The Wizard Of Gore Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
What are you afraid of?
Montag the Magnificent (Glover) is a master illusionist who performs at underground venues, selecting female volunteers from his rave-like audiences. To their hysteria, it appears he's dismembered their bodies, but his sleigh of hand has fooled them. However, female bodies show up dead from the same wounds performed on stage. Investigators are baffled, and the chase to find the killer begins.
| Kip Pardue | Edmund Bigelow |
| Bijou Phillips | Maggie |
| Crispin Glover | Montag the Magnificent |
| Jeffrey Combs | The Geek |
| Brad Dourif | Dr. Chong |
| Joshua John Miller | Jinky |
| Garz Chan | Annie |
| Tim Chiou | Chinese Mickey |
| Evan Seinfeld | Frank |
| Flux Suicide | Dell |
| Amina Munster | Cecelia |
| Cricket Suicide | Cayenne |
| Nixon Suicide | Rexina |
| Kenneth Moskow | Detective Packard |
| Shannon Hart Cleary | News Reporter |
| Jeremy Kasten |
5.30 out of 10 (1045 votes)
Visitor Reviews
The Wizard of Gore
posted on 26 Jul 2009Complex mindscrew following an underground newspaper journalist(..who authors the Cacophony Gazette)whose life is turned upside down when he visits(..supposedly)a flamboyant magician, Montag the Magnificent's gore-themed magic show which repels the audience with a(..supposedly)staged murder, through a chosen planted female assistant in the audience. Kip Pardue is Ed Bigelow, the writer who always dressed in suits and fedora hat as if he belonged in a Bogart movie, finding that his reality could very well be an illusion created by the drug tetrotoxin, planted on his hands thanks to Montag's handshake. He discovers that Montag's assistants are all chosen through the service of supplier Dr. Chong(Brad Dourif)winding up dead the night after their tour of duty for his live act. Ed utilizes the services of his pal, "Jinky"(Joshua Miller;Near Dark, The River's Edge), a coroner, in helping to establish Montag's use of a drug to possibly trick his audience in believing that they're seeing a live murder, quite an illusionist trick, while also hoping to indict him with their actual killings. But, what Ed soon discovers is that perhaps his whole life has become an illusion, the tetrotoxin creating a existence of constant disorientation and the impulse to attack those who provoke a negative response. We watch throughout the movie as Ed begins to breath into a paper bag as if hyperventilating, with bones cracking/popping due to the excessive abuse of tetrotoxin which is coursing through his body. Bijou Phillips is Ed's "girlfriend", Maggie who might or might not have been a whore working for Dr. Chong. Jeffrey Combs is Montag's "opening act", a filthy alley-cat who eats maggots and bites off rat heads as a means for sickening the audience in preparation for the really nasty stuff to come afterward.I was excited when I rented this just because Crispin Glover was in it, as the magician who seems to be actually killing those he performs fake murders on stage. As expected(..with my hopes fulfilled), Glover brings his glorious weirdness to the film, creating such a strange stage performer in the magician, Montag. This isn't his film, unfortunately, as Pardue gets the lead as the very confused and befuddled reporter who may be used as a pawn in Montag's games of illusion. Dourif, well, is Dourif, creating a manic "salesman" who treats clientèle to whores and drugs. Wild-eyed and temperamental, Dourif provides us with yet another memorable character. Combs hides underneath scraggly hair, beard, and tattered clothes, quite an accurate depiction of a homeless nut-case willing to go the extra mile to put on a performance which would make an audience gag. Miller is a far cry from that annoying brat with an attitude we remember from THE RIVER'S EDGE(..also starring Glover). Sporting a beard and curly locks, tossing witty liners often hurled at Ed, he is much more mild-tempered than the kid who used to clash with those around him. The film mostly features CGI gore(..and even this is shown from a distance probably to be on the safe side as to not expose the special effects)when Glover performs his grisly stage acts on female victims(..the film proudly proclaims that the Suicide Girls perform the demanding tasks of standing on stage naked as Montag mistreats/humiliates them). The story is demanding and will require patient viewers willing to go the extra mile until everything falls into place with a satisfying(..to me, anyway)finale when we get answers to a lot of head-scratching scenarios which present themselves as Pardue's "hero" wishes to expose Montag for the criminal he is. But, Dourif's "connections" with Glover's Montag regarding his "girls" also plays a major part in the grand scheme of things. Pieces to a puzzle come to fruition as the bizarre plot continues to the end. Clever, but difficult, this remake of HGL's notorious gore film will probably alienate some while others might find it rewarding due to it's challenging story.
Certainly one of the better modern remakes!
posted on 26 Jun 2009Horror remakes are generally lamented by lovers of the genre, and for good reason - as not only are the majority of them lame and uninspired, but there's also the fact that we simply don't need new versions of perfect films such as The Omen and Dawn of the Dead. But that is not such the case with Herschell Gordon Lewis' oeuvre, as while many of his films were entertainingly bloody, they also wouldn't be considered perfect. 1970's The Wizard of Gore was certainly one of the director's most promising features given the plot line - but unfortunately the resulting film was not so impressive. The plot here focuses on Edmund Bigelow; a reporter who becomes entranced by the stage shows of Montag the Magnificent; a magician who as part of his act selects girls from the audience and proceeds to butcher them on stage - only for them to appear intact at the end of the show. However, the magician's tricks take a more sinister turn when several of the girls used in the show turn up dead in mysterious circumstances and our lead character begins to question his own sanity.This film is really just a remake in title only as while the plot is similar to the earlier version; here it's expanded on so much to the point where the two are unrecognisable. Indeed, I would even say that the film takes more influence from modern day magic films such as The Prestige and The Illusionist. It has to be said that the film is not completely perfect as the plot gets a little too complicated after a while and we soon get the point where explaining everything that is happening is simply not possible. However, it's all carried off with such a great style and so long as the plot is faintly coherent, it's easy to enjoy the film for its style which encompasses a supremely macabre atmosphere and some great grisly death scenes (although sadly, HG's completely over the top blood scenes are lost). The cast is impressive with Crispin Glover giving a whirlwind performance as the central magician; his dialogues are a real highlight. He gets good support from the likes of Jeffrey Combs (in a role that is far too small and insignificant!) and Brad Dourif. Kip Pardue makes for a good lead also. Overall, this may not be great modern film-making; but it's very decent for a remake and is at least worth a look.
The Original Reigns Supreme
posted on 21 Apr 2009This film wasn't awful, nor was it very good, but I guess I was entertained for the most part. Ultimately, it's too dramatic and it seems that the creators forgot what film they were remaking. Sure, the original Wizard of Gore was horribly produced and a sad excuse for a film, but it was a lot of fun. This remake is missing any form of fun and in the end seems like its main influence is not the original film, but rather neo-horror films like Saw and Hostel. It's a shame.The acting was OK, Kip Pardue isn't terrible but he's also pretty bland. I really like Jeffrey Combs, Crispin Glover and Brad Dourif, but I HATE Bijou Phillips. What a pretentious, talentless skank. The story was what really made this movie fall apart in my mind. It tries far too hard to be complex and interesting but turns out boring and predictable. I really wish people would just try to make their own movies instead of cashing in on remaking a film that didn't need to be remade.See this movie if you want. Don't expect an astonishing vision of HGL's film. All this is is a worse film with a bigger budget.
Not too bad
posted on 15 Apr 2009"The Wizard of Gore" is a remake of a 1970 movie of the same name by Herschell Gordon Lewis. I am a fan of HGL's films (Two Thousand Maniacs, Blood Feast, The Blast Off Girls ) but have never seen the original "Wizard of Gore", so this review is on its own merits, and not a comparison between the two films.The story is about a reporter named "Ed". Ed works for a small indie paper in modern day L. A., and he also has a habit of huffing chemicals in a paper bag to help him relax One day he and his girlfriend stumble upon a weird street carnival. At this carnival, they are handed a card by a "circus geek" (Jeffery Combs) advertising a show performed by "The Wizard of Gore," otherwise known as 'Montag the Magnificent' (played by an over-the-top-as-usual Crispin Glover) They go into the show, and watch the geek eat live maggots, then bite the head off a rat. Then Montag comes on stage, dressed in a full white tuxedo (and a surprisingly large codpiece underneath). He swallows a fluorescent lightbulb, and breaks it off . Then Montag bleeds through his tux, and wipes it clean. Thenhe calls out a young woman that is trying to leave, and implores her to come on stage. Montag then proceeds