izzy Lee gives us next!

I really have to see more! 

An Extreme World - Battle Royale

When talking about Asian cinema, Japan is pretty hard to ignore. With directors leaving their mark with crazy storylines, awesome gore and twisted humour that makes us rub our eyes in disbelieve and ask ourselves, "what the hell am I watching?!" it's easy to see why J-horror is so popular. Now I'm a fan of more sensible stuff, things need to be on the right side of bonkers for me to enjoy but one film I enjoy again and again and features some disturbing and graphic imagery without being absurd is Battle Royale.

Battle Royale - Japan

Directed By - Kinji Fukasaku
Starring - Takeshi Kitano, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda.

Based off a popular Japanese manga, Battle Royale is set in the near future. Petty crime is common place and the youth of the country and wild and unruly. To deal with the problem the "Battle Royale Law" was created. The law states that each year a class of children, in their final year of schooling will be put on an island, given a bag with a weapon and some essentials and the last one standing will win. How do they win? By killing each other!

I've not long discovered Battle Royale. I went out as soon as I'd seen it while it was showing on Lovefilm instant and bought it. The story is basic, a simple kill or be killed story made fresh with side stories of love, friendship and betrayal. The film follows Nanahara and his friend, who is apparently in love with him (along with every other girl in the class apparently) Noriko. They are joined by an older boy, Kawada, who later reveals how he has played before and was the survivor. The only villains are Kiriyama, a bat shit crazy kid who volunteered for the game who silently blows one student away after another without feeling and Kitano- Sensei played by the fantastic Takashi Kitano. Kitano is the life and soul of this film. He's funny, bitter and sometimes moving. A deep sadness hides behind those eyes and it is revealed later on why.

The acting in this film is ridiculous. The characters that matter and are well acted and their lines well written. Otherwise it's hammy, over the top and sometimes just blatantly funny. Somehow, Battle Royale gets away with it! Usually bad acting will ruin a film for me but strangely, it enriches it and gives it a little more body. It doesn't take itself too seriously and I love it for that reason!

Cinematography is stunning. Wide and long shots of the beautiful scenery splattered with the blood of children. The score is perfect, a range of well known classical music. Almost unsettling given the violence that is going on. What makes it extreme is not it's graphic visuals but the way the film is showing children killing children. What is more senseless? The fact its entertaining seeing young people shooting and slashing at each other unsettles me.

Battle Royale isn't flawless. It's fun, violent, gory and has a re-watch factor which makes it worth every penny. The least extreme in the series and some might say it doesn't fit in with the likes of Martyrs but hey, I think its a pretty violent and extreme flick, maybe the best gateway drug there is before taking on the more extreme titles. I know it was mine!

My rating.
7/10

Review - Wilderness.

Directed By - Michael J Bassett
Starring - Sean Pertwee, Alex Reid, Toby Kebbell, Stephen Wight.

A juvinile prison guard takes several of his young inmates to a deserted island where they find themselves hunted by a man with a crossbow and his pack of blood thirst dogs.

Another film I stumbled upon quite a while ago on netflix. I seen it was British and starred a few actors and actresses I knew so gave it a whirl. It opens to a young prisoner being beaten by his fellow inmates. The first scenes display a campaign of bullying against the young man, Davie and his only friend inside, Lesley until Davie finally cracks and is found dead by the newest inmate, Callum (Kebbell). After Davies father visits the prison the governor demands the senior warden (Pertwee) takes them to "the island". At the island they seem to bond, or not so much at camp before they find a group of female inmates and their warden (Reid). When Callum finds a homeless man dead and rather torn up he is accused of the murder before the group are attacked by a mystery man with a cross bow and several nasty dogs under his command.

This isn't a complex film. No twists for you to see coming or complicated story lines. Simply just twisted justice and lots of killing! There are some great kills, a man is eaten alive by dogs, a girl hung from a tree and set alight by a cool booby trap. You can completely switch off and enjoy this film for what it is. Some people might find it a bit cliche, and honestly, sometimes it is. Despite that, it's a good time. Character development is there, but there is little of it but it doesn't feel like you're missing out on anything. You know who you want to feel sorry for and you know the ones who deserve their fate.

Cinematography wise, its basic but effective. A nice bloody POV shot of the dogs ripping into someone is the highlight for me. Lots of long shots show off the idyllic scenery.

In short, Wilderness is a fun flick that can be enjoyed without thinking too hard. A nice refresher for me personally given the subject matters of other films I've been watching lately. I really enjoyed this film, it's not without its flaws. Some parts are a bit hammy and could have been written better and sometimes it does get a bit cliche. However, I still felt it worthy of a buy and now sits on my shelf.

My rating. 
 7/10