August Underground (2001)

August Underground (2001)
directed by:  Fred Vogel
starring:  Fred Vogel, AnnMarie Reveruzzi, Kyle Dealman, Dan Friedman, Casey Eganey, Aaron LaBonte, Ben LaBonte, Alexa Iris, Allen Peters
format:  Personal Collection NTSC:  Region 1

(out of 5)

 

The Movie:  Sick.  Twisted.  Here is Fred Vogel's infamous masterpiece of torture and murder.  I personally have a love hate with most of these kinds of movies.  A lot of the hipster gorehound people spend as many waking hours as they can finding the sickest shit they can watch for whatever reason but me I just like seeing different styles of filmmaking and the snuff film stuff is definitely one of those styles.  Fred Vogel is at the top of this game.  The fact that he runs his show out of Pittsburgh, PA is just yet another bonus for me being an hour away.  I popped this in last night and I must say I was engrossed from the get go.  The killer played by Vogel himself and his cameraman pretty much just go on sick spree of murders and torture.  Almost everyone they come in contact with becomes a victim.  I found myself sickened by say the shit scenes and puke scenes but then laughing my ass off at the antics of the killer and his friend holding the camera.  Definitely looking forward to the second one.
The Acting:  Mr. Vogel was spot on.  The victims were spectacular! I say that because each of them played the role of the victim to a T, the screams and crying were all very genuine.  Fred just has this sinister look about him and when you meet him in person he still has that look but when you talk to him it's really quite the opposite.  Fred and his wife Shelby are both very kind and appreciative of their fans.  Really enjoyed Allen Peters as well who played the guy behind the camera.  Constantly had me laughing.
The Script:  As far as serial killer or mass murderer whatever you want to say this movie really made it real.  The dialogue especially between our killer and his cameraman buddy during the intense scenes of murder and mayhem were not only natural but exactly as I would envision things like this in real life.  Kudos Mr. Vogel.
The Gore:  Yeah off the charts.  Plenty of it and wow did it all look nasty as hell and very real.  Human beings just brutally beaten and chopped up at the hands of our killer and his counterpart. 

The Shots:  The movie is shot in camcorder style making the movie itself as always with this kind of shooting looking very real.  The viewer sees the film through the eyes of the killers and for me this makes it all the more exciting to be a part of.
The Rating:  Five out of five Bloody Hand Prints...highly recommended for fans of the sick.