Death to Metal

Fun super-low budget hybrid of THE TOXIC AVENGER and DEATHGASM, full of terrible acting and gore FX, some homegrown metal music, and one seriously pissed off Catholic priest. Fine way to blow 80 minutes as you await the release of the next Deicide album.

No pun intended - and I assume there is a lot to discover for real Metal Heads in this movie. While the title says Death to Metal it is more of a love letter to it. Blood, gore and violence included (with the music that is).

Depending on your own sensibility, you will either like what you get served here or not like it at all. It seems able to go places because of its almost non existent budget. Cut it some slack and go with the flow - well if you think there is flow with (Death) Metal of course. No pun intended ... watch on your own risk. Quite flawed, but endearingly so. Again, especially if you are a fan of the Metal-rial (one last pun, had to do it)

Following a rough day in his life, a teenaged metal fan gets a second shot at redemption when the bands' chosen replacement gets murdered at a concert by a vicious priest deformed by toxic waste and slaughtering people at the show, forcing him to find a way to stop his misguided rampage.

There was a lot to like with this one. Among the more engaging aspects here is the central storyline involving the film being likable and relatable despite focusing on the world of religious topics and extreme music. While the common perception here about the connection between religion and extreme metal will require the film to focus on rebellious, satanic youth blaspheming anything and everything related to the church, the fact that this one goes out of the way to introduce the group as just fans of the music and present the religious priest as the insane fanatic overly devoted to his cause. That the misguided notion of perceiving everyone around him as abandoning God's will and turning the rampage into a mission statement against the sinners and non-religious after the accident makes for a rather fun time here. That fun also leads into the films' nicely staged horror scenes which are rather fun in a cheesy low-budget manner. The opening rampages against the truck driver who picks him up and then going back to the friends' house where he massacres everyone there manages to start this off on a fun note and sets the stage for the big massacre at the concert. With the area obscured enough by people uncaring about the whole affair, too stuck into the music to notice or even drugged out to the point of not bothering to notice, this section of the film is quite enjoyable with all sorts of mayhem coming together with a fantastic escape to the club out into the church which also has the fun of the killer's appearance as well as some great gore to have a lot to like with it. The film does have a few minor issues with it. The main factor here is that it spends so much time on the build-up involving the break-up and the gig at the festival that it barely makes time for the killer's motivations and backstory. The whole idea of how he transforms into a murderous being just with the toxic waste warping his perspective on the religious debauchery comes off as highly underwhelming since very little time has been given to the rampage. A stock villainous attitude to the sin and debauchery in the town that is so overplayed and stock that it doesn't register as being that original or practical anyway so the whole thing is just never developed or given any time at all. Alongside the low-budget style appearance, there are some factors here that bring this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, a sex scene, and drug use.

Once it gets going, it takes a while, you'll get some cool deaths despite the tiny budget and honestly, this movie had a really original story. It could have been fun. The director knows what he's doing but most of the acting is really bad. Really really bad. The kind of bad that takes you right out of it anytime you start to care.

Stumbling upon this 2019 horror comedy, seeing the title, reading the synopsis and instantly deciding to sit down and watch what writers Tim Connery and Kevin Koppes had to offer. Now, something like "Death to Metal" had a special appeal to me, since I've been listening to metal for about 36 years, give or take.

The storyline in "Death to Metal" turned out to be rather nice. It was an enjoyable story, and it was well written by Tim Connery and Kevin Koppes. I was genuinely entertained from start to end of this movie, making the 80 minutes run by rather quick. If you enjoy metal music and horror movies, then "Death to Metal" is a movie you should find the time to sit down and watch.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "Death to Metal", but I have to admit that I was genuinely impressed with the performances. Lots of nice performances from the actors and actresses playing some interesting characters on the screen.

Now, "Death to Metal" being a horror comedy and a slasher flick at the same time, of course there will be blood. And "Death to Metal" does have a fair share of blood and gore, and it was actually rather nicely made. So thumbs up to the special effects crew for their accomplishment in making the mayhem come to life.

"Death to Metal" is a movie that I will recommend, because I was positively surprised and entertained by what director Tim Connery brought to the screen.

My rating of "Death to Metal" lands on a six (six, six) out of ten stars.