August Underground's Penance

There aren't many films that have turned me away completely. AU Penance was a first for me. I have never had to take a break from a film before or after this one. The August Underground films each have their "breath of fresh air" scenes in between - or even during - the more disturbing blood/vomit drenched scenes. Penance was different. Where it seems most people think that Mordum was the most disturbing in the trilogy, Penance went to a completely different level of grit and darkness. The breaths that this film took weren't enough to have strong enough laugh at to set you at ease or even kind of take you out of the disgust that was taking place. At one point, I had to stop the film and spend half an hour away from it to relax before I could finish. As the credits rolled, I sat in silence just staring at the screen unsure of how exactly I should feel. Easily the most difficult film to sit through, and easily one of my favorite films because of it. Fred Vogel and his team did an incredible job.

In 2007's "August Underground's Penance" we are introduced to a young couple of serial killers that torture and kill innocent people. This is the third movie in the franchise and with the other two being absolutely terrible and disturbing I wasn't expecting anything else here. And obviously that's exactly what I got. This movie differentiates a little because in the beginning the movie feels a little tamer then it's predecessors. But about halfway through the movie gets off the rails and continues exactly where the other movies left. It's a sick and disturbing found footage horror movie that basically does not entertain at all. The gore is pretty good but that's about it. One movie of this kind was more than enough but this unnecessary franchise has thankfully stopped by now. [2,8/10]

The shock film, August Underground's Penance, is the pinnacle of holiday filth. I suggest using your Christmas stockings once you run out of barf bags, you'll definitely need them for this movie! T'is the season for child molesting and baby killing! The August Underground trilogy is a collection of snuff footage filmed by the murderers, one male and one female, themselves. The first August Underground is disturbing in the way that it depicts a snuff film so accurately. August Underground's Mordum, as far as I am concerned, is the most disgusting and upsetting movie ever made. So what does the latest installment have to offer? Pure unabashed gore! Blood, guts, intestines, nails through the head, disembowelment, cigarette burns, limb sawing and heads being opened like Christmas presents! Thanks to the special features section in Penance we learn that real pig intestines were used in the film making the actors sick to their stomachs! Yes, these poor psychopaths actually got immortalized vomiting nearly constantly during the taping. The effects in this gore-fest are so realistic that the Toe Tag crew decided to use a better quality camera then in their previous movies to show off their skills and attention to detail. This film shows the character development of the killers and adds that touch of humanity to contribute to the realism to this movie. And, while Penance may not be as disgusting as Mordum, it does manage to supply a generous amount of its own sickness to the trilogy.

Which brings us to the only thing worse than Christmas carolers; home invaders! Focus on a standard suburban family. Let's call them the Cleavers. Each of the Cleaver family is beaten, raped and killed all on Christmas day. It's better to give then to receive! Of all the atrocities committed on this family the worst by far is done to sweet baby Jane. After the killers viciously beat and rape the sweet lass, her butcher delivers one of the cruelest lines in cinematic history: "Kill it." Did you get that? Not her - "it."

Another offensive scene which actually triggers the emotion of one of the killers highlights a very realistic looking fetus being ripped from a mother's womb. The female slayer finally breaks down and cries once she realizes they've finally go too far. The dead mother-to-be experiences the one instance where it's not better getting your present too early! Taking violence to another level all together. It is chilling the way these serial killers are portrayed so believably. August Underground's Penance also has an ending that has to be seen to be believed! The final scene might leave fans a little choked up.

August Underground's Penance is a shockingly gruesome movie filled with anger, torture, and ejaculation. It looks like it will be a White Christmas after all! This film is a holiday must own for any true gore-hound like me!

So what's the message in Penance then? A guy brutally murders people because he hates himself? Well f**k me what a revelation! This bombshell aside, there appears, not surprisingly to be no valid reason whatsoever for this incredibly crapulent and nauseous creation. If it's purely infamy Vogel's looking for he's gone about it the right way, but hey Vogel, why not surprise people and at least try to make something remotely intelligent, then you can throw in as much filth and degradation as you like and still get taken seriously? The thing is, Vogel doesn't have the minerals to create anything of any quality or depth, and Penance is a hollow exercise in pushing the boundaries of what is watchable. It's utterly devoid of any subtext whatsoever.

