Trauma (2017) Review

I'm a huge fan of any kind of art that pushes any boundary it can. Extreme horror is a place where these boundaries are constantly pushed, albeit to differing degrees. The majority often cite A Serbian Film as an anger inducing piece of cinematic trash made simply to push the buttons of those who would not expect to see what that film contains. It seems to escape the public that these films aren't made to be enjoyed. Endured, yes, but there is no enjoyment in watching such atrocities being perpetrated on others in cinematic nightmares. Yet some of us seek out these films, wanting to be shocked, repulsed, offended or to experience any other feeling these films can stir up in their viewers. 

 

Trauma is another entry into the annals of extreme cinema, but I feel this one hit much harder than anything I have seen before. The film does not go anywhere near as far as A Serbian Film does in its extremity, but Trauma hits so much harder in so many different ways.

The film centres on four women who enter a town populated by creepy men who attempt to intimidate the women. From there things continually get worse as the atrocities increase time and time again. At the start, I felt so sorry for the child who is subjected to such trauma, and even though this child becomes an absolute monster, It was harrowing seeing what he was subjected to, and I continued to have sympathy for him, at least until the women began being raped and tortured.

Maybe I felt this sympathy because the man we see perpetrate the rape, torture and murder of the female characters begins the film by having traumatic experiences of his own (incest and infant molestation, which the latter thankfully takes place off camera). His indoctrination into committing such traumatic experiences as a child certainly creates a monster in the boy. One that is let loose to great extremes throughout the movie. Yet it also shows how this man has been shown these things, and their mixture of abuse, poverty and mental illness has created him in the same mould as his abusers were made. This isn't to say that this man is to be sympathised with, but it certainly gives greater depth to his character and the lengths he goes to. 

While nothing in Trauma feels sexually explicit, the attack and rape scenes are filmed with such honesty, the camera fixed on what is happening to the victims of these men. Its as disturbing as it is unflinching. These scenes are incredibly harrowing, and I have to admit that I may have considered not watching any more until I felt more at ease with what I was seeing. Of course I talked myself out of that, but the thought was there.

Trauma doesn't show the victims as weak or pathetic in any way. They are simply overcome by brutality, torture and trauma of the events that happen. By the end of the movie, the ones who survive certainly give back what they've experienced, and it suited the tone of the film perfectly.

Trauma is as hard hitting as an extreme horror movie can be. But the depths it reaches in its depravity, its brutal honesty and trauma inducing exploits is simply like nothing I have ever seen before. Trauma went to some very dark places indeed, and it certainly didn't stop there. This film will shock, disgust and make you feel sad, uncomfortable and repulsed in the extreme. I cannot give a greater recommendation than that. 

Darkest Regards...

Dani.

Life, times of difficulty and overcoming all that stuff.

Welcome once more to Doctor Carnage's World of Horror. Let me begin by saying its great to be back.The past twelve years (has it really been that long) has been long, arduous and frankly sometimes soul destroying.

I;m going to do something a little different with this post and move away from horror to talk about what has happened these past twelve years. In 2012, my wife (whom I was no longer living with) took away our children, without telling me where they were going. Thankfully my children's school said they could tell me where the children's records were sent. It was also at this time that I began fighting through court ton have contact with my kids.

I represented myself in court, and had to fight for seven years with very little contact with them, Seven years of wading through lie after lie, different social workers, things being made increasingly difficult by my ex. By 2019, I truly felt ready to give up the fight, as I felt I could not go on, 

I received a phone call in 2019 explaining that a meeting was to be held to discuss what was happening with the children. I attended, and it was such a difficult time listening to what was said. In the end, I assumed I would finally be having contact with the kids once more.

The day after the meeting, I received a phone call asking me why I didn't want to take the children to live with me. I was blindsided, but I knew I had to do this, or they would have been put into the care system. So a few days after, they came to live with me.

I was so happy that I could finally see my kids once more, and since that day, they have both grown into amazingly kind, thoughtful and happy kids who i couldn't be more proud of.

I also began a nbew relationship in 2017 with a lady from the US, and I fell hard for her (I'd seen her pattern of being in a relationship for a year and then moving on to someone else, but never ever even considered it would happen to me. 

I attended my first horror con in the US with this ladys family, and we even had a hand fastening ceremony at said convention (and an absolutely vile encounter with Linda Blair). A year or so later, she asked for a relationship break. I was not comfortable with this due to past experience, but I didn't want to doubt her commitment.

Yet a year later, I found out that she had been seeing someone else, sending pictures of herself topless to other men. 

