When I first saw all 3 August Underground movies, I really didn't like the series. I think this is the one that stood out to me the most but the thing that turned me off was the parts where no one is getting killed. It took me until about the 3rd time when I really understood what the reasoning of this movie is and why there is more going on than just senseless violence. A big help was reading interviews with Fred Vogel and reading professional horror reviews which really helped me appreciate this movie.
It really is something that most people will despise and a select group is going love but there isn't any real middle ground. The style is something different since it's pretty much about 3 serial killers with a camcorder and they film their atrocious crimes and they also film themselves hanging out and showing what they do in their spare time. It's more about saying that these are somewhat regular people who like to party, smoke a little dope, go to concerts, and have fun but then you also see not only their darker side but you also see these people at their most vulnerable too.
A big part of the footage is seeing the relationship of these three killers and how the two guys are trying to win over the attention of the one woman in the group. The killers are also very interesting to watch as well and they all have their own different personalities as well as different things they like to do when killing. What works is that they show you all kinds of sick and disturbing stuff and they also show you how these people are in their every day lives and it feels very real and natural as opposed to most horror movies with a masked man who kills 24/7 and doesn't do anything resembling what a human being would do.
As far as the way it looks goes, it's not pretty. The quality is just a decent camcorder and it does get pretty shaky but it's only to add to the concept of making it look like real footage. The gore is just top notch and really some of the best I've ever seen, really in league with movies like Cannibal Holocaust. In the end it does feel very genuine and gritty. Nothing fancy, nothing pretty, but it sure does look like the real thing.
It's only a matter of if you'll love it or hate it. If you buy this movie only to see a lot of really gory stuff then you'll be satisfied with the gore but bored with the character development and the unorthodox way of telling this story without really telling a story. This isn't the type of movie to dumb things down and explain anything so it might take a few viewings to get it. But I'd say 80% of the people who see it won't like it but if you have a very open mind and a strong stomach then this really is a very unique movie to watch.
It really is something that most people will despise and a select group is going love but there isn't any real middle ground. The style is something different since it's pretty much about 3 serial killers with a camcorder and they film their atrocious crimes and they also film themselves hanging out and showing what they do in their spare time. It's more about saying that these are somewhat regular people who like to party, smoke a little dope, go to concerts, and have fun but then you also see not only their darker side but you also see these people at their most vulnerable too.
A big part of the footage is seeing the relationship of these three killers and how the two guys are trying to win over the attention of the one woman in the group. The killers are also very interesting to watch as well and they all have their own different personalities as well as different things they like to do when killing. What works is that they show you all kinds of sick and disturbing stuff and they also show you how these people are in their every day lives and it feels very real and natural as opposed to most horror movies with a masked man who kills 24/7 and doesn't do anything resembling what a human being would do.
As far as the way it looks goes, it's not pretty. The quality is just a decent camcorder and it does get pretty shaky but it's only to add to the concept of making it look like real footage. The gore is just top notch and really some of the best I've ever seen, really in league with movies like Cannibal Holocaust. In the end it does feel very genuine and gritty. Nothing fancy, nothing pretty, but it sure does look like the real thing.
It's only a matter of if you'll love it or hate it. If you buy this movie only to see a lot of really gory stuff then you'll be satisfied with the gore but bored with the character development and the unorthodox way of telling this story without really telling a story. This isn't the type of movie to dumb things down and explain anything so it might take a few viewings to get it. But I'd say 80% of the people who see it won't like it but if you have a very open mind and a strong stomach then this really is a very unique movie to watch.
