Subconscious Cruelty

Going into this movie I knew two things about it. I knew that it was a real extreme flick, and I knew that it was somewhat artsy. Both appeal to me in their own right, but when placed together it can be something truly unique. And this was damn right, without a doubt, unique. Like I said above, it is an artsy film. The way they used some intense sound, it reminded me a lot of an Aronofsky film. Visually I haven't seen anything like it. The cinematography and lighting were done very well. The movie seriously uses visuals and sounds better than anything I've seen in a while. Especially when you consider the experience these young filmmakers had (couple 20 year olds), you really have to take your hat off to them.

The movie isn't easy to describe or even discuss. There isn't an actual story….you could say it revolves around the right and left side of the brain and how they control your life…I think. It's four segments, or four ideas brought alive through visual and auditory extremes. There is some talking hear and there, but it's mostly a non-speaking film.

The first segment is the shortest and it revolves a naked body and an eyeball. Try and guess what happens….wrong. The second segment is my favorite. It involves a brother and a sister (who looks a little like Sarah Silverman, but with bigger boobs). The brother is crazy and the sister is somewhat of a whore. I would say this is the most extreme of all the segments, and the most well made. The gore effects in this one were great. The third segment revolves around a bunch of naked people sexing it up with mother earth. It's probably considered the weakest of the bunch, but still is smart and well made. The fourth segment is probably the strongest of the film and I'd also say the deepest. For myself I'll have to view this a couple times to understand what's truly being said. I know that it tackles Christianity in a way that would most likely make your mother feint or throw up….give it a try.

Subconscious Cruelty was recommended to me and I'm proud to say this is now in my movie collection. It's extreme, violent, gory, very sexual and surprisingly pretty damn thought provoking. The next line I'm about to say has been used in almost every review I've read for this film. "This movie is not for everyone." Now ain't that the truth. If you're into extreme films and/or you're just a lover of film that wants to see something different….check this out. 8 1/2 outta 10

A gory, low budget, art-house horror with scenes of extreme nastiness, Subconscious Cruelty is not an easy film to watch for several reasons: it is extremely 'symbolic' (some might say pretentious); it has no standard narrative; and it features very unsettling imagery. It is, however, well directed and edited, and features some amazingly realistic effects and a pretty decent score.

Subconscious Cruelty starts as it means to go on, with a bizarre short segment entitled Ovarian Eyeball in which a naked woman on a table is sliced open; from her wound, an eyeball on an optic nerve is produced. It makes no sense (to me at least), but is certainly visually arresting.

And so the weirdness continues, with a second 'story', Human Larvae, about a guy who wishes to make a mockery of the miracle of birth by killing his sister's newborn child as it is leaving the womb. This one is without a doubt the vilest story I have ever seen committed to celluloid and should be seen only by those with a very strong stomach.

Part three, Rebirth, is less intense, with a bunch of naked people rolling around in mud, fellating tree branches and shagging pools of blood! I quite enjoyed this bit after the gruelling nature of Human Larvae.

The final segment, Right Brain/Martyrdom, fuses religious symbolism with female nekkidness and gore, and is a shocking slice of sacrilegious depravity guaranteed to upset Christians everywhere.

I can't say that I enjoyed director Karim Hussain's debut, and would hesitate recommending it to pretty much everyone I know, but I imagine that it will definitely have a cult following amongst those people who prefer to delve into cinema's weirder output, such as the films of Lynch, Jodorowsky or Miike.

The movie is poetic. Much of the scenery is cleverly chosen and represents imagery related to creation and the mockery of this world (or more so human nature). Opinions will vary, but to me this justifies the brutal "extreme" nature of the film, something many others lack. It helps that the imagination is not all which is utilized to find purpose in the atrocities taking place On screen, instead your offered a guide who narrates his own thoughts and concepts has he creates these acts of desecration. His acts of self perceived ultimate trauma.

Cons: there is a major lack of plot going on. Also quite boring at certain points (ie 15+ minutes of people having sex with the bleeding earth) Pros: this lack of plot is further depiction of human nature. Also the gore was very high quality and believable.

Going With a 7, but it can be easily understood how many are tempted to rate this a 3 or lower. Not the genre for everyone.

This was definitely the most graphically disturbing film I've ever seen. Apparently, the sole purpose of the film is to shock and outrage people (according to the Stockholm Film Festival booklet), and I guess it does, but it doesn't really go any further than that. Or does it? I get the feeling that Karim Hussain has something to tell us, but it doesn't get through very well. I understand the reason for showing the things no-one dares to show, and I think that's good. But it is not presented very well, so people will not get the picture. The last section of the film is clearly a statement against American double standard of morality, and the modern mans loss of spirituality, and it is also the most intentionally apparent section.

The 'sound design' is great, very reminiscent to Lynch's Eraserhead. The music on the other hand, is most of the time inappropriate. The middle part of the film where people are indulging in an orgy with Mother Earth, is so badly scored the scene becomes silly, which is a shame. Hussain should have chosen music in the vein of Ligeti and Penderecki for a film like this (like Kubrick did).

If you want to see a shocking film that is dead serious all of the time, go for this one. Not for everyone, though. Or maybe it is?

Nothing else like it. Check it out. Pretty wild. Segment 3 is by far my favorite