Remember when I put a revoltin’ review on Fred Vogel’s 2001 extreme torture porn experience, August Underground? Well, the powers that be made a follow up (with Vogel co-directing, co-writing, and once again acting) in 2003 titled August Underground’s Mordum, and as before, Unearthed Films have released a feature-packed Blu-ray edition of the frightful flick and placed it before my putrid peepers!
As with the aforementioned previous film the premise here is light; a trio of murderous miscreants go kill crazy and film their conquests… each more stomach churning than the last. Things reach even new heights of depravity when a fourth killer makes the scene… and after all we have witnessed to that point, that is really saying something!
As a film, August Underground’s Mordum isn’t as much of a story as it is a series of disgusting vignettes (each featuring rape, vomit, cannibalism, and oh so much more)… but that is where the genius… twisted as it is, comes through!
While the material present is as grim and unpleasant as it comes, the artistry that brings that glorious gore to lascivious life is impressive as all fuck!
And why wouldn’t it be, as Vogel is a disciple of the legendary Tom Savini (the effects guru behind Romero’s Dawn of the Dead among many, MANY more) and when that effects wizardry is combined with faux-low tech recording means and a decidedly “fuck it” attitude when it comes to what is in good taste, the result is a cinematic endurance test that will challenge your willpower to complete the feature while alternately marveling at just how in the hell these fiendish folks pulled some of these shots off!
With all of it’s nihilism, sexual sadism, spraying bodily fluids, and unrepentant qualities, Mordum is a hard watch… which is exactly what horror should be, so to that end the picture is a nearly unrivaled success… this is gross-out material done to puking (literally) perfection, but I’m not going to tickle your asshole and tell you that any of it is an easy watch.
Speaking of watching things, this release is an over-flowing body bag of value as the special features present are extensive to say the least!
First up is a new commentary featuring effects artist Jerami Cruise (who co-wrote and co-directed the film as well as appearing in front of the camera as well) and Ultra-Violent Magazine‘s Art Ettinger that provides a fascinating listen that covers the production from it’s inception as a music video to it’s crazed shooting and the legacy it has left in it’s wake.
A secondary commentary is present as well featuring the Toe Tag Pictures crew, Cruise and Vogel included, that takes us more in-depth on how many of the sequences were conceived and shot and the difficulties of making such intense material.
Also included are featurettes covering the birth of Toe Tag Pictures and Mordum’s part in that process, the creation of the film’s bat-shit bananas final sequence, a remembrance of actor and Necrophagia vocalist Killjoy, interviews with actor Michael Todd Schneider, Cruise, Ettinger And Allana Sleeth (also of Ultra-Violent Magazine), and three lengthy conversations with Vogel.
Additionally we get a Necrophagia music video, a gallery of behind-the-scenes images, deleted and extended scenes, footage from the film’s premier, another photo gallery, an animation collection, a short film (with it’s own trailer), footage from the 2004 Flashback Weekend convention, and a trailer for the film (as well as trailers for August Underground and Penance).
A DVD of the film, with the same bonus content, is also included.
With it’s beyond-extreme horror themes, it’s copious gore, and pervasive nastiness; August Underground’s Mordum is not for everyone… but for fans of the genre, this release is an absolute essential thanks to it’s incredible bonus material alone!
