 |
| Images courtesy of Raven Banner |
Jason Lei
Howden's breakout debut feature film Deathgasm was a heavy metal
homage to the Satanic Panic of the 80's. Its popularity gained him the
chance to direct a studio film, Guns Akimbo that starred Daniel
Ratcliffe and Samara Weaving. His third feature, Deathgasm II:
Goremageddon is a crowdfunded film for the fans of the first.
Eschewing any sense of restraint, Howden doubles down on the blood, guts, and
mayhem to produce a loving sequel that hits more than it misses.
Ten years later, Brodie; the hero of part one, is a down on his luck alcoholic:
the love of his life has left him, and his bandmates are either dead or
dismembered. Seeing an upcoming battle of the bands, Brodie decides to
once again consult the Black Hymn to bring his band back together, and as a
result, buckets of blood rain from the heavens. Howden also wrote the
script, which doubles down on the horror comedy rather than the darker, more
sinister undercurrent of the original. If jokes about genitalia, bodily
fluids, and sex on loop offend, this will most certainly repulse.
Milo Cawthorne returns as Brodie and his ability to inhabit the role remains almost preternatural. Kimberley Crossman also returns as Medina, Brodie's lost love and their scenes together form the heart of the narrative. All of the band members also return with James Joshua Blake's bad boy turned vegan zombie Zakk stealing the spotlight. Make no mistake however, it is the makeup department that is of import. Despite raising over 300K from crowdsourcing, this is still an indie production, and the crew members go above and beyond to deliver some of the most gruesomely hilarious kills in recent memory.
The final product is essentially a retread of some of the themes of the original, but it manages to overcome this flaw with its humor and grit. This is a raunchy, filthy experience through and through and it wears this conceit like a badge of honor. Fair warning, if genitalia dismemberment is not your thing, look elsewhere, but if it is...well, that is why you are watching in the first place.
Debuting in theaters tomorrow and coming to VOD on demand Oct 13th, Deathgasm II: Goremageddon is a sequel that does not try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it goes all on it the things that made its predecessor the cult classic that it is, albeit with a more carefree tone. Ultimately, this is a specific kind of horror film made for a specific kind of horror fan, the kind of picture that would make a young Peter Jackson smile.
--Kyle
Jonathan