DVD Review: Heavy Trip (2018)

Before I jump into this here review for Heavy Trip, let me state that this is definitely NOT a horror film, rather it is a comedy about black metal, but since metal and horror intersect beautifully…and…and fuck it; I do whatever the shit I want…
Turo (Johannes Holopainen), and his friends Pasi (Max Ovaska), Lotvonen (Samuli Jaskio), and Jynkyy (Antti Heikkinen) have been practicing their metal chops in a basement for the better part of 12 years, but Turo’s near paralyzing shyness have kept them from recording original material or performing even a single gig. considered a joke by damn near the entire town, our heroes soon get a chance to play a large metal festival in Norway, and the town begins to change their tune and worship the boys as local legends. Sounds great right? Well, while the promoter of said festival digs their sound (after hearing their demo post-reindeer blood shower…trust me, it makes sense when you see it), they have no room for Impaled Rektum (yup, that’s what they settle on for a band name) and their ‘Symphonic Post-Apocalyptic Reindeer-Grinding Christ-Abusing Extreme War Pagan Fennoscandian metal’ at the fest…but Turo tells everyone, including his band mates, otherwise. Will ol’ Rektum finally realize their dreams…I’m not going to tell you the answer here obviously, but I will say it’s a long, vomit spattered, road they travel, and everything from traffic cameras, to dead friends, to Medieval combat based LARPing play large rolls!
Let me just state, I loved the hell out of Heavy Trip! I haven’t seen this grouping of lovable underdogs in a damn sight…seriously, I challenge anyone not to root for Impaled Rektum (there’s a sentence I never dreamed I’d type…top o’ the world Ma!). The chemistry between Holopainen et.al., as well as the rest of the supporting players including Minka Kuustonen as Miia, the daughter of the town’s policeman and the object of Turo’s bottled-up affection, and Ville Tiihonen as Jouni Tulkku as a local lounge singer and the thorn in Turo’s side is pitch-perfect and the world crafted for them by Directors/Co-Writers Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren (along with Aleksi Puranen and Jari Olavi Rantala as Co-Writers) is a wild place of slap-stick comedy, insane situations, and most importantly, a veritable mega-ton of heart! And it goes without saying that if you dig on the black metal sound, your eerie earholes will be well and fully massaged my creeps!
Along with the excellent main event, we are treated to some bonus materials on this Doppelganger Releasing (in conjunction with Bloody Disgusting) DVD. In the mix are a collection of bonus scenes and bloopers, a series of ridiculously hilarious shorts with Turo and his now manager Jouni trying to get Impaled Rektum some fame in Texas of all places, a brief segment where actual metal bands react to Impaled Rektum, the complete song “Flooding Secretions” from our heroes, a ridiculous karoake video for “Jump Into My Net” by ol’ Jouni, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
Simply put; Heavy Trip is not only a heartfelt tribute to what metal can mean to outcasts like us all and a true underdog story done right, but it’s also side-splittingly hilarious! See this one ASAP boils n’ ghouls!