Black Metal Veins

Tonight I watched an amazing anti drug documentary from Lucifer Valentine, "Black Metal Veins". You may or may not know who Lucifer Valentine is, but it doesn't matter. To me, this is by far his best film, and a movie with a message about how destructive the dope life can be. It follows several people and how they live with their insane drug consumption. I was glued to the screen watching this, and it is so educational against drug use, that after watching this, you never want to even think about trying out heroin especially. This documentary is so good and truly reality based that it almost should be mandatory for anybody considering drugs. I can't rate this high enough, it is definitely a must see.

You haven't seen drug use, until you've watched Black Metal Veins. This is a raw and in-your-face depiction of several young adults who are clearly and admittedly self-proclaimed slaves (to heroin, cocaine, crack, oxycontin…basically, whatever is available.) The powerful infliction of non-stop drug ingestion is relentless from beginning to end. We are introduced to Brad, who immediately describes himself as a "walking, f**king abomination." This once-handsome young man has physically, and psychologically condemned himself to die from drugs. That is, if suicide doesn't work upon his next try. Raven is the other "star" – a perky, pretty and talkative girl who loves her pet rat, Templeton. Her childhood, (according to Raven) was great! She takes complete ownership and responsibility for her addictions and has no ambition to quit. Her South African Navy boyfriend is an enabler to the 1000th degree. Everyone documented in this film is working fast to their personal demise, which comes as no surprise to us. Director Lucifer Valentine invites us to share in this real life nightmare. That's what this documentary is…one complete morbid, suffocating, sad nightmare. You may want to wake up from the filth and grime, but I dare you to shut it off before running into the shower. Heaven is found in heroin. Life, continuation, meaning and the escape in black metal music is all found in drugs. Valentine is ruthless. Without missing a beat, we learn about the addicts' upbringing, loss, pain, pleasure, sexual preferences, and euphoria. He captures the decay of their bodies, the infections that accompany long term use, and the dissension into hell. This is a not for the squeamish. As Lucifer Valentine has proved through his previous films, The Vomit Gore Trilogy, there is nothing he WON'T show. Prepare to be left numb and empty. But with accolades to all for opening up to the true horror of drug use.

In "Black Metal Veins", Lucifer Valentine has harnessed his no-holes-barred approach to film making and turned it in a solid direction. A genuinely harrowing documentation of hopeless addiction, this film nevertheless achieves an elusive goal of opening a candid window into the lives of some radically different people.

I can say with certainty that this movie has kept me away from drugs of any kind. If you're queasy about watching people shoot up, do not watch this film. Additionally, the film tracks its subjects over 6 months and documents their declines, so it's not exactly uplifting. After watching this I had to go brush my teeth.

As the film progresses, the story becomes increasingly scripted. It's pretty clear that most of what happens is real, but some of it is contrived to help give the film a resolution. If it weren't for this aspect, I'd give it full marks.

Having said that, the rest of the film is well done. Extra points for music too, I agree with other reviewers' opinions that the black metal isn't the typical darkthrone/burzum stuff, it's very dark and very good. Give this film a shot if you love black metal and want to see how morbid addicts live (or don't live, as the case may be).