A Review Of 'Yummy Fur' & Interview With White Gardenia

     

    So here we are once again. Staring down the barrel of Vore/Gore. Only this time out we're going to be looking at one segment and one segment alone. Yummy Fur directed by White Gardenia. Unlike their segment in the previously released XXX: Dark Web, this segment has Daniel behind the camera as we focus on a woman in a dreary room, a stark contrast to the segments before and after Yummy Fur, another reason this segment stands out. She gives us a run down of her experiences with her blood drinking fetish and her prior involvements with White Gardenia. Accompanied to clips of segments of White Gardenia's prior shorts. Our actress begins to masturbate with a pair of scissors and ultimately cuts off part of her labia and eats it. That's pretty much it. Now to someone like me that doesn't get into this type of thing, blood play, self mutilation and the like, this is pure shock  to me. However it's placement in the film, as previously stated, really does something for me. The segment before is 'Infernal Gluttony 2' by Patrick Fortin of Goriest Production. It's very colorful, and surreal and a little bit funny. The segment following Yummy Fur is 'Stretching' by Domiziano Cristopharo. It's the most toned down in terms of gore and shock. Smack dab in between these is this dark, very real and to the point segment. It almost serves as a reminder to the viewer that this is the type of thing that draws true inspiration for the writers who searches out the visually stunning as well as the thought provoking material in their own work. It really is a lot more than some girl cutting herself. I never got the impression that this was done strictly for shock value. That is why I was so pleased when Daniel reached out to me when I was asking around for people who might be interested in being interviewed.

 For my full review on Vore/Gore go on ahead and click  here to view it. Otherwise press on to read the interview I was able to do with Daniel of White Gardenia and learn more about why he does what he does. Also be on the look out for Vore/Gore soon to be released through TetroVideo.

    

Interview With Daniel Valient Of 'White Gardenia'

    A few weeks ago I was asking around to see if anyone would happen to be interested in doing an interview with me. One of those people happened to be Daniel from White Gardenia and it couldn't have made me any happier to see him pop up in my inbox. Now I honestly knew nothing about them outside of this and XXX: Dark Web. After getting to know the man a little it really gave me a new point of view on their particular brand of art. They aren't here to simply shock us. They are here to get us thinking. Please read on and discover something about them and maybe yourself too.

Some Guy: Well first off, as someone brand new to your work and to your brand of artistic style what should we know about White Gardenia?

White Gardenia: Okay great question....I would say that people new to White Gardenia should know that we are an outgrowth of the Surrealist Movement of the 1920's and 30's. We draw heavy inspiration from people like Andre Breton, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, René Crevel etc etc...

Some Guy: Is it just a name you use for certain projects? Is it a group of likeminded individuals?  

White Gardenia: Most everything that I do is put out under the name "White Gardenia," although I have collaborated with some other bands and filmmakers in the past (especially with the black metal band Geimhreadh). I would say that most people involved with the band have similar interests...although we might also have some minor disagreements (ie when it comes to political and/ or religious issues). 

Some Guy: And where did the idea for the mysterious machine that is White Gardenia come from?

White Gardenia: The original idea of White Gardenia dates back to George Hodel and the “Flower Murders”. George Hodel (who is allegedly the White Gardenia murderer as well as the Black Dahlia murderer) represents this sort of Dark Side/ Qliphoth version of Surrealism. He viewed criminality as an artform...and so that's interesting to me. I'm interested in a theory of aesthetics that blurs the line between art and other more transgressive impulses. 

Some Guy: It's such a refreshing take on violence. I've never been one to really see violence in surrealist art, not in any literal sense. How do you try and incorporate your love of that movement into your visual work?

White Gardenia: Well, I think that it was the leader of the Surrealist Group- Andre Breton who first proposed this idea of "Psychic Automatism". The idea that you should express your obsessions without paying any attention to aesthetic or moral concerns. I try to do that....although I suppose I follow certain rules without even realizing it. 

Some Guy: Do you feel your visual work gets your message across to the more casual viewer of your work or do you feel it's more 'insiders only' knowledge? 

White Gardenia: Well surrealists used dream logic and psychic automatism. And using those techniques, the message is definitely "Insiders only knowledge". In fact even the artist himself is generally unaware of the message. It all relates to this idea that the Surrealist had about expressing the subconscious. Y'know, painting a dream...or filming a dream...without even knowing what the dream means. But I do slip hidden messages into my films. I have snuck quantum physics equations disguised as chyrons into several films ("m.i.p.a.m.h" "teilhard de chardin" and the deleted scene in "XXX Dark Web"). And i have a very clear idea of why I want to put those equations in those particular films. So I suppose that would qualify as "insider only information". 

