Live Undead (1991)

Live Undead (1991) - United States

Directed by: Mark Demise

ABOUT THE FILM:

As much as I love German splatter, sometimes I like to kick back and put on a good ol' shot-on-video crapfest. Today's subject is Live Undead, a short film from independent filmmaker/musician Mark Demise.

Live Undead tells the story of two teenage misfits who commit suicide together after being faced with the many troubles of life. They are later resurrected by their friend who happens to be a spawn of Satan, who then appoints them to go on a killing rampage to get revenge on those who have troubled them, resulting in a fun 22-minute lo-fi gory romp.

REVIEW:

Live Undead is a literal backyard production. Mark Demise made it with a bunch of his friends from school in early 1991, when they were only in the 8th grade. For such a movie made by kids, this one was a lot of fun, with hilariously bad acting and lovably cheap gore effects. You get such goodies as kills with lawnmowers, pickaxes, hedge-clipper castrations, fog machines galore, "demons" donning black metal-esque corpsepaint and satanic rituals. The soundtrack is comprised of stolen hard rock and metal tracks, namely from Megadeth, Slayer and King Diamond. 

Live Undead is the perfect example of a movie made by kids. This movie is not pretentious and doesn't exist to tell some great message. It was made by kids for fun, to entertain no one but themselves, although nowadays, a title like this could largely appeal to fans of zero-budget schlock. According to Mr. Demise, when he would make films in middle school, him and his friends would sneak the tapes to school and watch them on the TVs in gym class, which is part of the teenage movie-making spirit. When I made movies in middle-school, I used to make copies and swap them around to all of my friends. I would also screen them at school at any given opportunity.

Live Undead is far, far, far from being a masterpiece, but it's just a lot of fun and I can certainly recommend it to fans of shot-on-video schlock.

RELEASES: 

-The film was released on VHS under Mark's label Atomic Crypt Video and can be ordered directly from him here. The only extra is a trailer for a lost Mark Demise film called 7th Grade Slasher.

Zombie Attack (1990)

Zombie Attack (1990) - Germany

Directed by: André Götz

ABOUT THE FILM:

The early 1990s was a special time for amateur horror in Germany. Around that time, there were countless titles that were popping out of the bowels of the underground splatter scene. But one that never stood out in the crowd was filmmaker André Götz's Zombie Attack.

This is as typical as a zombie film can get. A hitchhiker unknowingly hitches a ride with a violent maniac who tortures him and leaves him for dead in the woods, where he soon turns into a zombie after someone pours beer over the burial spot. Over the course of the movie it's discovered that the dead are being brought back to life through contact with alcohol, and then things go awry as they always do in these types of movies.

REVIEW:

Out of all the films I will ever review in this blog, this one is by far the most rare and hidden title I have managed to find. It goes without saying there's a plethora of other titles out there that have yet to even be discovered, but Zombie Attack is a very obscure film that, similar to Attack of the Christian Zombies, is shrouded in mystery. The key difference is at least the maker of Christian Zombies went on to make new works, whereas it doesn't appear as though Mr. Götz ever worked in film again. As far as I know, only 3 other people have or had copies of this one. The director can not be gotten a hold of online, there is no cover available, the VHS is impossible to find, and even bootleg DVDs are hard to come by.

Is the hunt worth it? Well...

Whereas the plot is kinda silly, it is clear that a lot of heart went into making this film. The actors, while unconvincing, are at least earnest and are clearly having fun making the movie. Despite the horrendous picture quality, with the image consistently rolling up the screen and dropping out, the camera work is acceptable. Most shots are stationary and focus well on the carnage. The special effects are mostly very cheap, but inventive. Aside from the zombie make-up (caked-on powder?), there was clearly some heart in the effects. The blood sprays in a consistently over-the-top manner, and some of the effects are done well, with the most notable effect being a character getting their arm sawed off. They proceed to stumble around and we actually get to see the arm still moving and twitching as it lays on the table. The best moment in the movie has to be when a character kills a zombie with a Walkman radio, by hastily shoving the headset onto the zombie's ears and playing the worst possible song. 

The biggest downside is how rare the film is. Because of its rarity, we are currently stuck with this crappy, damaged and worn-out VHS rip of the movie, and it seems as though this is the best we will ever get. Frankly, when faced with something this obscure, one would understandably doubt a good copy would even exist. The only way I can recommend this is if you are an enthusiast in rare cinema or are a die-hard fan of amateur horror like me. In that case, the hunt might be worth it.

RELEASES:

-It is unknown if this film was ever released properly, as there is neither any information about a release or even an image of the video box cover. Personally, I'm assuming that whatever copies were ever made were copies of copies of the master tape. And like I said, even bootleg DVDs are difficult to get.

Hopefully one day, if he's still alive, André Götz can re-release this film.

UPDATE (9-16-2020):

I found and bought a bootleg DVD of the movie released by a German label called Rare Cinema that someone in Sweden was selling. It's possible that this version of the movie is in color and might be of (even slightly) better quality.

UPDATE (12-29-2020):

The DVD from Sweden came in and it was certainly in color! Now, the quality still sucks, but I managed to get a few screenshots:

Attack of the Christian Zombies (2000)

Attack of the Christian Zombies (2000) - Germany

Directed by: Patrick Woikowski

(Note: This review has been modified from its original state and features better quality screenshots.)

ABOUT THE FILM:

Attack of the Christian Zombies is a 12 minute short film that was made in the infancy of Henker Productions, when the creators were young (teenagers, reportedly).