That nearly broke me, and if it wasn't for my kids coming back into my life, I don't know what would have happened.

So at the beginning of 2019, I assumed I was having a massive panic attack, and attended the hospital for Diazepam. Yet this feeling of panic, dizziness and nausea persisted. The next day is a blur. I remember vomiting so much. So much so that I remember vomiting blood. I was rushed to hospital, and it was discovered that I had Sepsis, which in turn had triggered Diabetic Ketoacidosis. So not only did I have an infection, my body had started consuming itself from the inside. 

If I had been taken into hospital ten minutes later, I would not be here to write this. Thankfully I made a full recover. Family and friends helped me through these times so much. I healed both from the relationship and from the near death experience, finally visited a doctor about my lifelong problems with anxiety and got medicated. It was trial and error at first, but I'm happy to say I am anxiety free. It is so different not worrying about the smallest thing, about being able to relax and live instead of always being in my head, worrying about the past, present and future.

So that leads me to today. My son suggested I start writing about movies and music again. So here I am once more.

After all the trials and darkness of the last nine years, I am now in a place I am truly happy, thriving and growing. I've lost weight (6 stone so far) and while my health is still a huge issue, it doesn't drag me down as often as it did.

I just wanted to share a slight overview of what's been happening in my life and why I've been away from this blog for so long. Normal service will now be resumed.

My first review in an awfully long time will be posted tomorrow, and it will be for a little movie called Trauma, directed by Lucio A. Rojas. Often cited as A Serbian Film contender where extremity is concerned, I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts.

To you all out there, I hope you continue to enjoy the dark places these films and music takes us on. Welcome back to Doctor Carnage's World of Horror. Light a candle, open the door and try not to fear the nightmares within. 

Darkest Regards,

                           Dani,

El Gore's Snuff Tape Anthology review.

 

I'm back, and I am beginning once more with some of the most sickening and disturbing short films I have ever had the (dis)pleasure of viewing.

The Snuff Tape Anthology consists of nine short films, each with a runtime between 4 and 24 minutes, and believe me, they are not for the faint of heart. There are a couple of shorts where the special effects aren't convincing (mostly where a doll is used in place of a baby, but I certainly understand why it was done). Nevertheless, every one of these short films managed to at least make me feel uncomfortable, and at most make me want to remind myself what I had eaten earlier by process of regurgitation.

Rather than review each snuff tape on its own, I am going to comment on them as a whole, because knowing what you are letting yourself in for when watching these I feel will diminish the shock they provide. I will list each title though;

Snuff Tape 0: Black and Died
Snuff Tape 1: Red
Snuff Tape 2: Red and Yellow
Snuff Tape 3: Dead, Red & Brown
Snuff Tape 4: Dead Baby Fast Food
Snuff Tape 5: Final Orgasm Extreme Suicide
Snuff Tape 6: Organ Trade Autopsy
Snuff Tape 7: Gore Abortion
The Lost Snuff Tape: Dead Body Rape

I do think the titles do give a little away, especially if you use your imagination. Even so, when viewing these in succession, they have both a dizzying and nauseating effect that is hard to shake off.

The amount of depravity and violence demonstrated on these tapes is far beyond anything I have seen before, and the fact that there is very little reason behind why the things are happening, save for a small written declaration before each short commences, makes for an altogether more shocking, repulsive and downright depraved viewing experience.

Each short shows many acts (pretty much if you can imagine it, there's a chance the act has been carried out in one of these short films) of depravity and horror. Blood and bodily fluids flow freely, and there is no let-up, no quiet momments that alllow the viewer to ponder what is happening. It's like being repeatedly hit in the face with a sledgehammer, hammering home the point that the victims in these shorts are nothing but objects of pleasure for the sick fuck who is carrying out these acts.

Now I did believe myself to be desensitised to horror, having watched it for over 30 years now, but each time I explore the extreme end of the Horror genre, I am shocked and sickened, surprised and taken aback that filmmakers continue to push every boundary out there, and I absolutely love it. These shorts were definitely successful in shocking and sickening me, and that isn't easy at all.

As mentioned before, some of the effects are unbelievable, but for me, it didn't make a blind bit of difference. I have an imagination, and can certainly see through the odd ropey effect (unless it's cgi), so this didn't diminish my enjoyment in any way, shape or form. Also, as mentioned before, dolls are used as replacement for babies when showing the dismmemberent/other acts perpertrated. At first, this bothered me, but within seconds, I was sickened, and even though I could see it was a doll, the act onscreen made me feel so nauseated, I had to pause the movie, gather myself and dismiss my cocky attitude believing I can watch anything without even being slightly affected.

