August Underground...

[MinionZombie]

Ah mate, usually I start by saying "okay, so I just finished watching...", but in this case it's "ah mate, I just finished watching the first 30 minutes" of this underground indie slaughter-fest and it's f*cking rank.

It's incredibly rare for me to be grossed out by a film, but this isn't a film, it's like a fake snuff tape and the level of deprivation on display by the film's characters just weakens the stomach. *shudders*

Yuck! Needless to say, being a UK resident, I had to *ahem* "acquire" the film online in order to see it as it's completely unavailable in the UK, and I think Xploited Cinema is officially on a Custom's watch list (i.e. if they see that logo, they open your package and most likely confiscate it).

Anyway, I'm totally glad I didn't drop cash on this, I'd feel even dirtier for it...but also being the sort of bloke who has to complete things and so on, I'm gonna have to attempt to finish this thing up so I have the whole picture...but I doubt I'd even attempt the sequels.

Basically, this film makes I Spit On Your Grave blended with Last House on the Left and the rest of grot cinema thrown into a big bowl look like a candy land...the reason I sought this film out was to see if the blurbs held any water, and just out of cinematic curiosity...then of course, when there's a horror movie out there that the gubment is essentially denying people to see, that just peaks interest to see what's so bad ... well, it's f*cking rank...but I don't believe in censorship, nor banning...but I don't think August Underground deserves to be anywhere other than the underground indie scene...not that it'd suit being anywhere else. All shock, grot and nothing anywhere even remotely rosy.

For curious cinema viewers only ... and even then ... dude...:eek:

[Cykotic]

thanks for the heads up. I've heard about this flick and I think i might avoid it like the plague...

[MinionZombie]

thanks for the heads up. I've heard about this flick and I think i might avoid it like the plague...
It's the sort of film I sought out through sheer curiosity...and now I feel dirty and regretful, it's just totally not my bag, I don't think it could be anybody's bag. No wonder it's a rare sight, even on the indie scene.

For anyone still curious, or even more curious because of my write up, the first half hour features a dead guy in a bathtub with his wang cut off (which is floating in a bloody toilet). A naked girl is tied to an office chair, sitting in her own waste, which is liberally on show. One nipple is cut off, she's smacked about, smeared with her own fecal matter by the "cameraman", particularly in the open wound. She's felt up in a rather horrid way, the psychos attempt to make her eat her own crap, she's smacked about a bit more and *ug*...:barf:...that's all I can remember right now...I'd rather not remember what I have remembered. Oh yeah, the guy in the bath is hacked up off-screen, but we see body parts later on, including the on-screen nutter cutting the big toe off a severed leg and force-feeding it to the girl, duct-taping her mouth shut so she can't spit it out.

It's just unnecessary to be totally frank.

I'll attempt to finish the movie, but ug...I don't believe in censorship at all, but I can certainly say "yes, a movie can go too far" (which isn't a statement in favour of censorship, rather a separate statement...just for clarification)...I just don't find it at all necessary beyond an exercise in sheer horror, but it feels far too real or ('more suitably') just out-and-out-disgusting to rest suitably in the realm of cinema. A horror movie can be f*cked up - I mean Last House on the Left was when it came out, but this is so far beyond f*cked up...perhaps this is the modern LHOTL? Albeit with the socio-political subtext stripped out in favour of gore and visual terror, with no big release (like LHOTL had).

Basically, to sum it up, I simply don't recommend this film at all. Now that's saying something, because even Children of the Living Dead (being a terrible movie) I can still recommend if you want something to watch with mates when drunk to rip the piss out of...but August Underground...I personally find it completely unnecessary and almost completely pointless...any point that might be there, is made thoroughly quickly and then is just flogged to death...and that's all within the first 30 minutes that I managed to sit through.

In the name of cinema knowledge, and my own obsessive-compulsive need to finish the unfinished, I will attempt to finish it off...but I duno...I think I'd rather watch Night3D four times in a row while listening to whatever sh*te is on Radio 1 these days. :eek::dead::barf::(

[Danny]

you guys know ive said before adn will say again that shameles gore does not a good movie make, adn i stand by that.

