The Mutilation Man (1998, Andrew Copp)

In terms of 'experimental' horror/gore films, "The Mutilation Man" is an ample work of surrealist depravity, though nothing all that memorable in the long-run. Still, I typically gravitate toward this kind of dream-like/nightmarish and more fortuitous looking type of film-making style, so I could find it somewhat feasible to appreciate some of the weirdness on display here...

A guy with a severely troubled past, spends his days wandering around an assumed post-apocalyptic "wasteland" with a shovel. He has a spot set up where people pay to watch him self-mutilate in a moshpit-like setting. There are frequent flashbacks to his childhood in which he witnessed his abusive, alcoholic father (played by Jim Van Bebber) stomp his mother to death. At one point, he meets a chick who also likes to cut herself up - as indicated by a body full of scars - and they begin a masochistic relationship in which she ties him up, beats him and then hooks these fleshy horns protruding from her forehead up to wires attached to TV's that play grisly footage of murder and mayhem...

That's basically what there is, in terms of the premise. No solid linear narrative to be had with this one. Visually, however, the movie looks pretty good. Shot on 16mm as well as Super-8, the tone and graininess shifts around quite a bit. A few parts also looked like they were shot on video. Not much dialog either - mostly just atmospheric music and clanging and roaring sound effects. The gore effects are plentiful and well done for the most part. For such an indie flick, they obviously put a fair amount of work into certain elements, so if you happen to be into some of the more "artsy" types of gore flicks, I'd recommend checking out "The Mutilation Man".