Deathgasm

There is no doubt that this will strike more of a chord (see what I did there?) with metalheads, though anyone faintly aware of its existence will be able to enjoy this non-stop gore-fest. Put simply, a group of friends find some old music on tattered paper. Its title is in Latin. When they play it, it sounds like a classic Black Sabbath doom song, only darker. The song is so heavy that everyone who hears it begins to leak blood from every orifice as they turn into demons.

The rest of the movie features these four friends decapitating and castrating demons. And here, anything goes and no one is safe. Can't find a weapon? Use a dildo, or some anal beads. The humour is great as there are many funny moments within the carnage, and only a few are 'inside-jokes' for metal fans.

The makers of this film must have spent half their budget on the special effects, as some of the kills are brutal and leave the victims in a state that David Cronenberg would be proud of. I'm not usually a fan of slasher flicks but there were some pretty gruesome moments once the foursome go on their rampage.

It's obvious the filmmakers had a blast making this, so watch it now and have a blast yourself!!

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This hilariously disgusting, twisted, insane little gem from New Zealand is a must for fans of Evil Dead 2, Braindead and similarly gory low-budget horror comedies. If you're into those kinds of films AND you're into Metal, don't miss out on this one: it's a blast. And it was obviously made by very talented people; especially the camera work is fantastic. The gore effects are good, most of the jokes are funny (depending on your sense of humor), and the actors may not win any Oscars any time soon but they seem perfectly well suited for their parts.

Writer/director Jason Lei Howden has a background in effects work and it shows: despite the low budget, the production values are much higher than what you'd normally expect in this kind of film. The direction is wildly inventive and reminded me a lot of the early Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson (mark my words: Howden is a director to watch in the future). A warning, though: even a film like Braindead looks almost sophisticated and tame compared to Deathgasm; a lot of the humor in this film is very, very (did I mention: VERY!!!) rude or downright sick. Do NOT watch this if, say, you have a problem watching genital (and rectal) mutilations in graphic detail.

My verdict: This is a splat-fest of the first order for gore-hounds with a twisted sense of humor, a love for Metal and a very high tolerance for some really cringe inducing nastiness. It's a very well made film - especially for a first-time-director - and I absolutely adored every minute of it. 7 stars out of 10.

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

This is what I like when it's about gore. It has to be funny, otherwise just watch a horror movie instead. I would not call this horror but just gory comedy. The best movie in that genre still remains Braindead, and of course the Evil Dead movies, but this one I will remember as well. The exaggeration in the gory details is what makes it funny. The amount of slashed body parts and the inventive ways they use to do it is just hilarious. The script might not be the best ever but that's not what it is about with a movie like Deathgasm. It's just a bit fun. Fun for people like me that get that kind of humor. Some others will probably hate that movie and that's okay. If you like metal music and gore then you will for sure love this movie. I did and I will watch this one again in a few years.

Deathgasm is a splatter comedy about a metal band that plays a riff that turns people into demons. Being a metalhead myself, I found that the people who made the film don't really understand the subculture and rely heavily on stereotypes. Considering this is just campy fun and not too be taken too seriously, it did'nt bother me much. Plus , most metal fans that I know are horror fans too and this film is very influenced by The Evil Dead series as well as Peter Jackson gore classics Dead Alive and Bad Taste. I would not put this in the same class as the aforementioned classics, but I did enjoy it and delivers huge on gore with extreme metal as a backdrop. Deathgasm is a fun little horror flick with its tongue firmly planted in cheek and is good entertainment.

Even more than zombies or maniacal killers, it's DEMONS that provide crazy horror directors with the most opportunities to go tremendously over-the-top in the gore and splatter department! Lamberto Bava knew it when he made "Demons" in 1985, Sam Raimi knew it when he accomplished his legendary "The Evil Dead" movies and apparently some pleasantly deranged New Zealander by the name of Jason Lei Howden knows it too, judging by the humongous gore- factor in his flick "Deathgasm". This recommendable little flick offers nothing new or even remotely original to the genre, but it definitely qualifies as pure and undemanding horror entertainment containing all the essential ingredients such as fast pacing, tongue-in-cheek dialogs, cute references towards movie/music classics and literally gallons of blood & pus! The basic plot concept cleverly plays with the ancient cliché that metal heads are Satan-worshipers and that the lyrics of their songs are aimed at summoning demons and other nasty creatures. In the sleepy little town of Greypoint, the social outcast Brodie coincidentally gets his geeky metal hands on music and lyrics called "the black hymn". When he and his amateur band called Deathgasm rehearse it in his uncle's garage, the universe's most evil force descends to earth and turns all villagers into bloodthirsty demons. Among all victims, Satan is scouting for the most evil human soul to possess and this just might be Brodie's metal buddy Zakk. "Deathgasm" is a fun movie, but certainly nothing more than that, and I wouldn't go as far as some of my fellow reviewers around here that label it as one of the best genre outing of the last years. The gore and make-up effects are well-handled but often too absurd and especially too tasteless for my liking. The best example to illustrate this is an extended sequence in which a supposedly normal middle-class and religious couple are beaten to death by the the sex-toys (like a gigantic black dildo and anal beads…) that are hidden in their bedroom. The funniest thing about New Zealand movies is that pretty much all cast and crew members previously worked on most of the Lord of the Ring movies, either as extras or as visual effects people. There are also a couple of cute references and tributes towards Peter Jackson's earliest splatter movies "Bad Taste" and "Braindead". Ideal stuff to watch late at night with a bunch of friends or – like I did – at a festival in the company of 200 gore-crazed horror freaks.