Some Guy: So tell me a little about Cherokee. How did you two meet? I had read in a previous interview you had done that you said she was the strangest person you had ever met. Can you elaborate on that and does it still ring true? Has working with her given you any new ideas on how to show your work or is she more or less your ideal subject, your perfect blank canvas if you will?

White Gardenia: Well me and Cherokee had a mutual friend named Jeff Simpson. He was a Christian musician with a big local following (and he was also briefly in the pop group Metro Station). He gave me an instrumental song called "Rain" and Cherokee ended up doing the vocals. Yeah she's still the weirdest person I know....And if I had filmed behind the scenes footage of the night when we made "Yummy Fur" ...well it would be ten times stranger than the actual film. Do you want to hear a strange story about that night?....... Actually...After thinking about it I guess I can't tell that story LOL. I'll just tell you that Cherokee is a very strange person. "Yummy Fur" contains footage where Cherokee is masturbating with a pair of scissors, licking blood off the scissors and (Spoiler Alert for anyone who hasn't seen the film) using the scissors to cut off a tiny piece of her labia, but that doesn't even touch the surface of how much strange stuff is going on with Cher. And I'm not saying that in a pejorative way...In my world being strange is a good thing. So to answer your question- yes she is an ideal person to work with. But so is Allison. And I should also mention Corrine ( I forgot to mention her in that Severed Cinema interview that you just referenced). Some of the very first White Gardenia mutilation clips were made with Corrine (not her real name). She appeared in "white gardenia - ...while in the driver's seat" and "white gardenia -  precursor to a mutilation". And she is an amazing and interesting person. We were even briefly engaged (before she came to her senses).

Some Guy: I do want to get into everything that is 'Yummy Fur' but you bringing up other, I'm not sure if I should refer to them as members? Featured artists? Collaborators? But regardless of their role in White Gardenia, how do new faces come about in your projects? I don't imagine there are people beating down your door to be a part of this, for various reasons, but also I get that your rather particular about who you bring in and for what project. Also I imagine, at least from other interviews you've done, that your goal isn't taking it to the final end. There is some safety involved in picking your co-artists I imagine. After all your canvas is your bodies, so I take it to create more you have no desire to see someone take away the ability to create with(dying).

White Gardenia: Well, as far as the people I work with...It's all people who I've encountered by chance....here in this relatively small area around Belgrade Montana. It does sometimes seem strange that I'm encountering girls who are open to this kind of stuff. I'd like to know what percentage of the general population is into these kinds of blood and mutilation fetishes. I think one factor is that Montana is a lot more violent place than people might realize. We have the highest suicide rate in the country... we have really high rates of depression and mental illness...We have the most alcohol related car wrecks and drunk driving fatalities....And all of us...everyone involved with White Gardenia... have lived in or around Montana for most of their lives. So on some level, that must be a factor...Like maybe self-mutilation is a sublimation of that suicidal impulse. I'm not really sure?

As to the second question- No I don't want to take it to the final end, at least not until a safe and effective way to be resurrected has been perfected by my scientist friends.

Some Guy: So Vore/Gore. The monster forthcoming from that portal of hell known as TetroVideo. When you were approached about joining the project, was the idea for Yummy Fur already there? And the lovely Cherokee, was she everything you hoped to capture with your guys' segment? What kind of feedback have you both received about it?

White Gardenia: Well, one thing about White Gardenia's films is that...in the past... everything has been DIY. Because, besides directing most of the films, I've also had to star in them and do the lighting and framing and all of that stuff. And because I'm documenting real mutilations there are no second takes...everything has to be done in one take. So we can't make adjustments to make the lighting more perfect or to make the stars look more perfect. Once a scene has been shot, it's all over and we're stuck with that take. And our segment for XXX Dark Web really suffered because of that...specifically during the finger amputation scene, I was so preoccupied with how I would amputate the finger and how much force would I need to go thru the bone etc etc...Y'know I couldn't really focus on the technical stuff like the lighting and the sound and stuff like that. So when Domiziano approached me about Vore/ Gore, I wanted to let someone else star in the segment, so that I could focus exclusively on the directing. I had two different ideas of how to do this, both of which fell through. The second idea for "Yummy Fur"....was actually more relevant to the premise of the anthology, because it would have involved a third person... a man who was going to perform violent (but consensual) oral sex on Cherokee...he would have drawn blood with his teeth and and then he would have bitten off a small piece of her Labia which would go back and forth between his mouth and her mouth. But that approach fell through at the very last minute. So Cherokee and I decided to stick with that same fantasy (that idea of being "eaten out" in a literal sense) but we decided to approach it as a masturbatory act that would escalate in an act of auto-cannibalism... and so that's what happened. As far as the feedback...the responses from those who have seen the footage is pretty mixed. Some people are completely disgusted but other people seem to understand what we're going for. I personally think it turned out really, really well....and that's mostly because of Cherokee's dedication. Not only did she do all of the dangerous stuff in front of the camera...she had a ton of behind-the-scenes ideas about framing and make-up and all sorts of stuff. So I happily gave her a co-directing credit....and I actually think that if she ever wanted to pursue it, she would make an amazing director (not that I'm any sort of expert...) 

