El Gore's Snuff Tape Anthology
Alternative Titles: N/A
Director: El Gore
Year: Various - Released 2016
Starring: El Gore, Isabelle Fitzgerald
Context:
As with these types of films there is very little context to frame it around, and nor should there be, for it is in the mystery and the feeling of discovering something underground that enhances the viewing. That said, there has always been an audience for both real life death caught on camera (FACES OF DEATH, FACES OF SNUFF) and there has always been an audience for faux-snuff, films that seek to replicate the feeling of what a legitimate, if the word can even be used in this circumstance, snuff film might look like and it in this small niche that this SNUFF TAPE ANTHOLOGY will find its audience.
Synopsis:
A collection of nine 'snuff' tapes by El Gore gathered together into one package covering abortion, disembowelment, genital mutilation, necrophilia and a lot more.
Review:
If the name doesn't give the game away from the moment you insert the disc into your player you are assaulted by brutal, infectious goregrind that sets the scene for the next hour and a bit perfectly.
What we have is essentially a compilation of 'tapes' - which have in fact been given the 'VHS' old-school treatment for added authenticity including the sound of the tapes being inserted from the menus which is a fantastic touch adding gravitas to the fact that this is in fact a thought out and professional production despite its, intentional lo-fi appearance - and the only way to review it would be to systematically go through the contents, almost like a police investigator would upon discovery of this evidence.
Snuff Tape 0 - 'Black & Died' is the shortest of all the tapes but kicks things off in a grimy and almost arthouse manner thanks to the colour palette and disrupted audio soundscape resulting in the viewer being unable to distinguish if they are watching one mans decent into perversion or transgressive art that borders trash. Four minutes later and I am onto Snuff Tape 1 - 'Red' which along with it's clear VHS style features a pounding soundtrack playing over shots of maggots feasting on what looks like a bird carcass before giving way to something that Fred Vogel would be proud of. Before I knew it Snuff Tape 2 - 'Red & Yellow' is ready to go, and bizarrely I was unable to look away from the screen. There isn't too much to say on this tape except that it certainly delivers for the gore hounds in terms of brutality as El Gore takes things a step further as the footage ends with a random act of humiliation and disdain for the victim.
Snuff Tape 3 - 'Dead, Red & Brown' at 24 minutes is the longest segment and also one of the most brutal. Again El Gore ramps things up as he seemingly revels in the violence and depravity on show as the tape somehow becomes more and more extreme as the time goes on. We witness, almost as accomplices, as a corpse is mutilated, defiled and desecrated....not to mention a couple of scenes that will have everyman crossing his legs. This segment also forms the basis for the music videos from Anal Fistfuckers and Kadaverficker, but one criticism that I have surrounding the audio is, due to the length of the segment compared to the songs it takes away from any feeling of authenticity and a more restrained soundtrack, as employed on some other segments, would have sufficed.
Snuff Tape 4 - 'Dead Baby Fast Food' is perhaps the only real let down for me, although admittedly the gore brigade may still get enough out of this segment to make it worth their while. However, the use of a clearly fake, standard plastic baby doll as opposed to something more silicone based combined with creative shot angles killed the segment for me. The result was that the foundation of the segments concept was inadvertently rooted in slapstick as opposed to controversy and despite plenty of blood and gore it could not recover to deliver the required impact and perhaps this was one idea that should have been left on the drawing board rather than compromising with a restricted budget and SFX. Snuff Tape 5 - 'Final Orgasm Extreme Suicide' brings things back up to speed thankfully, and if you a man, like some scenes in tape 3, you might want to spend some time looking away from the screen. Like all the others this one is pretty bloody, by this point I think that is a given for the entirety of the collection, as it focuses on a guy who decides to enact his fantasy of extreme suicide as he indulges in acts of genital mutilation and self-disembowelment.
Snuff Tape 6 - 'Organ Trade Autopsy' is pretty self explanatory, although not the shortest segment it did seem to fly by pretty quickly but I did also find it one of the least engaging of the tapes despite benefitting from strong Fx which looks like El Gore and Co. raided a local butchers shop to achieve the desired effect.
Moving on to Snuff Tape 7 - 'Gore Abortion', this is the second longest tape at twenty minutes and features the stunning Isabelle Fitzgerald and finally some boob! Of course I am being facetious but with a couple of tapes involving a stunt cock its about time El Gore engaged in some equal opportunities flesh. The loose narrative centres around someone who likes to kidnap pregnant women and get's off on the murder of two people with one act. While Isabelle hardly looks pregnant, lets pretend it's very early or she just doesn't show it and move on, this tape is perhaps one of, if not the, most interesting because it allows for that interactive dynamic. Additionally there is no groovy, heavy chugging goregrind soundtrack to this tape. Replaced, instead with ambient sound and suffering and this makes for a much more genuine and oppressive feeling resulting in a tape that is both brutal and grim, with the tone perfectly matching the reprehensible act of the antagonist.
Finally we reach the Lost Snuff Tape - 'Dead Body Rape' and once again, you don't need to be a genius to work out what this is about. Like the last tape this is pretty grim, but steeped even more in authenticity due to the camera set up, the lack of clear sound and it's brief nature. It delivers exactly what it promises.
Disturbing, violent, pointless yet engrossing perfectly describes this release. As the tapes go on, any initial thoughts of artistic flourishes or subliminal subversion are eradicated and you learn that there is no political or social commentary behind this, there is no semblance of a plot just a very loose and direct narrative described by text at the start of the 'tape'. In these 'tapes' there is only violence and in some cases humiliation making this perfect for gorehounds who want only unadulterated gore and perversion...and it is surprisingly captivating!
This release is also highly recommended for fans of the AUGUST UNDERGROUND movies, NECROPHAGIA music videos (think Nightmare Scenarios release) and goregrind musick. Oh and one final thing Mr El Gore, change up the bathroom every once in a while.
Version Reviewed:
We reviewed a promo copy from Black Lava Entertainment. The release features a whole host of extras including a music video from Anal Fistfuckers and one from Kadaverficker, trailers for most of the tapes, a picture gallery and two brief but worthwhile behind the scenes clips.
Additionally you will get a soundtrack CD featuring 21 gore-oovy tracks from Anal Fistfuckers, Kadaverficker as well as Deathtopia and Whiskey Suicide. A fantastic little bonus especially for fans of the genre and worthy of a review in itself.
The double digipack slipcase release is available from Black Lava from the 20th April and can be found here.
A limited edition leatherbook version is also available from the 20th April 2016 and can be found here.