to cut the woman open, and pull her entrails out. The lights flicker, and she is seemingly fine, no scratches or scars anywhere.The next night, Ed and his girlfriend go back. This time they watch as a woman is called on stage, where she has bear traps thrown on her. they take off her arm, leg, and finally her head. Lights go out again, and she is fine and dandy.Next day, the two women are found dead of the same wounds that were inflicted upon them on stage. "Jinky," Ed's friend with the coroner's department notes that the corpses had traces of a toxin on them that leaves the mind open to suggestion.Ed heads to a local herbal remedy shop where Chong (no, not that Chong.. This guy is played by Brad "Chukcy" Douriff) mentions that a magician came in looking for mass quantities of the drug, as well as some 'participants' for his show, but before he knew it, the magician used the toxin on him, and placed the suggestion in Chong that he had paid, when he didn't.At this point, Ed starts suffering delusions as to what has and hasn't happened. He keeps having delusions the he's the one actually killing the victims.Another woman is barbecued on stage, and then appears unscathed. Ed has a delusion that he follows the chick home and sets her on fire. Ed wakes up in bed. Next day the woman is found dead, with no apparent fire at the crime scene.The girlfriend and Jinky join Ed to the show, and record it. Jinky says that Montag is spreading the toxin in the "meet and greet" session just before the show. As Jinky tells Ed this, Montag announces "Some people should remain quiet", shoves a towel down Jinky's throat, and pulls his entrails out through his mouth. Jinky tries to show Ed a DVD that was retrieved from the crime scene of the bbq-ed chick. Ed has a connection to all this after all.The next night, Ed and his girlfriend attend the show, and the girlfriend is called on stage as Montage says "Sometimes the illusion begins far before the show does!". Montag wraps her up in a sheet, and plunges swords into her. That night, the girlfriend tries to help Ed figure out what is happening to him. She wants to know what Ed's been huffing on all this time. She gets the bag from him and discovers... Well, we don't know, but I bet you can figure it out.Not gonna reveal the rest of the movie here. But let me tell you it is bloody confusing at times.So, pros and consPROS:Crispin Glover The Suicide Girls -- NUDE! Brad Douriff Lots and lots of gore!CONS:Can be very confusing at times Acting is just OK. Crispins Glover's very distracting codpiece Almost every scene is shot at an angle. I thought I was in the Joker's hideout. You know you're in a delusion scene because of the electric sparks, and what appears to be a Matrix-like effect that kinda ruins the effect.Would I recommend it? Yes.3 stars of 4
An irritating assault on the senses
posted on 01 Apr 2009I recently saw the Herchell original and it holds some mild fascination and is camp as hell but it wasn't really good except in an early John Waters style OTT sort of way. With the advances in SFX technology, it should be easy to make a remake of higher quality and better gore. No? Well compared to this turgid stool of a remake, the original is a masterpiece. What should have been an uber-gross-out popcorn remake turns out to be a navel-gazing, existential self-rimjob on... on... to be honest I haven't a fkn clue! Only watch this film if you can stomach a 'plot' with no focus, where you never know if the main character is awake or dreaming due to the fact that he keeps waking up in a cold sweat every five minutes covered in blood... and then... 5 seconds later - with no blood! Oh, so that was the dream? No wait, this is the dream! Or was that the dream before? Who gives a fk. What doesn't help is a plot with characters that have their own motives and actions but it's almost impossible to follow since it's always unclear which parts are real and which are imagined - and the direction is so poor you don't feel the film deserves the energy to unravel it all. Like Guy Ritchie's Revolver this is an absolute nightmare, and not in a good way. Crispin Glover is surprisingly bad in the titular role. His hair has been buffeted up into a bouffant so he resembles a church evangelist and it's a supremely annoying performance. Intead of trying to bring something new to the role (creepiness? / scares?), he seems happy to just mimic the campness of the original. And as for the SFX, the old version may have looked poor, but at least it didn't hide the crappy effects behind a smoky screen so you couldn't see anything that was happening like this film does! One day someone with give The Wizard of Gore the remake it deserves. This is not it!