Some Guy: What sort of ideas did she have in mind? I imagine a lot of fans would be greatly interested in knowing her capabilities behind the scenes. Had she done anything prior to Yummy Fur? Do you have plans for her in future White Gardenia projects?

White Gardenia: Oh yeah definitely....I'd love to keep working with both Cherokee and Allison. Cherokee has appeared in a bunch of White Gardenia clips...She appeared in "White Gardenia - Blood is Sweeter than Honey" and "White Gardenia - Mobius Strip" and "Lilacs Girl" and "Blood and Tears" and probably a bunch of others that I cant remember. As far as her ideas...it was stuff like putting her leg up on the chair....and other things that didn't seem important at the time, but in retrospect turned out to be really important. lt's also worth noting that Cherokee only appears in XXX Dark Web for a couple minutes....but she did a ton of the behind the scenes technical stuff. She's actually doing most of the filming. Some of the best camera work in that film is because of Cherokee and her, I guess you could say "unconventional" approach to cinematography. There is a really important scene where we are all in the bathroom....and Cherokee is holding the camera....She knows that it is really important because there is only one camera and we can only shoot it once, cuz I'm about to stab myself in the shoulder. But right after I have stabbed myself I look up at Cherokee and she has put the camera in her mouth, and has both of her hands on her crotch (either masturbating or pretending to masturbate). When I see this I can't believe my eyes, because I am already bleeding out and there is no way to say "cut" or to try and pause the action. So she is filming the sequence with the camera in her mouth and me and Allison just have to keep going and hope for the best. But the irony is that the footage Cherokee shot with her "Mouth Cam" is easily some of the best footage in XXX Dark Web. That entire sequence where Allison is drinking my blood in the bathroom is my very favorite sequence and in no small part because of how Cherokee filmed it (including doing unconventional angles, turning the camera sideways and other stuff that I never would have done...)  

Some Guy: So what are your plans in the upcoming year? Do you have any plans on making a full feature or do you feel your work is better suited for anthologies?

White Gardenia: Um well I have one big upcoming project that I'm still preparing for...Besides that I have been trying to make this film about the crucifixion of Christ....It would kind of kind of combine the story from The Gospel of Matthew with some other elements like Quantum Theory and Hans Moravec's Simulation Theory. I want to try and film it like the 1950's Biblical epics (like "David and Bathsheba" with Susan Hayward or "Ten Commandments") or the Biblical paintings of Warner Sallman... lots of flowers and stuff.  I would prefer to just direct that one, but I'll probably end up playing Christ as well...because it will require real violence--- nails being hammered through my hands and stuff like that. However if anyone reading this wants to play Christ (and lives in the Montana area) please contact me. Also anyone who knows a really good filter that can make video look like 1950's Technicolor....please hit me up as well. My e-mail address is whitegardenia1955@gmail.com Oh also, me and Allison filmed a lot of custom made porn films over the last year and a half. Especially at the height of Covid, a lot of people were commissioning us to make clips (some of which are posted on our XVideos page) Now that the Trump era is over, I'm trying to get away from the porno stuff...but anyone who's interested in commissioning a mutilation or bloodplay clip, please contact me at that same address -  whitegardenia1955@gmail.com 

Some Guy:  So in a prior short you did for TetroVideo you cut your finger off. I'm curious if you're familiar with the Preston Anthony Hyde case? He is a friend of mine who got in a lot of trouble for a similar thing. And during that scene you have spoken about a vision you had, do you go to the same state of mind when watching these things happen? For instance when filming Yummy Fur, or do you find your very much aware and in the moment when filming?