[triste realtà]

I know about this movie cause I listen to the Ravenous, an all star death metal band featuring Killjoy and Chris Reifert. Killjoy's involved with Toetag pictures now. Fred Vogel used to teach at Savini's effects school and got fired I think. If you watch the credits on Creepshow, you'll see a Vogel as Ass Prod., I think that's his dad. I tried to find the Ravenous video for this, cause it has clips from the movie, but someone took it all down. This is the closest, although I find it a little disturbing, all the references to bleach:

*embedding removed*

I haven't seen the movie and am not paying to see it. They want like 15 bucks for it and I wouldn't pay that for a classic unless it was a box set.

...

I feel the video is far too grim for direct linkage in the forum, however, if any of you are still curious as to how disgusting the film is, go to YouTube and search for:

Sutta Kain - august underground

But be warned, there's lots of graphic material, both violence and nudity, a collection of gross clips in a music video basically, but the film itself is worse because it doesn't cut away and goes into *more* detail.

MinionZombie

[MinionZombie]

I wonder what he got fired for?

I've probably 'come down' from the disgust from yesterday, when I was more 'in the moment', for lack of a better term, and it is just a movie after all and it's all faked...but it's just the sheer grot and determination to absolutely disgust 100 times over that, for me personally at least, makes the film properly unnecessary.

Just to say, I removed the embedded video, and didn't link directly either, just because I think it's far too graphic for the forum, just far too graphic in general really...but those are the keywords you'd need to find the video if you really are that curious, but be warned, it's messed up. You'd be better off just leaving be if you have any doubt, basically - if you shudder at the likes of Rotten.com and so on, just leave well alone basically.

Curiosity killed the cat I guess...at least I have a fuller knowledge of cinema than I did before, albeit by one movie, but you know what I mean...

Still though...yeugh!

I wonder how many people have bought a copy of the film out of sheer curiosity and disbelief that it could be that bad, and then found themselves non-plussed to say the least? Now that I am actually curious about...

Still...to each their own, it's certainly an experience to watch it, but not one I'd want, even though it's "just" a horror movie...the "movie" part being incredibly weak, even other 'found footage' style films like Gang Tapes have a narrative, August Underground just comes off as two hideous ghouls cackling at a series of disgusting scenes splatted together, probably one of the reasons why it's all the more sickening, because there's not enough "movie" to grasp on to, to hold your stomach.

Still...there's validity in it for academic interest and study...just watch a bunch of comedy and fluffy kittens after you're done (I haven't attempted to finish it just yet), cos you'll no doubt need to wash your eyes out...blech...:barf:

additional...

Well, I finished the film off today, with surprising ease. The first half hour is the worst really, the remaining 40 minutes is a lot easier with larger chunks of non-violence...which is where you might expect to find a semblance of plot, but there's nout, because it literally is a bunch of disconnected moments in the lives of two nutters.

The violence in the latter 40 minutes is still messed up (most notably a brief shot of the on-camera nutter (seemingly) anally ramming the bloody body of one chick while he smashes her head in with a hammer). :eek:

So ultimately, I see and understand what the film is trying to do...but it doesn't feel like a movie at all, there's seemingly no plot, rather just a series of intensely vulgar scenes mixed with rather empty scenes. Whatever point it tries to make, it makes it insanely quick, and then just beats the point to death for a solid half hour before continuing to show up these two nutters to just be intensely disgusting people...so disgusting that you think, why bother watching at all? Especially as there's such a small semblance of plot on show.

I understand that Vogel was going for as real horror as possible, but without any plot it just feels ... well ... pointless beyond trying to gross people out.

Horror and terror is a feeling, not a visual, horror should scare rather than just go for the gag reflex...so to anyone complaining about SAW III or whatever, mate, they're kid's play by comparison.

Anyway...that's that endured, now I can go and watch some fluffy kittens or something. :lol:

[triste realtà]

I think he got fired for stealing supplies if what I read is true, and that was months ago, I could be remembering incorrectly. I thought Killjoy was part of the staff, he's in Mordum as the dude with the shed of horrors and one dead baby with no head and arm, but I don't see him on their website now. They're having a sale and the effing thing is still 15 bucks. Btw, I actually did pay that much for the red case NotLD, thinking it was the best release and the picture is great, but there's a glitch right when the dead are heading for the burnt out truck, and no DTS track. I wonder if the colorized Mike Nelson commentary version is the best, cause it has both color and b/w and a DTS track?:confused: