catheter1st
I missed this when it came out in theaters, I happened to pick it up in a local store used for $2.00. Probably one of the better investments I have made recently.Firstly Crispin Glover, perfect casting choice. I have followed his films since the 80's, and he never disappoints when portraying weird, misguided, misunderstood, or otherwise socially awkward and/or puzzling characters. Bravo. I was not convinced by the lead male character's pseudo William Burroughs persona. But hey, who can really impersonate the legend as well as Peter Weller did in Naked Lunch? I don't think anybody could.Secondly, gore? Yes! The film has a plethora of gore, and the plentiful nude bodies of the Suicide Girls makes it totally worth watching.Thirdly, completely disjointed continuity which adds to the element of surrealism, which I do admit, is achieved in a highly clumsy fashion at times. An homage to the original on purpose, or overzealous and pompous directing and editing? You decide. This film was better then most of the tripe that was released at the same time(2007), and has been released since. Not perfect by any means, but well worth my $2.00.
Woodyanders
Master magician Montag the Magnificent (the divine Crispin Glover in peak lively'n'loopy form) performs ghoulish stage tricks on female audience members that go awry when said participants start turning up dead for real. Underground reporter Edmund Bigelow (a fine and compelling performance by Kip Pardue) finds himself in considerable jeopardy after he decides to dig deeper into what's going on. Ably directed with stylish and nourish cinematic panache by Jeremy Kasten, with a crafty and perfectly lurid script by Zach Chassler, a snappy pace, a handy helping of tasty distaff nudity, a supremely sleazy and sinister carnival atmosphere, and oodles of juicy graphic gore, this inspired remake improves on the enjoyable, yet ramshackle original with a more capable cast, slicker production values, a more complex plot, and much better and more convincing splatter effects. This film further benefits from excellent contributions by Bijou Phillips as Bigelow's spunky girlfriend Maggie, Brad Dourif as seedy quack physician Dr. Chong, Joshua Miller as sarcastic coroner Jinky, and Jeffrey Combs as a grotesque and disgusting geek. Christopher Duddy's striking cinematography makes nifty use of Dutch camera angles and garish lighting. Steven Porcaro's ominous score hits the moody spot. The meaty overriding themes concerning illusion, perception, and the manipulation of reality and people's minds gives this picture extra provocative substance. A really cool and clever flick.
loomis78-815-989034
Remake of the 1970 Herschel Gordon Lewis Film follows an underground reporter named Edmund Bigelow (Pardue) to a master illusionist known as Montag The Magnificent (Glover). Montag picks a person from the crowd and butchers them on stage in one form or another. Once the audience is gasping in terror and fright he brings the victim out alive to face the shocked crowd. Problem is the stage victim is turning up dead for real with the wounds inflected on stage. This movie moves into psychedelic areas where it all may be happening in the crazy mind of the main character Bigelow. What it really is, is an excuse for tons of bloody gore and bizarre hallucinogenic moments that may or may not make sense. This could be entertaining to the right Horror film fan but it failed to scare me at all. Crispin Glover has some inspired crazy moments as Montag and Brad Dourif finally got a small role that had some meat on it for him. Well made by Jeremy Kasten, but the movie just doesn't seem to have a point and in the end is just a bloody head scratcher that leaves you feeling filthy when it's over.
Sanjna Po
I find horror remakes absolutely fascinating; and it's usually the case that when it comes to the splatter fest horrors, the remakes are usually just a lot more blood, that looks less like ketchup. The Wizard of Gore, I thought focused more on the story and less on the gore. In a way, as a film by itself, it was fairly interesting. But when you call a film 'Wizard of Gore' and don't have a lot of gore in there, its kind of a let down. I find it hard to comment on my 'liking' of this film, but I found almost every aspect of it absolutely interesting. It created a vibe for itself, that I appreciated. The acting, especially that of Kip Pardue and Cripsin Glover was excellent. As the leads, they both capture the audience's attentions and don't let it waver for a second. As the wizard says in the film, 'The trick is me'. Filled with substance and captivating technique, 'Wizard of Gore' is worth a watch for fans of horror or psychological thrillers. It had a few loop holes, but the feel it creates and the aftertaste it leaves you with, make it an exciting ride.
AD