White Gardenia:  No I had never heard of his case....that's an interesting story....Id almost like to talk to your friend. It sounds like they got in trouble because they had to go to the ER. A friend of mine was almost committed for doing something similar. I knew I would never go to the hospital, but I was lucky cuz my friend Chris is a Med Student. But he's also a Satanist so he's super open minded. So for the next week or two after I chopped it off I would stop by Wal-Mart (he was working the night shift there in addition to Med School) and get advice on how to treat the finger. But anyways, before I had filmed XXX Dark Web, I studied a few different people who had cut off their fingers....Its actually pretty common. One of the best ones I ever saw was this Asian fellow who cut off two or three fingers at once. For some reason, there are also a lot of businessmen who cut off their fingers to protest (what they perceive to be) unfair legal decisions. One Portuguese guy named Silva cut off his finger right in the courtroom....But it didn't seem like anyone cared lol. I guess that cutting off your finger is so common that no one even cares anymore. Like I think Johnny Depp even cut off his finger...LOL! Yeah as far as the hallucination.... that happened while we were getting ready to eat the finger. And it was a very clear and very vivid hallucination wherein I saw Santa Claus (or some kind of older "Father Christmas" type iteration of Santa Claus). There seem to be a lot of Synchronicities involving Santa Claus. I was aware of the ways in which St Nicholas, Odin, Good King Wenceslas and various other figures had fed into the story of Santa. But what really surprised me was this-- several months after the hallucination, I was discussing the incident with the artist Erica Frevel (who's also an occultist) and she informed me that Odin's followers used to perform blood offerings as part of their rituals. This completely blew me away... because when I first saw the hallucination it seemed totally random, But if Santa Claus and Odin are actually the same person (as many historians claim) then it seems as if we might have accidentally summoned Santa Lol. Or at least a kinder, gentler Christianized form of Odin. In actuality, I'm a very skeptical person...and its probably just a coincidence. But I do love Santa Claus....so id love it if he turned out to be real. As far as experiencing stuff like that while making other films....No not really....I think there was a pretty logical explanation for why I hallucinated during that particular shoot was ...Y'know I had just lost so much blood...I think that's all it really was. But at the same time I'm not completely opposed to the idea that there is some supernatural component to reality. I have experienced  a couple things that definitely verge on the supernatural.

Some Guy: Well Daniel, I have to say this has been a very cool experience for me. You've really opened my eyes to a new visual world and now when I see videos that mimic your personal brand of entertainment I'll be able to see past the inital shock of it all. Is there anything else you'd like us to know about any upcoming projects? Or any parting words of wisdom?

White Gardenia: Thanks alot... this has been a great conversation. And "Some Guy's Horror Blog" is an awesome blog... thanks for letting us be involved. 

Hmmm.... as far as upcoming projects.... There are a few interesting projects in the works.... but I shouldnt talk about them just yet. I do hope that everyone will order a copy of Vore/ Gore when it comes out.  IMDB says that its coming out April 19th but I'm not sure if that's accurate. In the meantime the XXX Dark Web Standard Edition is still available to order from Tetro Video.com ( https://tetrovideo.com/shop/xxx-dark-web-standard-edition/  )

Oh also, the great horror writer, Magnus Blomdahl, is devoting a chapter of his upcoming book to White Gardenia. His last book "True Horror" included interviews with Marian Dora, Nick Palumbo, Joel M. Reed and other luminaries from the world of underground horror....so we're very pleased to be included with such great company. Hmmm other than that, you can visit the White Gardenia FilmFreeway.com page at  https://filmfreeway.com/danielvalient  Most (but not all) of our short films are posted there....  

Anyways I think thats about it...thanks again.... its been a lot of fun my friend.

And there you have it folks. A little insight into White Gardenia. Check out all the links provided below to get your blood fix. Trust me. I'm Some Guy

To purchase Vore/Gore when it's released or for any other TetroVideo releases go to their page - TetroVideo

White Gardenia's Youtube Channel - White Gardenia Music

White Gardenia's Film Freeway Page - White Gardenia Videos

White Gardenia's Homepage - Mutilation Theater

For another great interview with Daniel that was done with the folks over at Severed Cinema go ahead and click HERE

Nightmare Symphony © TetroVideo

      

    Nightmare Symphony is an upcoming giallo horror movie from directors Domiziano Cristopharo (House of Flesh Mannequins, Red Krokodil) and Daniele Trani. Produced by Ulkurzu and HH Kosova and written by Antonio Tentori (Nightmare Concert, Dracula 3D), the film will be released on Blu-ray and DVD by TetroVideo in 2021.

      Nightmare Symphony is an homage to Lucio Fulci’s Nightmare Concert/A Cat in the Brain, in which the director appears playing himself, a tortured horror filmmaker haunted by his own bloody horror film visions.

