Maskhead (2009)


REVIEWER RATING: 
2/10

DIRECTOR:

CAST:


This 2009 gory flick from Fred Vogel, has been remastered/re-released by Unearthed Films, causing a stir in the horror community. Since it’s accumulation of an added generation to round out its cult following, of course I needed to give this a go.  

The poster: nightmarishly bone-chilling
The synopsis: intriguingly gripping
The expectation: completely off the charts
The final impression: profoundly terrible  

Syl and Maddie, a sleazy lesbian couple, spend each day auditioning would-be actors through lewd and nasty interviews, inquiring about certain sexual fetishes and graphic detail describing every taboo subject in the English language. This is not for Friday family fun entertainment, folks. These ladies are in the hardcore porn business, more underground than the AU trilogy created by Vogel several years earlier. Which inclines me to think: is Maskhead another self-challenging expression of excessive extreme cinema for controversial appeal? Or is there really some value in this tale of secret snuff stuff that I’m missing?  

Maskhead is a deformed character whose face is wrapped in gauze while he dons a bear-trap contraption over his mouth, resembling a downgraded torture device from Saw. He delights in his starring role as the monster maniac, getting off while committing brutal and torturous acts of violence such as staples to the nut sack, force-fed feces and hammered skull bashing as the female filmmakers shoot it all with candid delight. During one gruesome sequence of uninhibited torment, the victim’s screams are curiously rehearsed and oddly consistent. Her blood-curdling shrieks are looped (my impression), which lead to my loud yawn and harsh roll of my eyes to the point that I could see my own brain. Which was becoming stoic and dumbed down as the minutes ticked on.  

I am no stranger to high intensity-driven red films. However, the infliction of pain and sexual depravity was merely hum drum…nothing we haven’t really seen before. Excessive scenes of meaningless bar conversations followed by an actual WTF moment of extensive prancing around licking fruit and saran wrap before fingering a cantaloupe and performing a blow job on a banana was simply tedious, meant to startle us. My biggest take away ended up being my own “a ha!” moment of Wow! So THAT’S how long it takes to lube up both hands before fisting another man.

Noted.

OVERALL: 
I can deal with low budget, underground horror movies. God knows I’ve seen my share consistently with an open mind and hope in my heart. But a cut-rate shock-schlock film with unmemorable performances and gratuitous sexual deviance (topics ranging from self-fellatio to bestiality), fails to leave a positive impression. Even with extreme cinema, there must be motivation; cognition; the ability to leave a mark. Well, Maskhead did the latter at least. The mark being a dumpster fire of volcanic proportions. Basically, a badly botched flick which is less than underwhelming. Such a disappointment.


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