Director: Jason Lei Howden
Starring: Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman
Format: AVI
Plot: Two teenage boys unwittingly summon an ancient evil entity known as The Blind One by delving into black magic while trying to escape their mundane lives.
Before sitting down to watch this one, the only thing I knew about it was that it was about heavy metal music. I was aware that it played at a film festival near me a couple of months ago and had even seen one or two publicity shots, but other than that I was going in blind.
The first thing that surprised me was that it's a New Zealand movie. Hell, if I'd known that I wouldn't have downloaded it (I don't DL movies from my own country, preferring to support the industry by buying physical copies of them). But boy am I glad that I did, and I'll be buying it as soon as I can find it on DVD!
That last sentence obviously gives away the fact that I love this movie. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's my joint favourite horror/comedy movie along with Shaun of the Dead. On top of that it's one of the best movies to come out of my homeland in a long time, and IMO much better than the recent What We Did in the Shadows, which seems to be a darling of the critics (I liked it, but Deathgasm to me is much better).
Maybe one of the reasons I dig Deathgasm so much is because I'm a metaller. Have been since I was 12 years old, and I'm now 40. Ask anyone who knew me as a teenager, and they'll tell you that I basically was the main character from this movie - a long-haired loner who lived for heavy metal. Well, without the ability to actually play guitar, but I do play a mean air axe.
But even with my love for all things metal, and of course all things horror, this movie could have still missed the mark as so many horror/comedy hybrids do. Instead it ticked all the boxes. The main characters are likeable and relatable, the comedy is hilarious (I don't want to give anything away, but I found myself in loud fits of laughter during the scene involving "marital aids"), the music kicks serious butt and best of all the gore (outrageously over the top ala Peter Jackson's Brain Dead or Bad Taste) is done with practical effects, not CGI.
The only slight disappointment is in the climax, which doesn't live up to what it was building up to, but it's a small complaint. I can't recommend this movie enough and am damn proud that it came out of my country!
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