       In Nightmare Symphony, the filmmaker at the center of the story is played by Lady in White director Frank Laloggia. Domiziano Cristopharo’s movie focuses on a horror director who is struggling to complete his movie, while a series of gruesome murders happen all around him. Eventually he will be forced to face his worst and scariest nightmares.

      The movie also stars Antonella Salvucci (The Torturer), Antonio Tentori, Poison Rouge (AGP:Sacrifice), Pietro Cinieri, Irene Baruffetti, Edi Hasan Lushi, Halil Budakova and Merita Budakova (Virus: Extreme Contamination). The soundtrack is by Antony Coia (House of Flesh Mannequins) and includes the original main theme by Fabio Frizzi (City of the Living Dead, The Beyond).The practical effects are by Jacopo Tomassini (The Obsessed).

    This is probably the best call back to giallos of the 70's and 80's I have ever came across. If I didnt know better I would have thought this was a lost Lucio Fulci film. This is everything that a giallo should be! Terrific characters, wonderful story,  the fucking atmosphere!!! It even has a killer with a peacock head mask, a wonderful love letter to the craziness that is Italian murder mystery films. I had a great time with this one. Trying to figure out who the killer is, who was going to get offed next, who was going to accuse who next and why. Thrown in some familiar faces with some great talent and BAM. You get Nightmare Symphony. 

    Also, lets face it, giallos are a product of Italy. So who better to do it than an Italian? Domiziano took his love of the genre and put forth one hell of an effort here. I feel he accomplished what he set out to do. So many great tense scenes and a wonderful musical score to boot. This is certainly going to scratch that giallo itch for anyone who is looking for a giallo that hasn't been seen or talked about to death. There are so many great names attached to this project that you'll be hard pressed to find anything coming up soon to comapre it to. 

    Nightmare Symphony is slated to be released later this year through TetroVideo. If you love murder mysteries and peacock headed killers and boobs, than you want to see this. Trust me, I'm Some Guy.

Who Is Ben Gaudet? Interview and review of Rebirth

     Some of you might be familiar with this super young buck from Canada. He made a pretty big splash with Blew. A short that can hang up there with some of the far more known titles. He has been putting in some serious work over the past year or so. So today I would like to help get his work a little bit more attention. So lets check out his most recent short Rebirth!

    

    Rebirth with a run time of 32 mins and stars Ben as all the characters. The synopsis from the back of the DVD  pretty much tells you everything you need to know. A serial killer takes his life one day, a few years later a guy decides to bring the killer on back to the land of the living. And as one could imagine, chaos ensues. Im quite impressed with Ben's ability to do everything involved at such a young age and do it as well as some other decent indie filmmakers twice his age. There are somethings that plague this production, mainly audio and looking at the camera. However they are very forgivable given the fact that a kid under the age of 15 did EVERYTHING! The end of the movies gives up all that gory goodness than Ben is a fan of. Gallons of squirting blood, a decapitation and so on and so forth.

      While Rebirth isn't as good as Blew in the storytelling department, he is showing his improvement with all other aspects of filming. He showed us he can do a good story in previous projects so I have complete faith that his end products will get better and better overall with each film he does. 

      While Rebirth on DVD was a very limited run of 15 and is OOP, fear not. Most of his projects, including Blew and Rebirth, are all available to view free of monies on his YouTube channel. The link to it will follow the interview I was able to do with Ben. Just keep scrolling ya doofus.

An Interview With Ben Gaudet

Some Guy:

So let's start with the glaring fact that you're pretty young. How old are you?

Ben:

I’m 14

Some Guy:

Jesus lol when I was 14 i was glued to the couch. How long have you been actively filming?

Ben:

I started filming movies when I was 8 in 2014, but I actually got serious about it when I shot blew a year ago.

Some Guy:

You more or less were born with a camera in your hand huh? Lol. Blew is where I and I imagine most of the rest of us became aware of you. Where did the idea for Blew come from? That's a subject most younger folks aren't really too aware of, so im curious where that idea was born from.

Ben:

I’m actually not quite sure where the idea came from, I really wanted to try to make another gore film so I started brainstorming ideas. I really wanted to make a movie about the downfall of a persons sanity due to drugs, because I had just found out about the film Requiem For a Dream, an was really blown away by it, I had never seen anything like it, the editing style and just the darkness of the movie. So I kind of thought of a plot that somewhat resembles it, but with lots of gore.

Some Guy:

I love the fact that you're a gorehound at such a young age lol it's also nice to have a filmmaker looking at films that have been out for so long with a fresh set of eyes. When you say 'I had just found out about Requiem For A Dream...' That's not a sentence people my age are used to hearing lol. I love that you are still able to get the rush of creativity from films that the majority of us have long since but aside from a creative stand point. That being said it shows that you really love the older grindhouse style horror movies. Where did your enjoyment of those spawn from?