If you want something that simply consists of brutality and sickening violence/disturbing acts, then I couldn't recommend The Snuff Tape Anthology more. The fact that there is no dialogue only heightens the senses as to what is being perpertrated onscreen. If you don't mind there not being any narrative, no explanation and no reasoning behind acts of absolute madness, then find yourself a copy of El Gore's Snuff Tape Anthology. I dare you to sit through them! If you do, prepare to have your senses blugeoned.

Darkest regards,

Dani.

'See No Evil' review by Eric Hyde.

 

"This is not what God wants!!!" - Kira

Let's see. Did I watch this movie due to my obsession with horror movies, or just because WWE wrestler Kane was in it? A little bit of both. Yes, it's true. I'm a big wrestling fan, but that also doesn't mean that I'll have to see a movie that any wrestler is in. So since I'm a big fan of Kane, does that mean I'll be unbiased towards this review? Well, yes actually.
 
The plot is very simple. It's simple for a horror movie even. A group of teenagers are part of a work release program. They are going to get time off of their sentences if they help clean and fix up the run down Blackwell hotel, so it can become a homeless shelter. Unknown to them however, serial killer Jacob Goodnight is using the hotel as a hiding spot. The police officer watching the kids is the same officer that lost his arm and shot Jacob in the head years ago at a crime scene. There you go, that's pretty much it.

 The good points are that of course the kills are pretty inventive. I can't really ruin any of them, but they are brutal. Really bloody, and I'm surprised that this DVD wasn't unrated. It's really nice to see gore, violence, and even nudity in a movie done by WWE films, especially since their wrestling product is now TV-PG. The director Gregory Dark uses great ways to cut the film, speeding up some scenes and the angles he uses for a lot of the shots. Pretty creative. But they guy directs music videos and used to direct porn, so that shows he knows all about camera angles.
 
Another thing I really enjoyed was Kane's performance. He has only two or three lines of dialogue in the movie, so he has to rely on body language. And his facial expressions are great. He can really show emotion, like frustration, anger, and confusion. He even has a scene where he questions what he is doing, with his expressions, and I bought it. And a bonus with his performance is that he's the first killer in a movie like this that I've seen in a long time that actually feels pain, as he is a human, and he will actually run after his victims. He also has a very sad backstory that's told in random flashbacks. Very sad and creepy. I must also praise Cecily Polson. I think she gives a wonderful performance, but I'll leave anything about her character out of my review as to not spoil anything.
 
The down side is it's a pretty short movie. About an hour and 26 minutes. You don't care for any of the other characters, aside from maybe the teacher and the cop. Of course you go to these movies to see them get butchered, but that's just me. I want to actually care about some of them. Plus I would have liked a lot more interaction between Jacob and the cop, especially due to their history together. There's hardly any when they meet up in the hotel. that's really about it that I don't like.
 
Overall, Not a bad slasher film. It was pretty fun and entertaining and I was pleased in the long run. It's worth seeing if you love slasher films. Same if you're a fan of Kane in WWE. But don't go in thinking it will be up there with Elm Street, Friday the 13th, or Halloween. However Jacob Goodnight could give Jason Voorhees a good run for his money in the category of horror movie bad ass.

Teeth (2007) review by Eric Hyde.

"It's true. Vagina dentata! Vagina dentata! Vagina dentata!" - Doctor Godfrey.

*Contains minor spoilers*.

Alright. The plot is simple. Weird, original (I'll give it that), and simple. It is the story of a high school girl named Dawn whose vagina is filled with razor sharp teeth. Yeah , you read it. I have seen previews and have heard a lot of my friends tell me to see this. Granted they told me it wasn't really good, but I still had to see it. Uh...no I didn't.

The movie starts with Dawn, and she is part of a club at school for people who wait until marriage to have sex. She goes and speaks to younger kids and tells them about promise rings, abstinence and such. She meets a boy who also promises to wait until marriage, and they eventually become a couple. One day they go swimming together and find a cave to fool around in. He tries to rape her, but she fights him off. However, she smacks her head on a rock during the struggle and becomes dazed. He takes advantage and is successful in raping her. Suddenly *CRUNCH* he loses his penis (sigh). Yup. This goes on for the rest of the movie.

