Very sorry for no reviews in a good while. I got out of doing them and just never had much of a desire to get back to them. I'm still ahead of my curve, but was kind of wanting to see double digit posts each month. I screwed that up but good. Anyway, I decided to watch a movie I've been hearing a lot about, Deathgasm (2015). It has shown up on Netflix's instant watch so I figured it was time to give it a watch. The next instant watch movie will also be a film I've heard a lot about as well. The thing about this movie though, I'm not into heavy metal music, so will that make a difference?
Brodie (Milo Cawthorne) is a bit of an outcast. After his mom was committed to a mental hospital, his uncle takes him in. Brodie, being a metalhead, has nothing in common with his straight-and-narrow uncle or his family. School isn't much better for him, but things change a little when he meets Dion (Sam Berkley) and Giles (Daniel Cresswell), two guys who are a bit on the nerd side of the scale. When Brodie meets Zakk (James Blake), a fellow metalhead, he feels he has found a best friend. One day, soon after they meet, Zakk decides to break into the home of Rikki Daggers (Stephen Ure), a legend as far as metalheads are concerned. Thinking the two boys are part of a cult, Rikki changes his tune when he figures out they aren't, but a cult member does break in. Giving the boys an album, he tells them to guard it with their life. They later discover some sheet music inside and decide to try to play it. Of course this turns anyone within ear shot into demons.
I had been hearing a lot about Deathgasm, which turns out to be what Brodie and Zakk call their band, before I watched it a couple of weeks ago. I actually watched it again today, just so I could refresh my memory on it before really getting started with this review. I have nothing against metal music. In fact, when in the right mood, I can enjoy it. Deathgasm is by writer/director Jason Lei Howden. The film is out of New Zealand, which could make it hard to understand their accent when they got to talking fast. This film reminds many people of the film Bad Taste, which I completely get from a gore standpoint. While many said a lot of good things about this film, I just found it rather average. The gore effects are top notch, which I will get into later, but I didn't get into the humor of the story. Howden gives his story as much comedy, maybe more, as there is horror. Much like Bad Taste, I didn't get the humor all that much. There were a few lines that I found funny, but for the most part the comedy did nothing for me. Because it did make me laugh, I'm cool with this movie. That is all I really ask out of a comedy, make me laugh some. I guess not really growing up listening to metal, though a close friend tried to get me into it at one point, I didn't make a connection with the teens in this film. Some are already into metal when the story starts, and others are just discovering it. Can't say I have ever listened to music and had a vision/dream out of Heavy Metal, I thought it was kind of amusing though. Metal music and demons can go hand-and-hand together, depending on who you talk to, so it made sense for the film to go in that direction. Cool idea to only have those within ear shot to be affected by the music. It appeared that those killed by the demons also turned. Also those that didn't die from the demons also turned, though I was unsure why.
The effects are very well done here. The head demon guy looked a little silly, but other than that, it was all good. Lots of blood gushing from wounds and all kinds of wounds to be found. Heads split open, cut off and pulled off. Arms cut off and dildos inserted where they don't belong. Also a lot of chainsaw action to be found. The acting was also pretty good. Milo Cawthorne does a good job in the lead role, and I liked his interaction with Kimberley Crossman. Those two had some of the funnier moments for me. Crossman was someone that I didn't care for right away, but enjoyed her acting the more she was on the screen. While in much smaller roles Sam Berkley and Daniel Cresswell also do a fine job with their roles. James Blake was also good.
One of the things I didn't care for was the constant penis jokes. Okay, they aren't really jokes, but there is a long fight sequence that involves dildos and a "real" one gets mangled. There was also a chainsaw going up the back end at least once. I'm not sure where Howden was going with it, and not sure I want to know. There is also a little nudity to be found, both male and female. While I found Deathgasm to be a fun film, actually liked it a little more my second time watching it, I just wasn't into it nearly as much as others. That is fine though, a movie can't appeal to everyone after all. There did seem to be a lot of passion put into the film, which is always a good thing. If you are into metal music, there is plenty to be found in the movie. Depending on what kind of movie you are looking for, Deathgasm could be for you. Even though it wasn't for me, I still enjoyed watching it, so give it a shot sometime.
