Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Dethgasm



Dethgasm
2015
Director- Jason Lei Howden
Cast- Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman
            
    The relationship between Satanism and heavy metal has always been there, whether it be real or imagined. Paranoid parents groups in the 1980s imagined Satanic acronyms hidden in band names and messages hidden in backwards playing records. Ironically, while parents were worried about top 40 acts like KISS and ACDC,  there really were acts espousing demonic messages that flourished, unbeknownst to the middle class church groups (King Diamond anyone?) All of those under the radar groups of the 1980s eventually spawned the Death Metal and Black Metal movements of today (which would have probably literally scared those 80s PTA moms to death). It is that music, and it’s attending culture, that Dethgasm simultaneously makes fun of and pays homage to.
           
    Brodie is forced to move in with his uncle in a new town after his mom gets arrested for trying to fellate a mall Santa while on a meth binge. His long stringy hair and combat boots immediately mark him as an outsider in the small town.  He forms a friendship with the town hoodlum, Zakk who is also a metal aficionado like Brodie. The object of Brodie’s affection is Medina, a preppy blonde who is the girlfriend of Brodie’s douchebag cousin.
            

    Zakk and Brodie form a garage band, Dethgasm and, while burgling the house of a local burned out metal head, they get their hands on  The Black Hymn, a piece of sheet music that, when played, summons a demon that will destroy the world. After getting his ass kicked by his douche cousin, Brodie decides it’s time for demonic intervention and plays the hymn hoping to be granted super powers. What he gets is a town over run by  demons and a group of Satanists chasing him, trying to steal the music. Brodie, Zakk, and Medina must fight the hellish hordes with whatever weapons they can find, whether they be power tools or double headed dildos.
            
   If the movie sounds silly, that’s because it is. There is not one part of this film that should be taken seriously. It is a fun movie with some really nice gore. The dialogue is cleaver and it manages to poke fun at both horror movies and heavy metal while still showing obvious love for both genres.
            
    In America, the movie was released through Wal-Mart as Heavy Metal Apocalypse. Don’t be afraid to pick it up, it is literally the same movie complete with the Dethgasm opening title. Only the DVD cover was changed, though I’m not sure why.
   

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