Fantasia Film Review: Deathgasm

And now, a classic.

Ok, Deathgasm may not be a classic yet. It might not be a classic anywhere else, but it has the guts of becoming a Fantasia classic. Here’s what director Jason Lei Howden has done of his own screenplay. He’s taken us to the middle of New Zealand’s suburbia, a place that you could anywhere in the middle of nowhere and die of boredom, and decided this is a good time for the apocalypse to come.

And if it must come, then it has to be with metal. There’s very little for metalhead Brody (Milo Cawthorne) to like about his new home. He’s lost his mom and now must live with his uncle and his god-fearing family. His cousin is a complete bully and his only friends are a couple of roleplaying nerds. Then he meets badass metalhead Zakk (James Blake) and they form the proverbial band Deathgasm. Are you in or are you out?

Of course Brody has to fall for the most popular girl in school, Medina (Kimberley Crossman). Why is it always the most popular girl in school? Of course, she’s dating Brody’s jock cousin because he’s a jock. So far, pretty standard fare here but things will turn interesting soon in more ways than one. Medina actually develops a crush on Brody after rescuing one of his drawings. Then Brody lends him one of his CDs and… Medina turns out to be a metalhead waiting to come out.

Conflict comes the way of a few pages of demon-summoning music. What we get there is visual effects expert Jason Lei Howden creating demons out of the residents of the small quiet town. Now it’s up for Brody and his friends to go metal on demonkind. There’s blood, guts, and everything that can be turn into a weapon will be. Particularly remarkable is a scene in which Brody and Zakk must resort to a box full of sex toys to do battle with the denizens of the underworld.

It’s actually one of those movies that should have a Made-For-Fantasia in the title, because this one is a crowd pleaser. It’s made to be over the top, ludicrous and definitely it’s done without a shred of decency. Completely unredeemable in its wake, this is a movie recommended for the fans of splatter and gore only. Trade your guitar for a chainsaw and join the band.

Coming next!