I’ll gladly praise the effects here!
August Underground (2001)
Directed By: Fred Vogel
The Prologue
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been ten years since “the little snuff film that could”, know as August Underground was released by a company that would become ToeTag Pictures and from a director, who both directed and co-starred in the film, Fred Vogel. Now the thing is, it wasn’t a REAL snuff film, but I’ll be damn if it didn’t come across believable. You see, when Vogel self-released 200 copies of August Underground on VHS tape in 2002 many people saw this film without having any clue what they were getting themselves into when they popped that sucker into their VCRs (remember those kids?). Many people thought what they had just saw was legit, and even now it’s hard to blame them based on the film’s content.
The Movie
So we have a pair of friends here. Names are never used, but one of the killers (the one we always see on screen) is played by director Fred Vogel, while the other unnamed psychopath just films this stuff. Basically, it’s a home video of a couple young murderers and we watch as they go from one extremely brutal act to the next. We also see a little footage of them just messing around in between. It’s done in a way that could come across 100% legit. And with the grimy VHS quality mixed with the great gore effects, what you get is a film you could pass off as real to most people not “in the know”.
First things first here, if you don’t know already, this film is VERY brutal. It’s extremely ruthless, and it holds no punches. What you see on screen can definitely get to you at times. It can makes you feel bad about yourself while watching. Oh, and it can almost make you blow chunks at different times as well. But damn it, you just can’t turn away from it. Now I don’t know what that says about me, I wouldn’t go as far as to say I enjoy seeing people tortures while tied up, with body parts being cut off and then being forced to eat things that I’d rather not mention, but I still sit on my ass and I watched it…from start to finish. Maybe I should go and start talking to a shrink immediately.
While the film gives you no real character to latch onto and root for, you are left with the guy holding the camera and the main killer that is in front of the camera for the entire ride, with others coming and going. It’s Fred Vogel’s performance himself that really seals the deal on this one when topped off with the gore (Great GREAT gore effects). Fred makes the character VERY believable. His performance is scary, and scary to the point it can be uncomfortable. I can’t see acting in such ways or being in a movie with someone who is acting such a way without legit thinking I was going to die. The fact that these people were ever able to make a movie like this is really a remarkable thing. Fred makes you believe what you are seeing. I think this has a lot to do with why many people are as afraid of this film as they seem to be. So just for the record, guys, don’t show this to the little lady on date night.
But at the end of the day, it’s still a simulated snuff film. One of the most realistic and sickest ones ever made, but still just that. There’s no real plot, there’s nobody to like, and if we are honest with ourselves, a lot of people will be greatly disturbed and hate what they see. But in the films faults, is also it’s appeal. If you go out of your way to watch this, odds are you know just what you are getting and you for whatever reason want to see it. You are probably looking to be shocked, disgusted, and bothered by the fact that you actually wanted to see it. Sure, you won’t get any academy award winning merits here. But, I think it’s safe to say that you get just what you came for…And God help you!
The Conclusion
By no means would I recommend a film like this to just anyone, unless you are looking to alienate yourself from them or just scare the shit out of them, BUT you must applaud what you see and give it the proper due for doing what it did, and doing it better than anyone else. Most people wouldn’t have had the balls to do what Vogel did here, and those who have tried have failed in comparison. You’d have to see some really hard to find Asian films to find anything that would compare to the pure horrific scenes you see on this film. And for that I take my hat off to it and give it proper grading, not for the film’s plot, but for it’s style and for being just as deeply disturbing as it is. Off the top of my head the only thing I can recall that actually tops this is in the disturbing department is it’s sequel.
The Rating (6.5/10)
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