Ben:

I got into horror when I was around 4, with the Friday the 13th franchise. Then later I started watching stuff like the burning, which I really liked the gore in. After that I found out about the video nasties and Italian horror, after that I found out about shot on video horror films, with the first film I saw being Mark and John Polonia’s classic Splatter Farm. After that I got into under ground splatter and German gore.

Some Guy:

German Gore is certainly the where the gold is. You do most everything there is to do in the film making process. Are there certain parts that really irritate you? Or for the most part do you find you enjoy doing it all?

Ben:

I think that filming by myself is pretty easy for the most part, but I think I would like to have a crew because that way I could get better shots and make it easier for me to pump the blood and film at the same time. But, I think I do enjoy being by myself, for example, not having to worry about when my actors and crew are available, and not having to write a script most of the time.

Some Guy:

Right? Being a one man show has its pros and cons for sure. When figuring out your effects for the first time did you find it as easy as you had hoped or where there alot of problems you found along the way? I've always been interested in SFX but it always seemed so time consuming to me.

Ben:

Special effects have had many problems on the set of my films. For example, the scene in blew where the kid cuts his own leg off was exposed to have lots of squirting blood, but it was so cold the blood in the tubing froze. I’ve never done molds yet, and I don’t know how to do them, and from what I’ve seen, they look like there pretty time consuming.

Some Guy:

Being from Canada I can imagine that sometimes the cold can really throw a wrench into the damn works. So lets talk about Rebirth. When did the idea for that come about?

Ben:

Tantrum by James bell, I watched that movie and wanted to make something similar with more of a slasher theme.

Some Guy:

James Bell is a name that I hear constantly from folks when it comes to their inspiration. It's certainly no surprise that his films rubbed off on you lol. How long of a process was it from idea to when it was ready for release?

Ben:

About maybe two to three weeks, because I had to gather the materials (dvd-rs and empty packages to ship them in) and I had to print the artwork

Some Guy:

Overall how do you feel this project turned out? Was there anything you wish you had worked on more?

Ben:

Yup, the sound mixing and the sound effects, and maybe a bit on the plot as well.

Some Guy:

Do you ever find yourself worrying too much on one particular part of the process? Or do you just tend to move on at a certain point?

Ben:

I definitely worry about little things in the movie, and some things I don’t even notice until I’ve completely finished the film.

Some Guy:

Is this something you plan on turning into a career at some point? Or do you think that would take alot of the fun out of it? Or is that even something on your mind at this point?

Ben:

It’s not really on my mind at the moment, I think I would love to go to a film school, or at least take film classes in college or university or something.

Some Guy:

Well I for one certainly look forward to what you can do with your talent in the coming years. How do your friends and family react to your stuff?

Ben:

For the most part they like it, my parents don’t like me making big messes with fake blood around the house, and my friends like it too, I really hope they can act in one of my films soon.

Some Guy:

Tell your parents I said it was fine. I got a face they can trust lol. Have you written anything with your friends in mind? Or do you have anything planned for the near future?

Ben:

I’m actually starting production on my next film within the next few weeks, and I have another idea planned which incorporates my friends.

Some Guy:

Anything you can tell us about your next project?

Ben:

I can tell you that it’s probably going to be my goriest film ever, and it’s going to have better production quality.

Some Guy:

I love hearing that! So one last question, lots of us define a certain decade as being the golden age of horror. My age group tends to look fondly on the 80s. My younger brothers say 90s/ early 2000s. How about you? What decade do you feel did horror the best?

Ben:

Probably the 80s to the early 2000s, tons of classic horror films where made in that time span, pretty much all of my favorites were made during that time.

There you have it folks. Check out all his shorts on the BrokenVHS - YouTube channel, you wont be dissapointed. Trust me, I'm Some Guy.

    

Mother Noose Presents: Once Upon A Nightmare © A Buck Short Productions

    

 Like Tales From The Crypt? Than this film will be right up your alley. Mother Noose Presents: Once Upon A Nightmare is an upcoming anthology movie from A Buck Short Productions. It has a runtime of  1hr and 45mins and has Erin Brown also known as Misty Mundane. It's directed by Dan Beck, Eric E. Poe and Richard Tanner.

