BA_Harrison After the somewhat disappointing 'August Underground's Mordum', which often went beyond believability in an attempt to do outdo its predecessor, the team at ToeTag have delivered what must be one of the most nauseating, realistically disgusting and vile pieces of filth that I have ever witnessed. The film is an 84 minute catalogue of extreme depravity, sexual violence, torture and dismemberment, and hardly a minute went by where I didn't feel revulsed by what I was watching (and more than just a little bit sordid). But, of course, director Fred Vogel doesn't want viewers to enjoy Penance; he wants them to endure it, which means that the third and final movie in the August Underground series can only be hailed as a success!The aim of Penance is to make damn sure that anyone watching it sees murder as it truly is: an ugly act that is nasty, messy and totally repugnant. Viewers are made to feel sickened by what they witness. Vogel's on-screen killers, a couple of psychos (played by the director himself and Mordum's Cristie Whiles) who enjoy nothing more than inflicting pain and suffering on complete strangers, are neither glamourised or exaggerated, nor are they portrayed as anti-heroes; they're shown to be real people—albeit bloody scary ones who would be perfectly happy to remove your head from your shoulders without giving it a second thought.Once again, the film consists of random video footage shot by the twisted twosome as they go about their day-to-day business, attacking the homeless, going to rock gigs, indulging in drugs and, of course, raping and killing innocent people. This time, however, the quality is not that of a degraded VHS tape (as in the previous two AU films), but digital (and in widescreen), meaning that the viewer gets to see every last sickening detail.And what sights they have to show us: Vogel's character wrestles with entrails whilst trying to disembowel a corpse, removes a foetus from a pregnant victim, and (unsuccessfully) tries to rape a woman after having smashed her husband over the head with a hammer; Whiles's soulless bitch slowly squeezes the life out of a child, gleefully hacks up a deer (which is later fed to the scariest lion in existence), and also indulges in her fair share of vicious torture and bloody dismemberment. Every last second of each hideous act is unflinchingly captured by the roving camera, and watching without wincing is not an easy trick. The gruesome effects are top notch and praise must be given to effects man Jerami Cruise for successfully turning my (usually cast-iron) stomach several times.With the OTT approach of the second film replaced by the more realistic feel of the first, Penance is a satisfactory end to a unique and very unsettling series of films. I now hope that Vogel leaves the 'pseudo-snuff' genre well alone and turns his attention to making the zombie film that he has mentioned in the past.As with the other AU movies, I find it a hard film to rate. It's not 'enjoyable', and at times it plods (the first twenty minutes are pretty uneventful), but it's a powerful work that you just cannot ignore, and for that reason Penance gets 7.5 out of 10 (rounded up to 8 for IMDb).

Rattler2000 Penance is the third and final film of the August Underground trilogy.If you have seen the first 2 you will know of the grainy, amateur camera work used. This time it seems the killers have bought a new camcorder. The picture is much better quality but still amateur like making you believe that this is for real.Again, it's very gory and disturbing for some but doesn't have quite the intensity of some of the extreme scenes in Mordum. Still it's a class act and Fred Vogul has done yet another great job both directing and acting. The effects are fantastic and it's certainly pushing the boundaries again although not as much as Mordum.Not for everyone but a very good view for gore hounds.

z-murder The wait is finally over. No longer will you have to suffice the agonizing torture of a screenshot or teaser trailer. The long awaited arrival of Toe Tag Pictures third entry into the August Underground series, Penance, is finally here, and was well worth every minute.The story picks up with Vogel and While's characters documenting their violent, savage acts on home video as they tantalize, humiliate and force their victims into submission. Through the midst of vicious rape and torture are shots of the two hanging out and goofing off just as any home video would show, adding a certain realism to the film.August Underground's Penance combines the dark realism of August Underground with the extremeness of Mordum to make for the strongest entry in the series. As the film descends, so does the collapse and downward spiral of the two killers. At the start of the film, they appear larger than life, goofing off in front of the camera and acting as kids would. By the end of the film, both characters are in tears, hardly standing the sight of each other through their on going battle of bickering and fighting. Vogel's character becomes more and more enraged with each one of his victims and starts drinking heavily, eventually drinking himself into a state of malady. On the other hand, While's character begins to deteriorate, as she slowly comes to the realization of the atrocities in which they are committing; she starts to break down emotionally and physically.The term "Penance," which also serves as the central theme in the film, refers to, "punishment or suffering undergone voluntarily to atone for sin or wrong doing," and can be seen in the last few minutes of the film where the characters, primarily While's, undergo a dramatic change in mentality. As with the other August Underground films, what happens in the final scene is left open-ended and requires viewer interpretation.Penance, hands down, contained the best acting the series has seen yet with a strong focus on Vogel and While's brilliant performances. Aside from playing the parts of psychotic killers, at certain times in the film their inner child comes out, which in ways, brings a sense of normalcy to their characters but also makes for some of the most disturbing aspects. The complexity of these two characters can be overwhelming at times as they often drift in and out of various mood swings.With a much bigger body count than the two prior films, Penance made for some sick special effects, courtesy of f/x wizard Jerami Cruise. With decapitations, multiple guttings, limb severings and a gruesome c-section, it is sure to have even the most jaded horror fans squirming in their seats. If you thought the other films were sick, just wait until you feast your eyes on this one. Cruise pays extra close attention to detail and delivers his best effects yet.In the August Underground series, Toe Tag Pictures takes horror, shits on it, and portrays it for what it truly is without glorifying the actions. These films show the harsh reality of what really happens in the world, where murder and torture happens daily, and takes the viewer beyond scary into a world of true, bloody horror, straight to the point and without any bullshit. So much talent lies amongst Toe Tag Pictures that assure only great things to come from them.

fertilecelluloid The scariest and most disturbing thing about "August Underground's Penance" is that Fred Vogel and his team of no-talents deemed what they'd shot worthy of release. This is a tedious, protracted, poorly photographed piece of video age masturbation about two losers (a male and female) who waste their lives indulging in psychotic behavior. Unfortunately, that psychotic behavior is boring and not fit for the most amateurish of home movies. There is some gore and ugly nudity, and an alligator eats a live mouse, but none of this redeems the endless, directionless, vertigo-inducing scenes of pseudo-shock that make up this rotten failure. There are no characters, there is no story, the Killers' POV perspective is now clichéd and done to death, and the ultra-shaky camera-work just further illustrates the lack of intelligence and talent behind this abortion. If I ever have to watch another Fred Vogel piece of anti-cinema, I'll poke my eyes out and puncture my ear drums. As penance for making this crap, the filmmakers should refrain from touching a camera for the next one hundred years.