Tuesday, April 4, 2017

The Violent Shit Collection: 5 Film Set


                                                                    By MrParka
                Synapse puts together a big box of shit for its fans, “The Violent Shit Collection: Five Film Collector’s Shitition”! This set includes the infamous German SOV splatter film series “Violent Shit”, “Violent Shit 2: Mother Hold My Hand”, “Violent Shit 3: Infantry of Doom”, and “Violent Shit 4.0: Karl the Butcher Vs Axe” also included is another splatter film from the director, “Zombie 90: Extreme Pestilence.” The director Andreas Schnaas has become one of the biggest names in the German Splatter world and for good reason, what he lacks in storytelling and finesse he makes up for in effects and bloodshed.
                 The first film of the series was released in 1989 eloquently entitled “Violent Shit” it starts off simple enough; a mental patient with a sordid childhood escapes and makes his way into the wilderness disemboweling and mutilating anyone he comes in contact with. Our killer seems to have an insatiable bloodlust and, in between the dozens of murders, has encounters with Satan, Jesus, and even manages to give birth via Immaculate Conception.  The dialogue is silly and painfully wretched; so much it becomes apparent that Andreas Schnaas is in on the joke.  The characters are worthless and are only there to die and even in its short running time it manages to stop for long periods of time just to introduce these random characters who will die minutes later. The film itself doesn’t look good, being that it was shot on video and poorly at that, but at least the aesthetic manages to help the films strong point… you guessed it, the gore. The effects are very cheap but abundant and at times clever.  It makes it hard to not acknowledge them.  All the staples of nasty splatter films are included such as genital mutilation, hacking, slashing, and disemboweling. So make sure you shut your brain off for this entry.
                “Violent Shit 2: Mother Hold My Hand” follows the story of Karl the Butcher’s son who, with the help of his mother, begins his spree of murder and mayhem. “Violent Shit 2” manages to improve on everything from the first film; the set pieces, body count, and the gore is bigger and better.  A healthy amount of action is also incorporated into the story, keeping the pace a little bit more tolerable. “Violent Shit 2” has elements of crime and strange karate fight scenes which sets the tone for the whole film. A boring journalism angle ends up trying to tie the film together, but is mostly used for info dumps and padding; these scenes are the weakest of the film. When V2 gets its stride going, Karl Jr. seems to stumble from massacre to massacre, spouting off one-liners as he hooks testicles and ravages innocent morons, all done to the pleasure of his incestuous mother. V2 soon gets to an insane pace where our masked madman enters a construction site and happily kills a group of men who can’t seem to get out of the mud fast enough. The film comes to a violent end in a porn theater where squibs and splatter fill the screen in crummy detail.
                “Violent Shit 3: Infantry of Doom” starts out with an unlucky trio of vacationers who end up washing ashore on an island that is ruled by Karl the Butcher and his ruthless army of goons and zombies. Quickly, one of our vacationers is dispatched, leaving our survivors to team up with an exiled soldier; the trio is then hunted mercilessly by the aforementioned forces. “Violent Shit 3: Infantry of Doom” is an insane romp mixing kung fu, zombies, and war films into one demented, gory, cheesy, ride that leaves you wanting to applaud and scratch your head at the same time.  The fight scenes are a blast with some inventive kills including a decapitated head with a blade sticking out of it spinning into someone’s back. When the grotesque Fulci like zombies appear a Fabio Frizzi type song sneaks into the soundtrack setting the stage for another bloodbath. By the end of the movie any gore fan will be satisfied, making the 3rd of the series the biggest and very best.
                “Violent Shit 4.0: Karl the Butcher VS Axe” is set in the post-apocalyptic world where the sectors are divided between the gangs. Karl the Butcher is released from hell to kill a new threat, Axe. Soon enough the duo team up and decide to kill everyone else. We are given tons of exposition and the introductions of over the top characters, most of which don’t do much but die. Although Andreas is still having fun making the film, it doesn’t translate to the audience like parts 2 and 3 did so well. The first of the series to be spoken in English, it makes the lousy performances cringe worthy. It becomes embarrassing for the audience to watch and, unlike the shoddy yet funny introductions of cannon fodder in the previous films, these characters seem like they are bad Tarantino rip offs without any acting chops. A little blame can be put on the fact that the performers are not speaking their native tongue. The end of the film sports an all-out war with everyone who is still standing and, although it has moments of great gore and silliness, it also features poorly done digital effects. All and all it’s a shame to see the series go out on a low note after the steady climb it had. This title is the only one with special features, included are a teaser, trailer, premier footage (concert), and some behind the scenes.
                The final film in the set is Andreas Schnaas second film “Zombie 90’: Extreme Pestilence” in its comedic dubbed version.  The story in “Zombie 90” is pretty thin; it follows a pair of scientists who attempt to stop a zombie outbreak. The gore in this one seems a step down from the previous aforementioned Violent Shit and the dubbing is so over the top and stupid that a second grader would have trouble at finding the humor in it. All and all it is amateur film making with a couple inspired gore moments that can’t justify watching it, even with its short runtime. Worth mentioning is an ending ripped directly from Fulci's “Zombie” as the living dead wander across a bridge. To accompany this shot is some narration, a bastardization of the iconic “Dawn of the Dead” quote. In “Zombie 90” it reads. “When the sun goes down and the dead walk, there will be no tomorrow.”