Weak psychothriller marketed as horror movie
posted on 08 Feb 2009The movie starts with the main character Ed, who writes a zine, stumbling all covered in blood into an Asian massage parlor to drop of copies of his zine to his friend Chong. He will tell us how he got to this point.He and his girlfriend played by the lovely Bijou Phillips go to some party. There he's given an ad for a magic show. Out of boredom they decide to go. The magic show features an introductory act by an unrecognizable Jeffrey Combs doing something repulsive. The main act is Montag who'll have a girl from the audience (a Suicide Girl) come on stage. There he kills them brutally and gorily while delivering some social criticism to the audience. Once the audience is utterly horrified and disgusted, lights go on and the girl is intact.Ed, who is bored by society in general and his subculture of different people, is mesmerized by the show. He keeps going again and again, which gives us a chance to see Suicide Girls torn to pieces. But he also investigates what is going on. He notices that the girls and audience are hypnotized or under the influence. From Chong he finds out about a drug that can cause those effects, the same drug used to turn people into zombies in Haiti. He also notices that Montag makes sure to shake the hand of every audience member as they arrive to the show.Ed becomes more and more obsessed with the magician and his act. Eventually he finds out through a friend that the stage girls do actually end up dying at some point in ways similar to Montag's act. But Ed is also getting ill, he sweats, his bones crack, he's constantly breathing into a paper bag to calm him, but his friends think there's something else in the bag.From here the story is somewhat predictable, as Ed descends into madness and reality and fantasy are combined, or rather, try to separate from his mind. The story here though is rather convoluted, even though you know what's coming.This movie failed to engage me. It has a couple of good things going for it: plenty of story, some good acting, good gore, some nudity, all of which should add up to a pretty decent horror flick. There's an interesting sense of time, or rather lack of it. It has a noir vibe while also being contemporary. Ed is an interesting character, at first. Well dressed, well-spoken, sophisticated. Brad Dourif as Chong is excellent as always.And yet it doesn't work out. I don't like the look of the movie or the camera work. Everything looks dreamy, not sharp, everything is filmed at a distance and the camera often is not straight but at an angle. One can't identify or empathize with any character. It's very odd that Montag is not featured more prominently. This is a horror movie without a villain. And Montag while acted idiosyncratically, is not convincing. His monologues are delivered as speeches to himself not an audience. Ultimately the story is more convoluted than it needs to be, giving you nothing to look forward to. This is another instance of a horror movie degenerating into a weak psychothriller.
NOT your usual type of uninspired remake!
posted on 14 Dec 2008What a totally crazy (yet highly admirable) ambition to remake a Herschell Gordon Lewis film and actually add story depth, detailed character drawings, mystery and an atmosphere of morbidity! But it works. At least, … partially it works. Horror fanatics familiar with Lewis' oeuvre know that his films are entertaining and sensationally gross, but they always severely lacked in the plotting department. Of all Lewis' splatter films, "The Wizard of Gore", released in 1970, was definitely the one with the greatest potential and it's actually most unfortunate that the basic concept ideas weren't properly elaborated. Director Jeremy Kasten and writer Zach Chassler obviously must have felt the same way, as their remake cuts down on the gore (but luckily not to much) and attempts to give meaning and background to the whole idea of a maniacal magician. "The Wizard of Gore" is actually quite a unique oddity in the area of horror cinema nowadays! People always complain about the overload of needless remakes and modern directors' lack of own creativity (and they're right, too) but here's finally one remake that doesn't aspire to just bluntly copy the original, but to complete and perhaps even "improve" it. The result may not be entirely successful, but it's definitely a courageous approach and an overall enjoyable and recommended experience.This new version largely maintains the same plot as Lewis' original film. Montag the Magnificent is a thoroughly uncanny magician/illusionist who, along with his hermit assistant, tours around with a quite unique and nightmarish act. He butchers seemingly random girls from the audience live on stage, yet when the audience panics and tries to flee, the light go on and the victims are standing there back in one piece again. A young reporter quickly discovers that the girls turn up dead the next day after all and their corpses are damaged exactly like they appeared to be on stage. Severely against the will of his girlfriend, he becomes obsessed with Montag's show and becomes entangled into a web of surreal nightmares, primitive drugs, physical agony and mental deterioration. "The Wizard of Gore" is still a pretty incoherent mess in which a lot of twists make absolutely no sense and a lot of vital questions remain unanswered, but at least you get the impression that Kasten and Chassler put thought and effort into providing an explanation for the events, and that is already an accomplishment to itself. Especially given the entirely illogical mishmash of half-decent ideas Herschell Gordon Lewis left behind. Moreover, this 2007 version benefices from a supremely macabre atmosphere and all the decors and set pieces look very grim. The gore and splatter effects clearly can't hold a candle to those of the original (at least, when it comes of outrageousness), but still there's some excellent carnage on display. Gore, nudity, atmosphere and immensely creepy carnival music … These are all great elements that allow you to overlook the occasionally senseless subject matter. Another thing which makes "The Wizard of Gore" a must-see for horror fanatics is the presence of no less than three phenomenal genre veterans, namely Crispin Glover, Brad Dourif and Jeffrey Combs.