She finally meets a guy who can have sex with her, since it's consensual and in a relaxed state. But when she finds out he's using her, he loses it too (sigh again). Oh, and her step brother also wants to have sex with her. He does and loses it. But his dog has a snack afterwards, if you can read between the lines.

Let's see. The acting isn't great. The story is interesting, but the explanation of the cursed vagina is stupid in my opinion. All the camera shots to the things that resemble holes or dicks are overplayed. Like holes in trees, spikes in caves hanging down. Once or twice would have been fine, but it's constant overkill here. However, the gore is pretty good and will make a guy wince. I did a few times. No lie. But it isn't good enough to save this movie for me. If you're still interested, I say go for it. It might be for you, but it wasn't for me.


Don't forget to check out and subscribe to Eric Hyde's Youtube channel Hey, Internet Eric Here. Great reviews and great vlogs. Do it!

Hardcore Henry (2016) review by Dani Carnage.

I've just got back from seeing Hardcore Henry, and it is simply mind-blowing. I say this as bluntly and without any form of pretense. It is a fresh, violent and bloody take on action-cinema that successfully pulls off something completely different, which in this day and age is a feat in itself.

I am not going to give anything away, as it works so much better knowing very little about the film, suffice it to say that if you aren't a fan of uncompromising violence, humour and films shot in the first person, then you would be well-advised to stay away, as this is Hardcore Henry in a nutshell.

I recently posted on Facebook that Hardcore Henry is now my favourite action movie, knocking The Raid 2 into second place. While The Raid 2 is an incredible film with complex characters, fight scenes and brutal violence, Hardcore Henry just seemed to top it all in every single way.

Pure pulse-pounding adrenaline-soaked madness from start to finish. Hardcore Henry is the best cinema-going experience I have had so far this year. It's even better than Deadpool. It's that good, and it doesn't need multiple uses of profanity to attempt to make the film more 'adult'.

Everything you want in an action movie is contained in Hardcore Henry, and there are numerous nods to FPS games such as Half Life, Call of Duty and even Left for Dead. Bullets and fists fly and many die. The body-count is incredibly high, as is the gore quota.

I honestly can't praise this movie enough. I loved every single second and urge each and every one of you to check it out! You won't be disappointed!!

Darkest regards......Dani.

American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore (2015) review by Dani Carnage.

Wow. I really cannot find a better word to describe how I felt after my first viewing of this film. It left me feeling uneasy, nauseated, and nearly left me void of food, as the nausea increased countless times during the disturbing and realistic goings-on). If that isn't a mark of excellence, then I don't know what is, and you are definitely reading the wrong blog.

Horror comes in many different forms, be it films that chill, scare, repulse or create feelings of dread and sadness. American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore manages to bring all of these feelings into a seventy minute time frame and add a level of sadism and realism rarely seen in horror cinema (not since August Underground's Mordum has a film had such a profound effect on me).

At its most simplistic, AGP: Bouquet of Guts and Gore is the story of two women, one religious and one athiest who are kidnapped, drugged and then systematically dismembered by a beast of a man in a Baphomet mask, all the while being filmed by a crew who instruct the man how and when to systematically dismember the two women. I guarantee you've never seen anything like this.

I consider myself somewhat desensitised to whatever horror/splatter films can throw at me. Well, after seeing this and feeling like I had my stomach ripped out, cut open and the contents presented to me on a platter of splatter, I won't be so foolhardy in the future. AGP: Bouquet of Guts and Gore managed to repulse me, make me cringe, it very nearly made me look away from the screen and it haunted me. There are nice little touches in the film that are there to make the whole experience so much darker, such as mentions of religion, threats and an ending that is actually more affecting and chilling than any of the dismemberment shown on screen. I really felt sick to my stomach (yes, I know it isn't real, but that doesn't stop the emotional impact the last scene has. Perhaps being a parent made it even more hard-hitting).

If Flowers of Flesh and Blood got you wincing and shielding yourself from the viscera on-screen, then AGP: Bouquet of Guts and Gore is probably not going to be your sort of thing. What it does it take the very essence of that particular Guinea Pig film, and turns everything up to eleven and then doubles it again. Even if you enjoy blood, gore and dismemberment, this film breaks so many boundaries it makes the works of Olaf Ittenbach look like episodes of Friends (and I am a huge Ittenbach fan, so I mean no offence).

Put simply, American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore is at a level where no one has reached before. It pushes and breaks boundaries in every direction, contains more gore than an explosion in a cattle shed and coupled with all of the viscera, is one of the most psychologically affecting pieces of extreme cinema I have witnessed.

Darkest regards......Dani.