kannibalcorpsegrinder

Finally getting his big break, a washed-up boxer is instead shocked to learn that he has become a vessel for a demonic entity intent on carrying out extreme torture and punishment to any who stands in his way, setting off a torrent of madness and bloodshed in the community.

Overall, this was a rather fun if one-sided genre effort. The main selling point here is the series of relentless and brutal attacks that take place here, turning this into a full-on assault of gruesome carnage. The gore is mixed nicely between the victims of his rampage and the various demonic forces dishing it out to his body so that he can be equipped for the battles to come later, resulting in a series of impressive torture scenes spread across both targets that leave quite a strong impression. As the demonic beings are shown to target him in stripped-down, barbaric sequences mutilating his body to the point of testing whether he can handle the stress of the job, it brings about a fantastic series of graphic mutilations, tortures, and more carried out by the scarred creation that helps to add to the whole experience. That leaves everything here with the never-ending series of encounters involving him taking apart and brutalizing his targets. The experience continues the series of ultra-brutal and highly effective torture scenes involving the brutal treatment of the various targets he's been sent out to destroy, bringing about the introduction of various BDSM-style tortures that not only bring the bloodshed but also utilize that environment to make the experience that much more uncomfortable. The whole thing, though, highlights the main issue here in how aimless the story is, with pretty much no real storyline other than finding a way to keep bringing up bodies to disfigure and mutilate, so there's little about it that keeps interest low in between moments where none of that is happening. That's the main issue holding this back.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Full Male and Female Nudity, and sex scenes.

Hearing of her brother's death, a woman travels to a remote convent in Scotland to investigate what happened, eventually finding the convent where he was staying to be marked by a peculiar spell of erratic behavior that hints at something far more nefarious than expected, controlling everything.

This was a decent enough if somewhat underwhelming feature at times. One of the better aspects of this one comes from the wholly intriguing and atmospheric starting point that gives this one a fine mystery to unravel. With the call for her to be sent out to the remote convent to look into what happened to her brother who was staying there and finding the life that goes there being quite bizarre as if attempting to hide something the longer she stays there which is pretty much how the scenario plays out yet still serves rather serviceably here. It provides the necessary ingredients to get her out to the location in the first place, the motivation to stay there despite how the pushback operates, and keeps the intentions of everyone hidden, as their actions don't always align until late in the film. It's a solid enough way for these types of films to go about as the gradual uncovering of far more deviant ideas at play manages to bring about some strong scenes here and there. That setup provides the fun launching pad for the series of enjoyably cruel and barbaric activities present in the second half, detailing what's really going on at the convent. With the gradual reveal of the sacred relic in their possession at the convent grounds and the use of her brother to investigate what's going on, only for him to be so distraught over it that it led to his death, it provides the groundwork for the kind of insanity to come in the latter half. Operating with more of an overt bent to keep everything hidden rather than being discreet, the bloodsoaked rampage that takes place is generally quite fun, bringing about some enjoyable aspects once the full reveal is brought about, involving a murder mystery at its core. Combined with a genuinely moody and effectively atmospheric convent location where everything takes place in which looks appropriately dark and dreary, this all manages to bring about some good points here. There are some problems with this one that hold it down. The main drawback here is the fact that there's not much here that separates this from dozens of other religious-based genre efforts taking place at a convent like this. The shady nature of what's going on at the location, with stories not matching up, secrecy in the name of keeping devotion to Good the highest priority, and the stalwart ally trying to get to the bottom of everything with her running afoul of their plans all come into play here and they don't leave that strong an impression. It reads far more as a redundant and by-the-numbers type of affair as the story goes along, especially with the series of unnecessary and somewhat infuriating flashbacks that do nothing to help the story get any clearer and just come off as a means to enhance the running time. With a dull pace until the finale, making this recycled material feel rather dull to get through, there are some drawbacks to be had here.

Rated R: Violence and Language.

Preparing for their homecoming celebrations, a group of high school students fighting for the right to be Prom Queen on the night of the dance are whittled off one by one by a strange killer throughout the celebrations, forcing one of the students to try to save everyone by stopping him.

This was a fairly enjoyable teen-based slasher effort. Among the better elements with this one centers around the impressive setup for festivities taking place throughout here. Given a brief history about the cursed history of the town and how that atmosphere lingers over the class as they prepare for their celebrations, the personalities and behaviors of the candidates who are trying to campaign to be Prom Queen, what they're each looking forward to about the special night, and the different cliques that are in place trying to get the upperhand in the voting. This is all incredibly fun and helps to bring together a great touch on the desire for popularity going against your morals with what depths they're stoop to for votes, ranging from backstabbing friends, gossiping about others, purposefully setting them up to fail, or compromising moral judgement to engage in debaucherous displays designed to engage popularity at the expense of everything they held previously. That gives everything a solid enough touch for the actual slashing to occur at the celebrations themselves, making for a generally fun time here. The traditional slasher aesthetics of employing strong, suspenseful sequences on stragglers hanging out around the outskirts of the Prom work quite well, with setpieces in the parking lot distracting a victim before sneaking up to strike them from behind, a setpiece in a classroom that knocks off a couple sneaking off for some fun, and a bathroom encounter involving a great reveal about the killer's identity that comes together with the brutal, bloody kills throughout these scenes. As it all leads into the stellar assault at the crowning ceremony where the killer openly strikes others in the middle of the audience, hacking off limbs, decapitating others, and causing a slew of chaos that's wholly enjoyable offering some fantastic stunts, graphic deaths, and some shocking revelations that make for a lot to like here. This isn't much to dislike here, but it does have a couple of drawbacks. The major factor holding it down is a highly underwhelming and problematic finale that features several big issues. The whole purpose for the killers' rampage is absolutely ridiculous and utterly unbelievable as the motive for setting off the rampage like we're supposed to believe is the cause of what's going on, and when combined with the revelation taking place involving more than one responsible party following the same thing, it tends to come off incredibly lackluster. That this all comes about due to the extremely woeful final act that brings about the series of lame confrontations and overlong brawls trying to make it worth something is a big issue as well, featuring lame motivations and explanations from some generally unworthy action. The teenybopper attitude and atmosphere of the period might also wear thin on some viewers, ultimately leading to a decline in interest.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.