Suicide (2004, Raoul Heimrich)

I've seen a lot of these "mockumentary" fake snuff/POV films such as the "August Underground" series, "Tumbling Doll of Flesh", "Suicide Dolls", etc, though Raoul Heimrich's "Suicide" is easily the most convincing approach to this particular cinematic form that I have seen. While most of this type of shit goes for blatant "shock" value like hardcore violence, sex, gore and other such selling points, "Suicide" consumes you in an aspect of realism that neither bores you, nor affronts you with forced facades of outrageous on-screen carnage (all of which I typically LOVE). The means in which this flick goes about it's straight-forward idea of communicating the extremes of online reality "shock" sites focuses on segmented variations of people intent on ending their lives...

A couple is apparently requesting the permission of suicidal people to show up at their home (or desired location) and record their last moments and death on video...

There's not a whole lot more to the film than that. The couple are shown in their car in between locations commenting on what was just shot. The rest of the film is a series of bleak and entirely disturbing simulations of various suicides conducted by different types and classes of people. Some explain in depth their reason for self-destruction - some are eerily silent about it. Eventually, it gets to the point where the couple become so warped by their new occupation that they become far too involved in what they are meant to record, obviously from an uninvolved perspective.

The most disturbing scene, in my opinion, simply involves two young women desperately attempting to overdose on pills. The scene is almost completely without dialog which makes it so absorbingly powerful that it's almost painful to watch. Other effective scenes include a harsh looking wrist-slashing, a heroin overdose, and a failed air-injection...

"Suicide" is one that's tough to recommend unless you can get into these "tougher" kinds of horror films. It's a fucked up, yet harrowing film that I urge you to check out!

Tenderness of the Wolves (1973, Ulli Lommel)

It's definitely odd watching a film like "Tenderness of the Wolves" and knowing that Ulli Lommel actually made respectable and cinematically competent films at one point. If you've seen anything fairly recent from the German film maker, you would find tedious, low-budget serial killer riff-raff released straight-to-DVD by the half-dozen yearly! Now I DO dig his older stuff, but at this point, I feel it would be best if Mr. Lommel was raped by AIDS infected bears and fed to sharks...

Anyhoo, "Tenderness of the Wolves" is a pretty classy, yet highly uncomfortable serial killer film from the young, THEN auteur based on the crimes of Fritz Haarmann. A German con-artist and black marketeer who gained police trust as and "inside" man as far as infiltrating criminal organizations. Still, the crafty thief enjoyed luring young run away boys back to his apartment by enticing them with offers of money and food. He would kill them by biting their necks, dismembering them, and selling their meat to restaurants. The unusable parts would be dumped in a river.

The film, while not violent, blatantly depicts Haarmann's homosexual behavior, deceitful criminal exploits, and behind-closed-doors sadism very well. The setting is amazing - showing Germany at it's economic low point and the acting is top-notch. Kurt Raab (who also wrote the film) is as sleazy and unlikable as you could ever hope for a portrayal of such a psychotic madman to be. Highly recommended.

Sex & Fury (1973, Norifumi Suzuki)

In terms of the 'pinky violence' genre, "Sex & Fury" is as high-end as you can probably get when it comes to this kind of Japanese 'sexploitation' material. It's definitely a favorite among fans of this particular 'pink' category and I don't disagree, though I personally prefer Norifumi Suzuki's other film "School of the Holy Beast"...

A small time pickpocket and expert gambler chick witnesses on of her poker buddies being killed for cheating. His dying request is that she rescue his sister from a brothel. This task forces her to assassinate a trio of Yakuza thugs as part of a personal vendetta...

Plenty of nudity, as you would expect, in the form of slow-mo naked sword fighting, girl-on-girl, and other tasty bits of simulated sex and eroticism. The beautiful Swedish goddess Christina Lindberg plays a spy who is forced to infiltrate a political scandal by using - you guessed it - what God gave her! Hell, she even DIES sexy! Plus, that S&M Pocahontas outfit with the whip may've been the HOTTEST thing I have ever gazed upon.

The cinematography is particularly masterful and the storyline and acting are all solid. Still, "Sex & Fury" may not rank as my all time favorite in the genre, but it's certainly an entry you can safely call a "classic" for it's hearty cinematic elements AND, of course, the steamy soft-core goodness that accompanies it. Check it out!

