ATROZ: Violencia en El Defectuoso

Are you bored shitless of ghosts and zombies? Do you find yourself hurriedly scrolling past all the generic press releases announcing the next tired-sounding demonic possession flick or post-apocalyptic "thriller"? Are you ready for the next Martyrs or A Serbian Film to come along and knock you flat on your ass?

For those of us who crave something a bit more inflammatory, transgressive and dangerous then the usual horror fare, upcoming Mexican shocker Atroz may be just the fix we need. Earlier this week it had its first screening at Mexico's Morbido Film Fest, and the word over at Twitch is that Atroz is indeed the real deal. An uncompromising, stomach churning roughie, sure to send the censors into a frothing rage and milquetoasts everywhere running from theatres in disgust. With none other than Ruggero Deodato on board as associate producer, the film's promotional materials seem to be saying "you know exactly what you're getting here, enter at your own risk".

Atroz appears to be a grisly character-study of a vicious serial murderer who has been harvesting his victims from the mean streets of Mexico City, and in the tradition of films like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Maniac, it graphically documents the killer's exploits from his own point of view. However, this time the sicko's atrocities are revealed during the course of a police interrogation, via a series of homemade snuff videos seized by the Federales at the time of his arrest.

The man behind this potentially explosive movie is one Lex Ortega, an experienced sound technician with numerous credits ranging from Iñárritu's 21 Grams to Adrián García Bogliano's Here Comes the Devil and Late Phases. Ortega's directorial credits include a number of shorts (including one that Atroz is expanded from) and a segment in Mexican horror anthology México Bárbaro (also out this year and featuring a segment from We Are What We Are's Jorge Michel Grau). 

It's pretty easy to decipher Ortega's intentions with Atroz. Rather than an unnecessarily gratuitous gorefest, the man is merely holding a mirror up to the horrors that beset his nation. Check out his entry for The ABCs of Death 26th director competition, which displays this same preoccupation with the grim reality of violence in Mexico.

GREEN INFERNO in red

Feast your eyes on Dan Mumford's killer alternate poster for Eli Roth's long-delayed cannibal flick! 

Although an Australian release date is yet to be announced, I'm happy to note that our scissor-happy censors have passed it uncut with an R. Violent horror films rarely get an R here, our most common rating for movies slapped with an R in the States being MA15+. Our R is equivalent to the MPAA's NC-17 (both restricted to 18 and over), and is usually reserved for sexually explicit movies like von Trier's Antichrist.

I love the Italian cannibal cycle, personal faves being Deodato's Last Cannibal World and Cannibal Holocaust (natch); Lenzi's Eaten Alive!; Sergio Martino's slightly softer, more jungle adventure-oriented (albeit with pig fucking) The Mountain of the Cannibal God; and Marino Girolami's deliriously nutty zombie/cannibal hybrid Zombi Holocaust. 

While waiting for Roth's modern gut-muncher to finally splatter across our screens, here's a few more morsels of fresh, still-warm long pig for you to gnaw on. My picks for coolest original one-sheets for each of the aforementioned Italian sickies:

Don't forget to visit Wrong Side of the Art for your fix of original horror, sci-fi and exploitation posters. The most beautiful high-quality scans anywhere on the net!

The Road Leads To Nowhere...

Earlier this month we lost David Hess. He was 69 years old.

In Wes Craven's Last House On The Left and Ruggero Deodato's The House On The Edge Of The Park, Hess gave us two of horror's most unforgettably unpleasant villains in Krug Stillo and Alex.

The sleazy, deadly charisma with which Hess imbued these two iconic sociopaths made them perfect cinematic reflections of Charles Manson - albeit a more muscular, macho interpretation of the man - complete with devoted followers in tow, ready to do anything to please their murderous leader (most memorably Giovanni Lombardo Radice in Park).

Of course Hess was also a gifted musician, and his oddly inappropriate score for Last House really helps to accentuate the film's nasty vibe of bad acid and the Summer of Love gone very wrong. Sweet, folksy numbers like "Wait For The Rain" and the opening credits track (reprised in "Blow Your Brains Out") are just dripping with a kind of haunting, saccharine melancholy that gives the depravity and carnage on screen an extra dose of hallucinatory menace. Whatever the relative merits of the Last House soundtrack, it certainly still rates a mention just for being one of the strangest horror scores around.

However, removed from the disturbing context of pants-pissing and chest-carving, these sad songs are appropriate for spending a few minutes contemplating the life and achievements of one of horror's most undersung participants.

R.I.P. David Hess. Here.

Poster Ferox

Check out the striking poster above for Ruggero Deodato's upcoming sequel to House On The Edge Of The Park (locandine for the original at right). It was designed by none other than blog-buddy Jeremy, aka Silver Ferox.

The film is set to star Giovanni Lombardo Radice (who also co-wrote), although what this means for Deodato's other gestating sequel is anyone's guess. Given that the Holocaust sequel would require location shooting in the Philippines (and has been struggling to get off the ground for a while), logic dictates that we'll more than likely see this one materialise first.

Jeremy is a talented graphic artist who specialises in "re-imagining" poster designs for classic horror and exploitation movies. Recently he seems to be receiving increasingly more commissions for poster designs for indie film projects, and given his talent it's no surprise. I'd like to congratulate Jeremy on his poster above - a fantastic piece of art, and an obvious career coup.

Take a look at his blog here. A few choice samples of his work below:

Holocausto Sperduta Nel Parco!

It's Xmas, so let's take a moment to reflect inwardly and... nah, fuck that, let's talk about Cannibal Holocaust and House On The Edge Of The Park instead.

300-issue-old Fangoria just reported that Ruggero Deodato wants to cast David Hess in Cannibal Holocaust II. Earlier this year I heard that the project had fallen apart (see poster at right) - but assuming that Fango's sources are correct, Holocausto Canibal II would reunite the notorious duo for the first time since the excellent House On The Edge Of The Park and the execrable Body Count.

A comment on the Fango article also mentions some discussion of Federico "Shadow" Zampaglione coming aboard to serve as assistant director on the film. To really fill me with holiday cheer however, I'd like to see Deodato send everyone's favourite whipping boy Giovanni Lombardo Radice into the green inferno. But given Radice's very public regrets about Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox, that ain't gonna happen!

If all goes to plan, Deodato and Hess might be sweating it out on location in the Philippines at some point in the first half of 2011.