    This is a really fun horror anthology that is far more light hearted than most things I review, and to be honest it was a nice change of pace. The wrap around story is about a nasty witch, Mother Noose, who is trying to bring back her dead lover by telling twisted stories to a poor fellow who she has trapped in her lair. The opening credit scenes harken to little red riding hood, oh and there is a wolf with a hotdog dick, ya know, if you're into that kind of thing. Followed by a Hansel Gretel type story, to be honest that one was kind of reaching for that reference. Cinderella and the devil. Pinocchio. Ect. Ect. While the stories themselves are well know, I do like how they made each segment stand out with their own personal twists and takes on the stories.

    I do have an issue with the drastic changes in sound quality that are present throughout the film. However the acting was far above par for an indie release. There are a few gory parts that i was pleased with. I do wish that it was a bit more darker with its sense of humor and the overall ending to the wrap around story I felt could have been done differently. With that being said, if you're looking for a legitimately fun take on some well known fairy tales than you need look no further than Mother Noose Presents: Once Upon A Nightmare. Nothing too extreme but still dark enough to keep even the most hardened horror fan watching the screen. Don't miss out on this when it is released from A Buck Short Productions. Trust Me. I'm Some Guy.

The House With 100 Eyes -Some Guy's Quickie-

 

        The House With 100 Eyes is a found footage horror movie that follows a husband and wife as they try to make snuff film history with a triple feature killing along with promises of bonus content like interviews and commentary. This is a little talked about hidden gem in the sub genre of found footage. Its not plagued by the usual problems that most of the unsuccessful found footage movies have. Things such as poor pacing, poor acting, poor sound and camera work. This movie has none of those. It actually has several tense moments and some great kills and gore. With that and a solid ending to boot, I think this movie just got lost in the flood of found footage movies in the early/mid 2010's. Which is sad because it forces solid titles to the bottom of the barrel, guilty by association if you will. So today as a little gift from me for being late with the Vore/Gore review, I want to take a quick look at The House With 100 Eyes.

    Married couple Ed and Susan make snuff films. Pretty basic story line, but they wanna make a splash with their 'Studio Red' company. Ed wants to make their next film like a big budget DVD release complete with behind the scenes stuff, commentary with them, interviews with the actors. I mean the dude has some big plans. They have set up cameras all through the house to get every angle possible for their magnums opus. They want to do the world's first triple feature, three kills in one go. This isn't their first film they've made as evident by the videos Ed watches and has laying around, along with the basement room with torture chair and all. Oh, also there is some girl who had all her limbs hacked off that they keep in a large pet cage. So there's that.

    After some searching for their 'stars' for a while they get their victims. This is when shit gets crazy. First girl is degraded and is fed her fat that Ed cuts from her, has her hand nailed to the chair. Just all kinds of crazy shit. All well done the entire time. Second victim is the wife's. She like poison. And this kill might be one of the most creepy deaths I've ever seen. With the convulsions and the amount of blood pouring from him is just disturbing as all fuck.

    Then Ed makes the mistake of showing his wife the films he has been making on his own. She gets upset by him cheating on her and sits for awhile contemplating. Meanwhile Ed goes to get the third victim who eventually gets the upper hand. She takes Ed down and runs. Susan eventually comes to Ed and tries to help only to have victim 3 come back to finish the job on Ed. She is then stalked in the house by Susan. Lights go out. Gun goes off. Singing starts. Credits roll.

    An overall solid movie. The characters are great and the effects are memorable. It sucks that this isnt more known and talked about. A rare find in a genre that is littered with garbage. This one is currently on Tubi for free so check it out. Trust me. I'm Some Guy. 

Vore/Gore © TetroVideo

    Well here we are with yet another soon to be released gem from the disturbed folks at TetroVideo. To be released early this year Vore/Gore. This is an anthology type film featuring 9 shorts from 9 directors. The titles and directors of the segments are as follows:

“Mouth” by Mikel Balerdi

“Sweet as Honey” by Emanuele Marchetto

“Finger Licking Good” by Lorenzo Dante Zanoni

“Please, not in My Mouth” by Poison Rouge

“Italian Ladies Do It Better” by Irene Jones Baruffetti

“Infernal Gluttony 2” by Patrick Fortin

“Yummy Fur” by White Gardenia (Daniel Valient & Cherokee Nevin)

“Stretching” by Domiziano Cristopharo

“The Egg” by Dario Almerighi

It has a runtime of 1hr 27mins. And there is a lot packed into that runtime. With a project with so many different directors it can be an artistic overload. One thing you will certainly not be during a viewing of this is bored on any level. 

    ''Vorarephilia, or vore for short, is an uncommon paraphilia characterized by the erotic desire to be consumed by, or to personally consume another person or creature.'' That is what all these shorts are based around. Each short takes a very different view of vorarephilia. Now I have never heard of this particular fetish, so this entire sitting was somewhat of a culture shock for me. I was more or less speechless after most of the shorts. Partly due to confusion and partly due to how well these are executed for the most part.