Ironically the only thought provoking element in this film is Fred Vogel himself, who co-writes, directs, produces?, and stars. In much the same way as Argento used to perform the stabbings himself in many of his films, Vogel has a vested personal interest in the violence displayed here. Writing, directing and playing the central character seems to be giving Vogel the closest experience possible to fulfilling his ultimate fantasy without actually having to get arrested, although one could argue that even the inclusion of such a young girl in the filming of this offal is worthy of a stern ticking off. Has she seen it yet? I wonder. Charming.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a lover of extreme violence in cinema when it is in context. Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer, Man Bites Dog, Peeping Tom - these are all violent films - Henry especially, but they also deal with serious themes such as alienation, voyeurism, the boundaries between audience and spectator, and in particular, audience complicity. Vogel's film, on the other hand is designed purely to shock and/or titillate. The only comforting thought one should be drawing from this experience is that you're not turned on by imagining yourself sexually and violently abducting people. If you are, then perhaps you should be applying for a job at Toetag films.

In Penance, Vogel seems, more than anything to be exploring his own psyche - his own capacity for the kind of behaviour he's mimicking, and it really does look like he's ready to take the plunge.

Beware Vogel - when you're staring into the abyss, the abyss is staring back at you!

The final part in the "August Underground" trilogy has been a long awaited affair. Four years after the over-the-top graphic spectacle of "Mordum", Toe Tog Pictures' "Penance" has finally seen the cold light of day. With much expectation behind Vogel's concluding chapter in this bloody series, there was always the danger of the production being a disappointment for the legion of fans around the world. Thankfully, the finished film is an accomplished offering that is actually better than its predecessors.

Starting with a surprising scene in which things don't go quite as planned for Vogel's character and his equally disturbed girlfriend, again played by Cristie Whiles, the film then takes a temporary break into normality. It must be said, Whiles is always a delight to watch. Introduced in "Mordum" as a psychotic powerhouse with a penchant for vomiting and abusing her female captives, her character in "Penance" is going through a transformation. Physically, Whiles looks different in this film - gone are the confrontational punk looks of the earlier film, replaced by a beautiful girl-next-door appearance. Vogel is instantly recognisable - a huge bear of a man with a kind face that turns psychotically satanic when events start to go bad. Vogel's the mastermind behind the series and his presence in the film is a welcome one. In "Mordum", Vogel had been on the outskirts of most of the action. Here, he's well and truly involved and the film's a return to the style of the original "August Underground".

Watching the two characters enjoy a break is entertaining and the viewer can enjoy the relative peace before the storm. In fact, I actually found myself dreading the moments when their normal behaviour started to change and they started to explore their darker obsessions. Their run-in with a homeless man, realistically played by Toetag fan and competition winner Fuctup, is the first sign during their vacation that these characters won't be at peace for long.

For those seeking gore and violence, this installment won't disappoint but it's not the same intense, fluid-splattered, unrelenting roller-coaster as "Mordum". The set-pieces in "Penance" seem more confidently delivered. There's less emphasis on the extreme and more time spent on character development and atmosphere. If anything, it's a hybrid of the first two films, taking the best elements of both and coming up with an end result that's well paced and satisfying.

What really works in favour of "Penance" is the clean, crisp presentation of the video footage. The absence of any degradation of the video source gives the impression that the viewer is watching the original digital tape, straight out of the camera. As a result, there's been more time spent on the serial killers' set-dressing and the wonderfully grisly and original effects. Gorehounds take note - Jerami Cruise's work on "Penance" is splendid.

As with the earlier films, this is a confrontational horror film. It takes no prisoners, from its startling Christmas intruder scene and numerous scenes of sexual humiliation and rape to the real demise of a rat at the jaws of a hungry 'gator. "Penance" will undoubtedly offend a lot of viewers but despite its characters, the film has a moral centre. "August Underground"'s message is a simple one. Violence is not sexy.

There's a moment in the film when the characters watch a lion being fed raw "meat", some of which you wouldn't expect to find in your local supermarket. It's probably not intentional but the lion seems a metaphor for the killers. They're trapped in a world where they're forced to take scraps to stay alive, caged in an environment where their true natures are constrained largely by society's rules.

When the film reaches its climatic, sudden and ambiguous end, there's a feeling of sadness. Sadness for the tragic waste of life that's been displayed on the screen for some 80-odd minutes? Perhaps. The tale certainly makes you reflect on what you've seen and the bleakness of it all. But there's also sadness that this is very probably the final installment ever of "August Underground", a series that has reinvented the horror genre and taken viewers to a new, disturbing place.

10 out of 10. Love it or hate it, this is an incredible achievement for a zero-budgeted independent film. I'm confident that Toe Tag will become more mainstream in the future. Such a move is essential for monetary reasons alone. However, I'll miss the on-screen chemistry of Vogel and Whiles. They've shown a new face of horror that doesn't wear a hockey mask and which is frighteningly real.