The Wizard of Gore

Legendary blood feast by gore maniac H.G. Lewise. My friend and I summed it up clearly with a smile: "You couldn't ask for a bigger piece of shit", but in any case this is an unforgettable film that you can tell your friends about. Leaving aside the gore effects, the film missed its cinematic language by about half a century – the theatrical performance of the lead actor, an incredibly static camera that doesn't move, doesn't zoom in or out, very minimal editing, and everything underscored by the monotonous sound of a trumpet, which fortunately isn't very audible, so it doesn't get on the nerves so much. And, of course, above all looms the brutal tropes of the wizard Montag, who seems to be following the classic Dario Argento's motto that "Death is best suited to beautiful women": hypnotized blondes experience a chainsaw slash, a massive iron spike in the head, a cutting pipe in the stomach, swords shoved into their mouths, and lots and lots of red paint and ketchup all around. As a study material, or a sort of "walk" through obscure film worlds, it is passable, but I am very reluctant to call it a horror classic (in the words of one of the characters in Reitman's Oscar-winning Juno). (09/08/2008)