    There are several familiar names associated with this project. Ranging from Larva Mental to The Catcall Trilogy to XXX: Dark Web and several other notable films. All bring their A games to this project. Every segment is an unflinching view of Vorarephilia. Each segment is very much a product of it's respective director. During Infernal Gluttony 2 you know your watching a Patrick Fortin segment. Yummy Fur feels like you are watching a segment from XXX: Dark Web. I love that each director stands out in and of itself. Like i said earlier, with so many different people on the same project the overall subject matter can get lost and become a bit messy in the story aspect of it. That problem is not present here thankfully. 

    A few segments stand out to me personally. 'Yummy Fur', 'Italian Ladies Do It Better' and 'Please Not in My Mouth' are very well done. Great gore, great look at the paraphilia, good acting and camera work all around. However my personal favorite is 'Stretching'. A far more toned down segment in terms of gore and shock value but certainly ramped up in the showing the mind or someone consumed (LOL) by this fetish. I loved the atmosphere of it and the actor did a wonderful job of making me wonder about his well being with no dialogue. 

    This was a cool little experimental project that I personally feel is a great way to find your next favorite director. Wonderful showcase of the talent that is out there. Make sure to keep an eye out for the release through TetroVideo. Trust me. I'm Some Guy.

Larva Mental © TetroVideo

    TetroVideo reached out to me last week to see if I would be interested in reviewing one of their titles. Well of course I was. TetroVideo has put out some extremely haunting films in the past. So you can imagine my excitement when I received my screener and found out I had been given the task of reviewing Larva Mental. Now I am not familiar with this one bit. This is me going in blind more or less because aside from a few teaser posts on Facebook, I know nothing about this other than the few screen grabs that were shared. I do, however, know of Mikel Balerdi a little bit through his Instagram and Facebook page. So I know that I am in for a blood filled, terrifying mind fuck. I also know that this movie will end up staying with me for a long time, such as most TetroVideo releases do. Their releases tend to frighten beyond the physical. Most of their releases mentally scar you. So are you excited to forever ruin your psyche? In the immortal words of Tanner James, I know I am, lets do it.

    The movie has a rough runtime of 61 mins. Its in, I believe, Spanish and my copy has no subtitles. Now while there is very little dialogue in the film, there are a few times where i feel they would be very helpful, mainly with the note that the female character writes. This is a mainly visual storytelling experience though. It's a graphic tale of loss, sadness and ultimately a beautifully downer ending. The director is widely known for extreme body performances, and its on display in this film. Fans of outsider art will definitely want to check this out, Mikel mixes real body performance with practical special effects and 99% of the time I can not tell what's real and what's effects. Its glorious, it's seamless, it's hauntingly disgusting. More than anything though it's very sad. I found myself really feeling sorry for Mikel's character. He obviously is unable to cope with the loss he endures in the film, that being the loss of the female character after she discovers a video of the lead playing around with a metal crucifix in a pig mask, its part due to drug use and part just madness. With a mixture of shame, drugs and rage at himself, he descends deeper into his world of self mutilation and horrifyingly disturbing hallucinations. The man's inability to deal with his loss, or his choice to feel the loss in such a visceral way, leads to his ultimate undoing and he is last seen laying next to our decomposed female character after having overdosed on drugs and a deep all consuming regretful sadness.

    Now while i sit here and say this is a sad story, don't get me wrong. This is brutal to sit through. I found myself trying to follow the sad story line of loss so as to not focus so much on the self mutilation our male lead does to himself. There is plenty onscreen for the fans of cock mutilation, self cutting and other forms of body performances to keep you glued to the screen. However, there is a lot more to this film than just a gross out or 'what-the-fuck-did-I-just-watch' factor. Its a real emotional journey that made me ask myself, if put in a similar position of loss would I punish myself or would my demons make me punish myself?

    The score is wonderful. Really sets the melancholy mood that is present during the films runtime. There is nothing that takes you out of the overwhelming sense of dread and nervous sadness that is tangible in this film. This is a great character study of a depraved person who is unaware of what exactly his world can do to people he cares for.

    TetroVideo, as I said at the start of this, puts out some projects that will stick with you for a long time. This is certainly one of them. Visually and mentally disturbing, Larva Mental is a film that will have you wondering what escaping your reality truly costs. Be on the look out for the release date of this from TetroVideo and don't be shy about checking out all their other releases. Trust me. I'm Some Guy.