I prefer the original.
posted on 27 Oct 2008The Wizard of Gore is set in present day Los Angeles where Edmund Bigelow (Kip Pardue) publishes a small underground paper, always looking for the next big thing he decides to go to see a stage magician named Montag the Magnficent (Crispin Glover) after seeing an advertisement. Taking his girlfriend Maggie (Bijou Phillips) with him they are shocked & thrilled by Montag's performance & show in which he appears to rip the guts out of a stripper named Cayenne (Cricket Suicide) only for her to reappear moments later seemingly unharmed. Soon after Edmund hears a news report in which Cayneene's body has been found horribly mutilated & he makes the connection to Montag's show & start to investigate which results in mind bending hallucinations, drugs, mind control & a sinister plot as his life starts to fall apart as Edmund struggles to know the difference between reality & fantasy...Directed by Jeremy Kasten this is maybe a result of the recent spate of big budget Hollywood remakes of classic horror films such as Halloween (1978) & Friday the 13th (1980) & as such is a very loose remake of the low budget Herschell Gordon Lewis exploitation gore film The Wizard of Gore (1970) & I have to say I really wasn't that impressed with this confusing mess of a film. The original 170 The Wizard of Gore was a moderately effective exploitation film with some strong if fake looking gore & had a fairly simple & daft yet entertaining plot while the 2007 remake has a few flashes of gore which look more realistic but have less impact & are less frequent while the plot has been totally revamped & changed with Montag the Magnificent almost a secondary consideration as the script feels more like Naked Lunch (1991) with it's hallucinogenic & drug fuelled plot that gets very confused & has no big pay-off at the end either & the character of Edmund striking similarities to Peter Weller's character in Naked Lunch both visual & conceptual are not unnoticed. The script tries to set the events up as a mystery & some hallucinogenic drug plays a major role as the boundaries between fantasy & reality become blurred in some elaborate plan which just has the effect of the film going weird as you never really know what's going on & the script does a poor job of explaining itself as little resolved. The more I think about it the more the original The Wizard of Gore seems like a masterpiece compared to this.The 2007 The Wizard of Gore does actually look quite nice although it is set in the seedy sleazy underground world of the Los Angeles night life where everyone seems to have copious amounts of tattoo's, piercings & dress in fetish gear, unlike the 1970 The Wizard of Gore which was set very much in the real world the average person can relate too this one isn't. There's some style here with scenes mostly shot using neon lights although there are some seemingly random moments like the cross hatch grid that keeps flashing into view & distortion of background images for no apparent reason. I was disappointed with the gore here, most of Montag's tricks take place behind a literal smoke screen & little is seen, there's some blood splatter, a decapitation with a bear trap, some guts are pulled out, someone is burnt, someone is impaled on glass shards & rats heads are bitten off. One area where this one differs from the original is that there is lots of female nudity on show if that's your thing.Probably shot on a low budget this looks quite nice with decent production values & effects. The cast features some familiar faces including a barely recognisable Jeffrey Combs, Brad Douriff, the pretty Bijou Phillips with Crispin Glover as Montag in a really camp performance that makes the character just look silly rather than threatening or menacing.The Wizard of Gore is a low budget remake of a low budget film that didn't need or want a remake, in trying to make it substantially different it strays too far from the original's concepts & anyone who liked the original for what it was probably won't like this anywhere near as much.
Incredibly dull remake.
posted on 21 Oct 2008I'm not a fan of Herschell Gordon Lewis cheap gore films,but they are better than this CGI-gore laden remake.Amateur journalist Edmund Bigelow becomes obsessed with the gruesome onstage magic of Montag the Magnificent(Crispin Glover),who seems to violently murder his female volunteers before the audience's very eyes.Bigelow discovers that the women are turning up dead-days later-from their supposedly illusionary wounds.Extremely boring remake with unconvincing dialogue and terrible script.The death scenes are eerie and grotesque,however I must say that I hated the use of digital blood.At least the film features some full-frontal nudity by feminist Suicide Girls.Skip this one and watch the original from 1970.You will thank me later!
what a fabulous little masterpiece.
posted on 05 Jul 2008I just loved this film.It was an unexpected joy from beginning to end.Quirky, bizared, genuinely creepy and I would recommend it to everyone who enjoy the cinema of the perverse. And it doesn't come much quirkier than this.Kip Pardue and Crispin Glover are to "die for'! Funny, crazy, nightmarish and simply beautiful to look at.Very Argento is its use of colour.A min-masterpiece, maybe, but a masterpiece anyway.Jeremy Kasten is, probably, the U.S.'s greatest new Horror director's.The shades of colour leave the audience entranced and unnerved.It is a terrific film that I heartily recommend.