                Surprisingly all the films are presented in widescreen which might be jarring for fans of some of the early films as they are not present in their OAR.  Anyone that does manage to stumble onto this set that isn’t aware of SOV will most likely junk it, but those hardcore gore and SOV fans will find it well worth checking out. Violent Shit 2 and 3 are well worth the price of admission alone.


Information and Video Review Below

https://www.amazon.com/Violent-Shit-Collection-Andreas-Schnaas/dp/B06VT1XR2T/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491334588&sr=8-1&keywords=violent+shit

http://www.cavd.com/product.php?productid=2774

https://www.amazon.com/Violent-Shit-Collection-Andreas-Schnaas/dp/B06VT1XR2T/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491165131&sr=8-1&keywords=violent+shit

Plot Summary:
In 1980s Germany, horror film censorship was a huge problem. The government rarely let classic horror films pass without severe cuts when they were released on home video. To combat this unfortunate situation many German horror fans scraped together a few bucks, rented video cameras & created their own ultra-violent, gory, splatter films. Arguably the most famous of these micro-budget German gorefests are the VIOLENT SHIT films from director Andreas Schnaas. Shot on standard definition video cameras, these films are a sight to behold. Although they are amateurishly made, choppily edited & loaded with ridiculous low-budget gore, these films have an undeniably offensive charm that has kept horror fans entertained for over 25 years!

Synapse is proud to present the original VIOLENT SHIT trilogy, along with 2010’s VIOLENT SHIT 4.0: KARL THE BUTCHER VS. AXE on DVD for the first time in North America, now completely remastered by the original owners. Includes the crazy English language dub version of ZOMBIE ’90: EXTREME PESTILENCE on a Bonus DVD with liner notes & additional VIOLENT SHIT 4.0 Bonus Features.

Special Features:

- The first three VIOLENT SHIT films, remastered by the original owners, plus VIOLENT SHIT 4.0: KARL THE BUTCHER VS. AXE
- Liner notes from Ted Geoghegan (Screenwriter of NIKOS THE IMPALER, & Writer/Director of WE ARE STILL HERE)
- Special BONUS DVD, including the English dub version of ZOMBIE ’90: EXTREME PESTILENCE & VIOLENT SHIT 4.0: KARL THE BUTCHER VS. AXE
- Trailers

VIOLENT SHIT
The legend of K. the Butcher Shitter is born in this German DIY video roughie, shot on the low-fi Video-8 format. A demented killer escapes the police & leaves a trail of blood & gore in his wake. Newly re-mastered by the film’s original producer.
Anamorphic (1.78:1) Widescreen - Dolby Digital German 2.0 Stereo - Subtitles: English (Optional) 73 Mins.

VIOLENT SHIT II: MOTHER HOLD MY HAND
Set twenty years after the original film, Karl the Butcher Jr. continues his late father’s legacy. After receiving a machete as a birthday gift from his mother, Karl Jr. turns into a maniacal killer slashing, chopping, shooting & disemboweling his way through the German countryside. Newly re-mastered by the film’s original producer. Anamorphic (2.35:1) Widescreen - Dolby Digital German 2.0 Stereo - Subtitles: English (Optional) 74 Mins.

VIOLENT SHIT III: INFANTRY OF DOOM (aka ZOMBIE DOOM)
A group of friends get lost at sea & land on a remote island, but they are not alone! Captured by Karl the Butcher Jr. & his father, these men are subjected to a sadistic version of The Most Dangerous Game brought on by the Butcher Shitters and their army of metal-masked killers! Newly re-mastered by the film’s original producer.
Anamorphic (2.35:1) Widescreen - Dolby Digital German 2.0 Stereo - Subtitles: English (Optional) - 79 Mins.

VIOLENT SHIT 4.0: KARL THE BUTCHER VS. AXE
The year is 2023, & the world has become a desolate wasteland with gangs taking over the streets. Karl the Butcher Jr. returns from the bowels of Hell, on a mission to kill a new mass murderer named Axe. Original English Language Version.
Anamorphic (1.78:1) Widescreen - Dolby Digital English 2.0 Stereo – 78 Mins.

BONUS FEATURE: ZOMBIE ’90: EXTREME PESTILENCE
Shot for a reported $2000 between the filming of VIOLENT SHIT 1 & 2, ZOMBIE ’90: EXTREME PESTILENCE follows two bumbling doctors as they investigate a zombie outbreak. After a military plane crash releases strange chemicals into the German countryside, the dead rise to attack the living! Can they be stopped? Transferred from an original PAL 1” master given to us by Cinematographer Steve Aquilina.
Full-Frame (1.33:1) - Dolby Digital English 2.0 Stereo – 76 Mins.



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