3 out of 5 No deaths by headbanging??
Brodie (Milo Cawthorne) is a bit of an outcast. After his mom was committed to a mental hospital, his uncle takes him in. Brodie, being a metalhead, has nothing in common with his straight-and-narrow uncle or his family. School isn't much better for him, but things change a little when he meets Dion (Sam Berkley) and Giles (Daniel Cresswell), two guys who are a bit on the nerd side of the scale. When Brodie meets Zakk (James Blake), a fellow metalhead, he feels he has found a best friend. One day, soon after they meet, Zakk decides to break into the home of Rikki Daggers (Stephen Ure), a legend as far as metalheads are concerned. Thinking the two boys are part of a cult, Rikki changes his tune when he figures out they aren't, but a cult member does break in. Giving the boys an album, he tells them to guard it with their life. They later discover some sheet music inside and decide to try to play it. Of course this turns anyone within ear shot into demons.
I had been hearing a lot about Deathgasm, which turns out to be what Brodie and Zakk call their band, before I watched it a couple of weeks ago. I actually watched it again today, just so I could refresh my memory on it before really getting started with this review. I have nothing against metal music. In fact, when in the right mood, I can enjoy it. Deathgasm is by writer/director Jason Lei Howden. The film is out of New Zealand, which could make it hard to understand their accent when they got to talking fast. This film reminds many people of the film Bad Taste, which I completely get from a gore standpoint. While many said a lot of good things about this film, I just found it rather average. The gore effects are top notch, which I will get into later, but I didn't get into the humor of the story. Howden gives his story as much comedy, maybe more, as there is horror. Much like Bad Taste, I didn't get the humor all that much. There were a few lines that I found funny, but for the most part the comedy did nothing for me. Because it did make me laugh, I'm cool with this movie. That is all I really ask out of a comedy, make me laugh some. I guess not really growing up listening to metal, though a close friend tried to get me into it at one point, I didn't make a connection with the teens in this film. Some are already into metal when the story starts, and others are just discovering it. Can't say I have ever listened to music and had a vision/dream out of Heavy Metal, I thought it was kind of amusing though. Metal music and demons can go hand-and-hand together, depending on who you talk to, so it made sense for the film to go in that direction. Cool idea to only have those within ear shot to be affected by the music. It appeared that those killed by the demons also turned. Also those that didn't die from the demons also turned, though I was unsure why.
The effects are very well done here. The head demon guy looked a little silly, but other than that, it was all good. Lots of blood gushing from wounds and all kinds of wounds to be found. Heads split open, cut off and pulled off. Arms cut off and dildos inserted where they don't belong. Also a lot of chainsaw action to be found. The acting was also pretty good. Milo Cawthorne does a good job in the lead role, and I liked his interaction with Kimberley Crossman. Those two had some of the funnier moments for me. Crossman was someone that I didn't care for right away, but enjoyed her acting the more she was on the screen. While in much smaller roles Sam Berkley and Daniel Cresswell also do a fine job with their roles. James Blake was also good.
One of the things I didn't care for was the constant penis jokes. Okay, they aren't really jokes, but there is a long fight sequence that involves dildos and a "real" one gets mangled. There was also a chainsaw going up the back end at least once. I'm not sure where Howden was going with it, and not sure I want to know. There is also a little nudity to be found, both male and female. While I found Deathgasm to be a fun film, actually liked it a little more my second time watching it, I just wasn't into it nearly as much as others. That is fine though, a movie can't appeal to everyone after all. There did seem to be a lot of passion put into the film, which is always a good thing. If you are into metal music, there is plenty to be found in the movie. Depending on what kind of movie you are looking for, Deathgasm could be for you. Even though it wasn't for me, I still enjoyed watching it, so give it a shot sometime.
3 out of 5 No deaths by headbanging??