Bloody & weird remake.
posted on 29 Jun 2008Interesting & bloody horror remake of the 1970's H.G. LEWIS film (Thoiugh I've never seen it so I don't how close of to a remake it actually is) has KIP PARDUE playing a young man who along with his girlfriend is drawn to a show hosted by "the wizard of gore" (Played by the alway fun to watch CRISPIN GLOVER) who's on stage show consists of him brutally mutilating his female victims on stage in a series of sickening deaths, only to have them magically re-appear again on stage totally unharmed until after they leave the show, where they later turn up dead in the exact same manner they were killed on stage. As he investigates the killings, the young man finds himself plagued by ghastly nightmares, paranoia, fear & confusion & finally it drives him to murder or is he murdering people? is it all in his head? is the wizard himself killing? or does the wizard & his on stage death acts really exist? or is it the young man's own twisted fantasies & nightmares making it up? Again like I said, this film is supposed to be a remake of the H.G. LEWIS 1970 horror flick (Which I can't find anywhere!) & again I really can't tell how close of a remake it all actually is, but what I do know is that while the film has several key gross out moments (Gore fans will love this!) & an interesting theme, the film ultimately turns confusing as it goes on, with Crispin Glovers Wizard character only appearing on stage with the rest of the movie dedicated to showing how the hero's life is falling apart. The acting & directing is good though & the film is a cut above most horror outings, it just needed a bit of work in it's ending. As is, the film is worth a look for horror fans.*** stars
You're just floored because you like to see naked chicks.
posted on 27 Mar 2008Herschell Gordon Lewis who gave us the video nastie Blood Feast, and came back years later with a follow up, Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat, originally did this film in 1970.Jeremy Kasten gives us this remake with The Suicide Girls and Bijou Phillips (Hostel Part 2). Add in very good performances by Kip Pardue (Remember The Titans), Crispin Glover (Beowulf, Back to the Future), and Brad Dourif (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, "Deadwood") and you have a film worth watching.I like the cultish Suicide Girls, and I was mesmerized by the story which sometimes had my head spinning.I plan to see the original, and I want to see more Jeremy Kasten.
Utter, total, irredeemable garbage.
posted on 18 Feb 2008This film is a remake of the 1970 splatter classic, "Wizard of Gore", sometimes titled "The Mad Magician". It wasn't a very good film, but it takes on a new luster compared to this garbage.The plot is that a magician is doing a show where he apparently dismembers volunteers from the audience, who later turn up dead from the same injuries they suffered on stage. IN the 1970 version, it was inept police officers trying to catch the magician in the act, with no attempt to logically explain HOW such a thing could occur. This film involves a Matt Drugde wannabee, who investigates the deaths while having a sneaking suspicion he's causing them.This movie attempts some convoluted explanation about psychotropic drugs and a plot to dominate the valued stripper market. (The fact that all the victims are strippers makes them even less valued, thus increasing the misogyny factor.) The truly sad part about this effort is that GOOD actors- Jeffrey Combs (not recognizable under the makeup) and Brad Douriff, are involved.
A solid cast can't save weak story-telling and bad film-making.
posted on 27 Jan 2008Kip Pardue, Bijou Phillips, Crispin Glover, Brad Dourif and The Suicide Girls (!) star in the 2007 remake of "The Wizard Of Gore" as directed by Jeremy Kasten. While the box-art seems enticing – an intense Glover beckons you to join him amidst scantily clad females – the movie itself is rather flat and self-indulgent. Glover plays Motag The Magnificent, a bizarre magician who is fond of dismembering and torturing his volunteers to horrified audiences on a nightly basis. It's all fun and games in the crowd's eye, as each would-be victim emerges unharmed. However, when a young reporter by the name of Edmund Bigelow (Pardue) catches onto some crazy coincidences – namely, the participants turning up dead the next day in a fashion similar to their staged fate – the line between his reality and Montag's stage-show is blurred. Is Bigelow somehow responsible for their fates? Is Montag playing a game with him that he doesn't know about? Or is it all just a side-effect of some mind-expanding drugs?Kasten (whose previous credits are as thin as the movie's plot itself) tries to juice up a weak story with a bit of visual flare, but unfortunately wacky camera angles and color filters can't hide the lack of substance. The film is almost redeemed by its strong cast, though. Brad Dourif plays a creep well, and it serves his role appropriately. Following up "Hostel II," Bijou Phillips turns in one of her more likable roles, but it is Glover who truly steals the show. With his hilariously over-sized codpiece and Conan O'Brien-from-Hell hairstyle, it's hard to imagine he didn't know he was involved in a train-wreck, but he makes the best of things, hamming it up and his scenes are the best the film gets. Genre fans will appreciate some of the creative death scenes, although, the way they are presented (with some truly obvious and offensive CGI) kills any effectiveness whatsoever. The biggest problem, though, is the air of self-importance this film carries, especially considering how weak the story is. The bad attempt at mind-games – especially in the final act – kills any sense of enjoyment and strips the movie of at least earning the label of "enjoyable B-movie." Too pretentious for its own good and too nonsensical for what it attempts, "The Wizard Of Gore" is a messy failure, at best.At one point – somewhere in the final act – my wife turned to me and asked me if I "get this movie." The answer was "I think so," but the real question should have been "Are you enjoying it?" to which I would have answered a solid "no." "The Wizard Of Gore" doesn't have much to offer. It may confuse you into thinking it is actually a smart movie, but nothing could be further from the truth. The film is too amateurish to be convincing (think late-night HBO/Cinemax fare) and too pretentious to be enjoyed on the most basic level. I personally can't comment on how it compares to the original movie as I've never seen it, but that is irrelevant, since the movie – on its own merits – is one sorry piece of work.
