Movie Review: Surreal Sicko/Metalheads (2012, Bill Zebub Productions)

...stepping outside the box for a moment, so to speak, this viewer cannot help but express appreciation for the occasional 'curve ball', thrown my way, with regards to the eclectic variety of films, which are laid out before me, to review; proving an exercise in literary prowess, time and time again, it has taken a respectable amount of objectivity and open-mindedness, in critiquing such films...with a good measure of dedication towards...for good, or for bad, no matter what the subject matter is, or how it is presented...conceiving of what the filmmaker possibly wanted to do or say, with regards to the film, or films in question. With that deftly said, let's move on to yet another one of those 'curve balls', shall we?? And from the looks of things, this one ain't gonna be pretty...

...considering the minimal premise associated with "Surreal Sicko", this ready-steady viewer feels inclined to unconventionally portion, or ration out the threadbare storyline, get right to the heart...or rather, 'meat' of the matter, and pick up the pieces, with regards to premise, as things progress. Of course, taking into account, the exploitatively striking and lurid title of these proceedings, the harrowing synopsis of these affairs (...i.e.,  'a landlord takes advantage of a tenant who is haunted by visions and suffers from mental illness and goes on a rape spree and makes him his scapegoat'), the DVD cover photo shots...even the initially numbing effect of the film, itself, post-viewing...this viewer admittedly had initially resigned this material, in much the same light as the similarly lurid, subversive and disturbing fetish-flavored fare, once offered by now-defunct underground video distributor Astaroth Entertainment, who amidst their smattering of genre fare, which this viewer more readily favored, in his collection (...'The Necro Files", the 'Faces of Gore' shockumentary series, etc.), they also handled the release of sexually sleazy and disturbing (...and that's putting it mildly) micro-budgeted flickage, depicting (...emphasizing the word 'depicting', mind you) scenes of no-holds-barred, extreme rape, forced asphyxiation, inhalants, mutilation, and anything else with similar shock value...

Movie Review: Virgin and the Lover/Lustful Feelings (1973/1976; Vinegar Syndrome)

...ya' know?? There's an old saying, once often waved and bantered about the '70's, that said 'different strokes for different folks'; the phrase easily suggested that...hey, everyone is different, and what 'does it' for one person, might not 'do it' for another, no matter how standard, or how unusual 'it' is. Today, the saying might read more like 'whatever floats your boat', or for those more into the indivisible pleasure & pain virtues of a certain Leviathan-ruled, hellish underworld, the mantra might be '...what's your pleasure, sir?' In the end, no matter how it reads, the 'song (always) remains the same'...as Led Zeppelin once sang, and in reiterating, what 'turns on' one person may well be different from what 'turns on' another. Strangely enough...though probably not readily admitted by most...the more unusual the 'turn on', in seeing it through another's eyes, the more irresistibly compelling it is...almost as if one of 'the norm' sees, and is drawn towards something, which one just can't have...that is, without feeling out of 'the norm'. Such tortured complexity of character and emotion...in self-discovery, self-expression and self-indulgence...is the flavor of the moment, as Vinegar Syndrome lets their freak flag fly, in their latest 'drive-in' double feature offering, by 'blue movie' auteur Kemal Horulu (...previously spotlighted, with one of V/S's previous 'drive-in' double feature pairing, "The Sexualist" and "Wendy's Palace"). Lurid & tawdry tales of tortured drama, obsessive longings...and wildly erotic fantasies fulfilled...

Movie Review: The ABCs of Death (2012, Magnet Releasing)

...not too long ago, a most intriguing proposal was afforded 26 film directors, from around the world...some relatively fledgling and unknown, some known and very much seasoned: given free and unbridled creative reign...write, produce and film a small vignette about the subject of death, with the only boundaries and limitations being that each directer is assigned a single letter in the English alphabet, and the death-themed film produced, has to relate to a word...it's first letter being that of the assigned alphabet letter (...budget seemingly unknown, though an amount of $5,000 is per chance mentioned, in one of the segments). What resulted in this rather unusual cinematic experiment, is something which, for the most part, is equal parts uneven, thought-provoking, unnerving, provocative, funny, perverse, shocking, irreverent, jaw-dropping, horrific and...well, just totally off-the-wall, in an enjoyably macabre and engaging way. A fleetingly chaptered anthology, spanning a widely diverse and eclectic spectrum of subject matter, in alternately brutal, grotesque, perverse and, well...admittedly beautiful ways, at times...Now, now...gather around, boys and girls, as we learn "The ABCs...of Death"...