4 out of 5

Directed by: Jason Lei Howden

With all of the right influences in tow, Deathgasm sets out to be a very specific type of horror film: aiming for the gutter, but holding onto its heart with blood n’ guts soaked hands.  It’s the mix of dumb smarts that’s made for some of the greats, and too many that go for that ideal tend to try too hard to shout their name the loudest.  And sure, Deathgasm vomits a lot of gore at us and kills people with dildos, but director Jason Lei Howden somehow executes this with – yes – restraint and consistency: those dildo deaths, and the other wackiness before and after, feels in line with the rest of the film, and ‘earned’ by the telling.

Our narrator is Brodie (Milo Cawthorne), metalhead in a very non metal New Zealand town, having moved in with his religious Aunt and Uncle after his mum is incarcerated with a tone-setting backstory about giving blowjobs to Santa Claus.  He has some D&D friends, but doesn’t really find his ‘place’ until meeting fellow metaller Zakk (James Blake) at the record shop.  Brodie’s the nice guy in black, Zakk is everything parents fear: drug-doing, girlfriend-stealing, violence-prone, and always out to be the most brutal in any gathering.  Soon enough, a band is formed, and the group decides to play some music stolen from a local metal legend hiding out in town.  Of course that music summons demons.  So from the 40-minute mark or so, it’s on, intentions clearly stated as possessed people spit and fart blood into the screen.

Now I’ve mentioned vomit, and dildos, and farts, and yet there’s something downright charming about Deathgasm.  It’s not a film for your parents by any means, but Howden has the same chuckly approach to gross outs as Peter Jackson in Dead Alive and Braindead.  It’s the undercurrent that’s a bit more clear in Sam Raimi’s Evil Deads: slapstick.  Visual humor.  Using the medium to enhance the ridiculousness instead of just giggling with your friends about dick jokes.  And while those two big genre names are clear influences on Howden’s energetic filming style, the film is also dotted with happy embraces of other films without being too cloying, including, I think, a wink to Street Trash.  From start to finish, the vibe is very assured, never having to defend the character’s (and perhaps director’s) love of metal or trying too hard to shine its “I’m a horror fan” badge.

Even at a short 90ish minute run, though, it has some trouble plotting itself out.  The setup is obvious enough, but Howden’s insertion of Brodie into the sleepy New Zealand town wants it both ways: the meet cute between he and Zakk and the familiarity of the loner in a world that doesn’t want him.  Meaning we go from “I have no friends” to sudden buddy buddy, rendering the zippy intro sequence a little pointless in its construction.  And on the opposite end of the flick, Howden digs himself into a hole with Satan worshippers and demon gods, giving the conclusion no choice but to ultimately run out of steam.  There’s also an odd sense that the movie is holding back a bit once the gore starts.  The possessions happen, much blood is spat, and then we wait around for twenty minutes more or so for things to really start getting nuts.  Part of this is because that pesky plot stills needs some threads sewn along the way, but taking a more direct note from Dead Alive and holding out until the last moment to kick into full gear might’ve allowed for a cleaner (yuk yuk) execution.

But I gotta tell ya: there are some simply hilarious and inventive moments that really won’t make you care about these nits.

It’s been a while since I took such an immediate like to a horror film, and I’m glad to report that Deathgasm absolutely held onto that appeal the whole way through.  Now we can place bets on when Howden will be picked to direct the next Spider-Man… or if he’ll kick that to the curb and remain horror as fuck.