style striving for substance
posted on 01 Jan 2008this was an ambitious movie that I did like but was plagued by a few flaws. I haven't seen the original but from what I've read this version tries to put a solid story where there wasn't much of one to start with, and it almost succeeds right till the very end where it gets lost, or more importantly it lost me. Afterward I wondered if that was actually a flaw since the whole confusing paranoid vibe of the movie was actually one of its strong points, that whole drugged up not know quite what's going on thing.The movie did try to explain everything though and maybe that's where it failed, because it didn't make sense, or because it shouldn't have tried, either way it left an uneasy feeling where the journey to it had been kinda fun.I thought crispen glover was either good or bad, if that makes sense. he had the required degree of creep about him, but he also seemed to be channeling a little of marty mcfly, luckily not so much that it threw off the movie.I kinda liked kip pardue, at first he was over stylised but then I began to like the predicament of his character being all into his retro style and then needing to watch a DVD couldn't cos his retro pad didn't have anything that could play it, a knowing poke at a thousand to arty for their own good scenesters.The punk chic of the suicide girls and the hip arts scene reeked a bit but viewed in a b movie way it almost worked, sort of,...The great points were the music, the editing and the camera work, all skillfully and creatively applied, and really up the stakes and perhaps the expectations for this movie. I think the team that made this movie are going to go on to do great things, a good effort people.
Gory illusion and much confusion.
posted on 30 Dec 2007The Wizard of Gore (2007), a remake of H. G. Lewis's 1970 splatter classic, is an extremely messy film, although not necessarily in the way one might expect. Whilst this version still offers viewers a fairly impressive level of on-screen carnage, the real butchery occurs in the narrative: in an attempt to add some kind of meaning to Lewis's rather slight original plot, the makers of this film have turned the story into a surreal, and very confusing hodgepodge of half-baked ideas. In fact, just like one of the film's victims, it's all over the place.Crispin Glover plays macabre magician Montag the Magnificent, whose unusual carnival show involves inviting a member of the audience on to the stage and then killing them in an extremely gory manner. This naturally freaks out the audience, but, just as they turn to leave in disgust and fear, Montag reveals the 'victim' to be very much alive.Spectator Edmund Bigelow (Kip Pardue), a journalist for a small underground newspaper, is intrigued by the bloody illusion that he witnesses, and returns to see the show night after night in an attempt to discover the secret behind the trick. However, when the girls that appear to die on stage actually begin to turn up dead in reality, Edmund is plunged into a nightmarish world of dismemberment, psychotropic drugs, and deceit from which he cannot escape.Although director Jeremy Kasten's unusual approach at first seems to be paying off, delivering some truly weird sequences and a genuinely disturbing atmosphere, as the film progresses, he eventually loses control over proceedings and the film becomes something of an unfathomable disaster. Glover does what Glover does best—act bloody strange—which is perfect for his part, and he is ably supported by a great cast which includes cult actor Joshua Miller, and horror favourites Jeffrey Combs and Brad Dourif. However, with such a difficult to follow plot, not even their presence can save The Wizard of Gore from failure (hell, even loads of nasty deaths with graphic splatter and full frontal female nudity don't stop this one from being a disappointment).
