The last film I saw at SXSW 2015 was a New Zealand splatter-horror by the name of Deathgasm, a righteous romp through the rolling hills of heavy metal and hell-freed demons. Deathgasm’s trailer celebrates both with torrents of viscus, a head-banging soundtrack and enough KISS makeup to coax your tongue from your righteous mouth.
Brimming with low-budget, bloody practical effects and zipping along a zany “cursed heavy metal anthem” narrative, Deathgasm follows in the footsteps of Kiwi horror auteur-turned-LOTR-enthusiast Peter Jackson by intentionally employing over-the-top blood-gesiters and half-witted characters. Needless to say, Deathgasm is silly-stupid-heavy-metal fun for all involved. All horror-comedy fans will surely find much to enjoy while those turned off by the subgenre needn’t apply.
Per our SXSW review,
“Deathgasm is a case where if the title makes you snicker, you’ll probably enjoy the film. On the flip side, if the name alone makes you run for the hills covering your tender, virginal ears, this is very much not the film for you. The gore is excessive and palpably cheap (more often than not, a decapitated head or severed limb will spurt out a single-stream of reddened corn syrup) but with game performances and an openly mocking tone, Deathgasm is a truly righteous amount of hardcore dumb. Landing somewhere between Heavy Metal 2000 and the original Evil Dead, Howden’s bloodletting send up is just the kind of silly, stupid horror party movie that people have been trying to replicate for decades.” [Full review here]
Check out the Deathgasm trailer below:
Deathgasm is written and directed by Jason Lei Howden and stars Milo Cawthorne and James Blake as a pair of misfit heavy metal fans who unintentionally summon a demon.
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By: Matt Oakes
Started blogging about film in college when the university paper wouldn’t have him. Dislikes your consensus film Twitter favorites. Devotee of horror movies that make him die a little inside. Catches films at festivals when he can. Proud SFCS and OFCS member and Tomatometer-approved critic. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
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