BARE BONES: DEATHGASM (2015)

DEATHGASM (2015)

New Zealand horror/comedy is written and directed by Jason Lei Howden and tells the story of outcast and death metal-head, Brodie (Milo Cawthorne), who is forced to live with his straight-laced uncle and family after his mom is arrested. He meets rebellious Zakk (James Blake) and together they form the death metal band Deathgasm. A chance encounter with reclusive, former death metal star Rikki Daggers (Stephen Ure) puts them in possession of the Black Hymn, a piece of music that can summon the king of all demons. They play the song and all hell breaks loose…literally. Now can Brodie and Zakk undo the nightmare they have unleashed?

Sure, this flick appears to be written by and for fourteen year-old metal-heads, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are some legitimate laughs and a delirious amount of giddy and well-orcestrated gore, as our metal-heads battle a town full of demon possessed zombies while trying to figure out how to stop the king of demons from rising. There are some slow moments and it is all very silly, but there are some clever bits, too and some, just raunchy enough and bloody enough to elicit continual chuckles…such as a scene were Zakk and Brodie battle demons with dildos, vibrators and butt-plugs…yes, you read that right. Maybe not a classic, but it is fun and certainly has some memorable moments. A death metal Spinal Tap meets Dead Alive, if I were to paraphrase…and while it’s not quite as good as those flicks, it has it’s black heart in the right place. Also stars Kimberley Crossman as the apple of Brodie’s guy-liner adorned eye, Medina.

-MonsterZero NJ

BARE BONES: THE DEAD LANDS

THE DEAD LANDS (2014)

While I admit it was a unique twist to make a film about New Zealand’s pre-civilization Māori tribes and film it entirely in their language, The Dead Lands ultimately is a routine revenge thriller when all is said and done. Written by Glenn Standring and well directed by Toa Fraser, the film follows the betrayal and slaughter of a Māori tribe by the ambitious and power-hungry Wirepa (Te Kohe Tuhaka) and his warriors. Only young Hongi (James Rolleston) and a few tribeswomen survive and the boy seeks to avenge his people by enlisting the help of a “monster” that inhabits the forbidden “Dead Lands”, where no tribes live or dare venture. Hongi finds this “demon” is actually a fierce cannibalistic warrior (Lawrence Makoare) and as the arrogant Wirepa is cutting through the warrior’s domain to save time, he agrees to help Hongi exact a bloody revenge. There certainly is a lot of bloody action, that involves the Māori’s unique weaponry, such as the hand held Mere, but the film also looses it’s momentum and grinds to a halt about halfway through as characters bare their souls. Things do pick up again in the last act for a gruesome showdown between Hongi and The Warrior with Wirepa and his remaining fighters, but ultimately, you realize that, despite the Māori trappings, you’ve seen this all before. I would still recommend checking this out for it’s more unique elements and the well staged fight sequences, but after all I have heard, I can’t deny I was a bit disappointed with how familiar it all turned out to be. There is some nice cinematography of the New Zealand locations by Leon Narby and a cool electronic score by Don McGlashan to accent the film’s story, but a familiar story it is.

 -MonsterZero NJ