Being so short, there isn't a massive plot present. But from what I can tell, it's basically about a group of Christian zombies who attack these metalhead teens donning spiky, Slipknot-esque masks as they crucify one of their friends in a dilapidated, run-down house, and then a series of very cheap and splattery deaths ensues.

REVIEW:

In an early version of this review I mentioned that I didn't have a PAL or multi-region VCR, which ultimately hindered the movie-watching experience for me. The image was so hazy, blurry and fucked up that most of the time it was impossible to see or hear what was happening. Thankfully I finally managed to get a PAL VCR for a decent price and got to watch the short properly. But at the same time, that horrible picture quality from before hand made the experience much more interesting. It felt like some lost homemade snuff movie no one was meant to watch. So what changed?

Well.. one thing sure hasn't changed from my original review. It really is still just silly amateur splatter trash. The film starts with some kid pissing blood into a toilet, only to collapse on the floor after. Then we cut to see someone's hand missing as blood spurts out of the stump. Then one of the kids walks into the other room to reveal someone crucified, and then stabs them in the leg with a knife. Then... well, something happens and then zombies! Quality storytelling.

There's no point in trying to seriously review this movie because it is basically just young kids messing around with a camcorder and some cheap gore effects. The effects, while not great, are a lot of fun and quite funny at times. As someone will be hacking at a zombie with an axe, you can just barely make out someone off camera squirting fake blood onto the corpse. It's cheap, it's grimy, it's short and it's fun!

I would recommend this, but unfortunately it's incredibly tough to find. Hell, I was lucky to even get a copy of it. For a long time, the film was actually considered lost, with zero trace or mention of it online, until it was finally found and released on VHS in 2018 with two other films from the creators.

RELEASES:

-The film was released in 2018 on VHS as part of a 3-movie collection called Henker Production: The Early Years, which featured three films from the early days of the studio:

    Der Henker (2003), low-budget slasher-splatter.

    Attack of the Christian Zombies (2000), short zombie splatter made by kids.

    Green Holocaust (2002), splatter short entirely animated with Legos.

This tape was strictly limited to 15 copies.

Der Henker 2 (2004)

Der Henker 2 (2004) - Germany

Directed by: Patrick Woikowski and Karsten Thomas

ABOUT THE FILM:

It's often expected that a sequel doesn't live up to the standards of the original movie. In the case of Der Henker 2 this is especially dubious, with the film's prequel in mind. The original may have been bad, and this film certainly isn't a step-up in terms of quality, but this film is actually vastly gorier and more entertaining than its predecessor!

This film proceeds where the last film left off, as our titular villain continues to embark on his gratuitously bloody rampage, slaughtering everyone from punks, to random bystanders, to the members of the band Cuntgrinder, all the while two people set out to try and stop him.

REVIEW:

As previously stated, this film is vastly more entertaining to watch than the previous outing in the series. The acting is still bad, but in that charming and entertaining manner. Despite having poor technical elements such as bad editing and sound design, the camera work is still good and even inventive at times. The special effects are still laughable at best, but at the very least, this film sports a whopping body count of 70 (?) people, with gallons of cheap "blood" spurting everywhere. Heads are lopped off and stabbed with scythes and axes, guts are ripped and torn out, bodies are sawed in two down the middle; Der Henker even utilizes a flail made with fucking baby heads for spike balls. If that isn't badass, then I don't know what is. And once again, this film does not take itself seriously in the slightest. If it did, it would've made itself a real chore to watch.

There isn't anything outstanding here in terms of story, but you'll be so busy laughing your ass off at the terrible special effects that you won't care. Overall, if you can look past all of its flaws and faults and just accept it for being the grandiose piece of trash it is, Der Henker 2 makes for a thoroughly entertaining 59 minutes.

Even more exciting, a third (and final?) installment in the series is slated to be released later this year! 

RELEASES:

 -Similar to the original, this film was also self-released on Video-CD by Henker Productions in 2004, with a cheap, photocopied black and white cover.

-The film was later re-released in 2014 by Henker Productions and Cyberpunk Kaiju Experimentalworld as a double-bill with its prequel and a scant few extras. Extras include optional English subtitles, deleted scenes, a music video for Kadaverficker's Putrefied Stench and Gore, and the original DVD Trailer.

Der Henker (2003)

Der Henker (2003) - Germany

Directed by: Patrick Woikowski and Karsten Thomas

ABOUT THE FILM:

This film is essentially the Swabian equivalent to Violent Shit, but made with a fraction of the original's already low budget. A mentally ill man who was verbally abused as a child by his mother escapes from prison and retreats to the Bavarian countryside, where he hacks up everyone within this path.

REVIEW:

Limbs fly and tomato soup- err, I mean, blood, gushes with every little cut, all presented with some of the cheapest "special" effects this side of amateur horror. The camera work is decent enough, for an amateur production. The acting is abysmal, but in a charming and laughable manner. It's clear they at least had some fun with this one. As awful as this film is, it's self-deprecating, doesn't take itself too seriously and embraces its awfulness.

If you can find Der Henker, I'd recommend watching it with friends. It'll get some laughs out of you.

RELEASES:

-This film was originally released as a stand-alone title in 2003 on a Video-CD by Henker Productions, with a hand-drawn and hand-written cover.

-The film was later re-released in 2014 by Henker Productions and Cyberpunk Kaiju Experimentalworld as a double-bill with its sequel and a scant few extras. Extras include optional English subtitles, deleted scenes, a music video for Kadaverficker's Putrefied Stench and Gore, and the original DVD Trailer.