A bloody mess.
posted on 02 Aug 2007This remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis' 1970 gore feature directed by Jeremy Kasten is dark and a vision of bloody mayhem. Montag the Magnificent(Crispin Glover)is a master of illusion who performs at rave-like venues. He uses females from the audience to participate in his act. These luscious ladies are disemboweled, dismembered right in front of the audience only to miraculously reappear untouched. Montag's slight of hand has fooled everyone. Or has he? An underground reporter Edmund Bigelow(Kip Pardue)realizes that these woman are later found murdered with the same wounds they endured during the staged performance. Although Edmund is fascinated with Montag, he also would like to prove him responsible for the murders. Edmund's girlfriend Maggie(Bijou Phillips)feels he is in way over his head. It is a bloody mess and it won't be getting any better.This movie is neither exciting or even that entertaining. Glover is absolutely solid as Montag. Yes, it is violent with gory images; just don't ask me what it lacks. The cast includes: Brad Dourif, Joshua John Miller and The Suicide Girls.
Evil that got under my skin.
posted on 15 Jul 2007And evil might not be the right word for it. This movie had an almost morbid fascination on me, I just finished watching it for the third time in a row in order to crack the not-so-accessible plot. Man, I lost my sleep over this. It wasn't happening from a long, long time. And be aware, this movie is FAR from perfect. Direction is somewhat sloppy at times, and so is the acting. But not only this is a remake that manages to achieve the unthinkable (surpass the original movie and actually add a whole lot of depth to it), for me it's been a truly hallucinating trip, one that stuck with me like few others in the past. In my humble opinion, this movie takes one of the most interesting premises in horror movies and manages to develop it with taste and twists that seem to be endless; some of the plot elements may seem unsubstantiated, some may feel rushed, and many moviegoers will just lose their will to follow the movie's overly convoluted storyline, since this is one of those films that REQUIRES a second viewing to be fully appreciated (maybe even a third one). Did you ever play games like Silent Hill and Rule of Rose? I did, and loved every bit of their obscure way of telling a story. If you did like games like those, too, as well as other movies with a taste for toying with your brains and darkest emotions, go see this movie NOW. (and maybe come to the boards to discuss the plot, will ya?) Overall, I find this to be an extremely fascinating experience. I don't know if it's because of some of the director's touches, the photography, Crispin Glover's exasperated way of acting or just the decadence that seems to permeate the whole thing, but this movie is still crawling deep under my skin.
Gory but hollow
posted on 23 Jun 2007One thing you have to give to Wizard of Gore is that it is aptly titled, because it is indeed very gory and definitely not for the squeamish. Fans of this repetitive, tired genre will certainly be entertained, while the rest of us will be puzzled and forget the film as soon as we have seen it."Gore"'s most notable flaws are as follow: 1-The script is terrible. The movie is poorly written and yet, it appears they were overambitious in their attempt to give meaning to the mess.2-The direction is just awful. Poorly shot, confusing scenes, repeatedly failing to engage us with the characters or even to shock us in the least.3-Crappy actors not at their best. The mind boggles as to why a cult is centered around Crispin Glover. He is doing his prototypical, mediocre impersonation of himself. Always one-dimensional and incapable of subtlety in the ironic touches he tries to inject in his roles. Bijou Phillips, who once held promise she might develop into a solid indie actress has failed to develop further and continues on her path to b-movies and other forgettable roles. Beyond being pretty, you need a certain gravitas and I now wonder if she will ever get it. As for Kip Pardue, he's more a never was than a has been and I guess is on par with the kind of lead a poor movie deserves.Ignore the high IMDb rating, unless you're in love with Crispin Glover or the kind of movie fan who has made it a mission to have the entire Brad Dourif collection.
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Updating and complicating of the Herchell Gordon Lewis film kind of works thanks to its style
posted on 13 Aug 2009Updating and complicating of the Herschel Gordon Lewis gore classic about Montag the Magnificent a magician who performs gory stage tricks on young women. The women later turn up dead in the same manner of the tricks on stage. It was in Lewis's hand an excuse for bad acting and some gory effects. Here the film has been expanded as a reporter chases after Montag and he soon finds himself in the middle of weird complications that eave him as a potential suspect for the murders and questioning his sanity. I'm not sure that all of additions work with the drugs, hallucinations, the weird Chong and other tidbits making a mix that is more confusing then horrifying. Frankly too many bits don't make sense or lead to nowhere. Its not a bad film. Its not a great film. Its an okay film who's hip style both helps and hurts the proceedings (the story is told in flashback by the hipster reporter). I liked the film somewhat but can't recommend it to anyone who's not a horror fan.(Hey any film that actually make good use of the weird Crispin Glover gets an extra point or two). 5 out of 10