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THE SEVERED HEAD NETWORK comes to us from the fine folks at Wicked Pixel Cinema. This DVD is a collection of short films and videos of different types. Not your everyday, average set of short films, THE SEVERED HEAD NETWORK features a set of films that make you not only think, but at times, question your very sanity. What is seen here is mostly in the experimental and avant-garde vein, but there is also some soft-core porn to go along with your popcorn. So sit back and enjoy, while we take a trip into the strange and bizarre…
VOMIRE: This experimental film from director Chad Eivins starts with showing us pounds and pounds of cow intestines and lard in some unnamed slaughter factory. Soon we see a guy having sexual relations with a cross (!) in an open field. Next are some oppressive and strange lights. While all this is happening, an ominous looking angel statue cuts into the frame from time to time. I liked this bizarre and disturbing assault of the senses.
FAITH IN NOTHING: Eric Stanze directs this music video for the band Analogue Satellite. This music video highlights a woman who really likes to rub on herself and she also really gets into doing some strange ritualistic-looking arm movements, all the while a picture of a guy (presumably a lover) is being shown. From lingerie to topless nudity, this woman is clearly enjoying herself. I didn’t really know what to think of this one. The song was interesting; an ambient number that once it kicks in, we are treated to a strip tease. Can't go wrong there I suppose.
SATISFACTION: The film from director Tommy Biondo begins with showing a man and a woman joking and laughing with one another in bed. There’s nothing sexual going on at first, just innocent fun, but there is a dark and twisted poem about pain and sex being read by the woman over top of what you are seeing. Soon, the couple start to make out and eventually they both are completely naked and having sex. While this is going on, we are shown scenes of that same woman being raped by another man. As the black and white rape scene gets more violent, the real time scene gets more hot and heavy until they both climax. This short falls into the soft-core porn category and even comes very close to being hardcore in a few scenes. Other than the poem, there isn't a word spoken in this avant-garde short that has some great camera angles and lighting. There is also some eye-grabbing art adorning the walls for some added flair.
UNWANTED: This is another music video for a band called Purple Screwdriver. In this video by director Todd Tevlin, we see a guy coming totally undone at the seams. After he strangles his girlfriend, he grabs a gun and runs through town pointing it at all kinds of random shit until it finally catches up to him. The regular home video camera look of this video really took me out of the emotion because it was so cheaply done. However, some of the cutaway scenes were good, where you think you're seeing one thing and then find out it's something different entirely.
VICTIM: This black and white short from Jason Christ shows a woman who is one the run with an ax after all of her friends are murdered at a camp site. It's easy to see what’s coming in this 5 minute knockoff of a foreign horror film from a couple of years ago.
SEDGEWICK: An experimental, 22 minute short from directors Stephen M. Lashly and Quinn M. Botthoff is about an elderly man slipping into a state of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. This film is expertly shot and edited to capture the feel of losing your mind right along with the man. We see the man believe he's saving a woman from being raped, but really he's just shopping in the grocery store. Several other insistences like this happen throughout the 22 minute running time. I loved the look of this film too; warm, vintage, and grainy, it had the look of an old Grindhouse classic.
LIONTOWN: Aaron Crozier brings us this short musical about a place called Liontown, where it's always 75 degrees and is the perfect paradise getaway, but as our animal characters soon find out, all is not as it seems. This one was corny, good fun that had a few laughs in all of its innocent stupidity. This movie would probably be vastly improved upon if seen after taking some mind altering substances. I'm not condoning any drug use here, but this film certainly had that tripped out quality to it.
CURVEBALL: PILE OF JUNK: This is another short from Jason Christ; this time around he brings us a music video. In this one, a guy is obviously losing all as he screams, yells and runs around aimlessly. The song by the band Curveball is pretty good too and kind of reminded me of old school Biohazard.
The best short on this DVD was probably SEDGEWICK. This was a very unique concept and I'd love to see this one made into a feature length film, but all in all, THE SEVERED HEAD NETWORK was an interesting collection of short films. Most were very experimental, but all were eclectic and not like your everyday film intake, which to me, made them all the more interesting to watch.
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