Creepozoids (1987, David DeCoteau)

What you have here is your standard "Alien" influenced, 80s B-movie schlockfest - simply there to entertain. It just depends on how far you allow yourself to be entertained because "Creepozoids" - right down to it's name - sounds like shit (which it totally is), though there IS plenty to get into...

The story is as shallow as this: post-apocalyptic setting. A few stragglers wandering the barren landscape come across an abandoned laboratory and, since the severed head and ominous sense of desertion wasn't enough to send them hurdling toward the exit, they decide to do some computer hacking and shower sex. Yes, none other than B-horror scream queen numero-uno Linnea Quigley gets top-billing and abides by her ever-pleasing trend of stripping down for us valued fans. Turns out there's a creature in the building that ejaculates a toxic mist on them which causes them to become "Evil Dead" -like and melt. This shit's not as cool as it sounds up until the very end when the remaining dude gains the upper hand and the dead creature births a demented "It's Alive" looking puppet-baby which was fucking hilariously random! Oh, and there's a huge killer rat thrown in just for the hell of it...

"Creepozoids" barely surpasses the one-hour mark and is just goofy enough for me to recommend (slightly). Watch for Linnea's wet tits and the evil baby!

Men Behind the Sun (1988, Tun Fei Mou)

"Men Behind the Sun" is one I just have to go back and re-experience every once-so-often. I've seen a LOT of "disturbing" shit in my time, but none have come quite as close to capturing that special "vibe" that this one formulates. Could be for the fact that it is based on true events that seem to have been withdrawn from many people's consciousness... Could also be the general bleakness of the film. Either way, "Men Behind the Sun" is an uncomfortable ride...

Unit 731 was a secret Japanese army base existing throughout WWII that focused on experimental procedures meant to create biological "weapons" and chemical warfare. Many Chinese prisoners were the subjects of these sadistic war crimes, which (alledgedly) included freezing methods, plague exposure, gassing, decompression, starvation, sea water injections and live autopsies to name a few. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed there.

Aside from all the "graphic" content that "Men Behind the Sun" is known for, a worthy bit of historical intent shines through, which is how the film should initially be explored. School curriculum is only concerned with covering vague aspects of Nazi Germany and either glossing over entirely or fluffing the horrific forms of war violence. For many, it seems that Unit 731 has been discounted by many as irrelevant...

However, MANY memorable scenes of wild, bodily destruction are waiting to blow your mind, such as the infamous decompression chamber scene in which a man's body bloats and then erupts a stew of fecal matter and intestines. There's also the highly controversial "cat scene" to look forward to (though it was, in fact, fake) I Can't recommend "Men Behind the Sun" enough.

Absurd (1981, Joe D'Amato)

Despite Joe D'Amato's callous sentiment toward his film making ambition, there have been a few of his flicks that I've enjoyed - "Absurd" being one. It's commonly considered a sequel to D'Amato's 1980 cannibal-slasher film "Anthropophagous" - one I very much enjoyed - though there aren't enough links between the film to back this up. It was also marketed under the handle "Zombie 6: Monster Hunter", which is even MORE ludicrous. If anything, "Absurd" is a simple Italian rip-off of "Halloween".

A genetically altered man whose blood rapidly coagulates runs amok around a quiet community while a priest and police detective desperately follow the wake of bodies in search of the "monster". It seems the only way to kill him is to pierce his cranium, otherwise, he's nearly invincible. There's a few random death scenes involving a drill through the head, a band-saw ALSO through the head, and a disappointingly obstructed strangulation scene. Finally, the semi-indestructible killer makes his way to a house occupied by a small child, a short-haired nurse, and a girl recovering from a broken neck. He, of course, breaks in and 'goes to town'...

The gore scenes are decent enough and George Eastman is still creepy even through he's missing any kind of corpsey make-up (i.e. "Anthropophagous"). He also wrote this film which leads me to believe he intentionally wrote out the possibility of make-up effects so the audience could enjoy his beard uninhibited. "Absurd" isn't anything GREAT, though I still didn't find anything about it that seriously pissed me off or kept me from being entertained. Could've probably used a little more explaination as to what the fuck is going on this this guy and his superhuman state, though that would've required a certain amount of creativity that D'Amato would've surely have found unappealing. Don't bend over backwards to get a copy, but you COULD do a lot worse...