Atroz(DVD,Blu Ray,CD) — Atroz(DVD,Blu Ray,CD)
The release appears on Unearthered Films- who of course are no strangers to extreme cinema, releasing in the past the original Guinea Pig films, The Vomit Gore Trilogy, Philosophy Of The Knife, and more recently the American Guinea Pig films. The film comes in a deluxe three disc set- taking in DVD, blu-ray, and CD- with the whole thing packaged in DVD sized digipak.
The film feels like a blend of the August Underground films, and Saw like police procedure & plotting- with smatterings of grim Mexican colour, poverty & grime. The film (after a montage of the seedier side of Mexican) starts with two men been arrested for running over & killing a women. When the arresting detective checks their car he comes across a video tape of the torture & killing of a prostitute. And from here onwards the film shifts from police interrogation & torture, crime scene investigation, and of course more of the killers ‘found’ snuff footage. The whole film is pacey, brutal, and twisting with its plot- with some inventive & depraved set pieces that will make even the most seasoned extreme horror fan squirm. I wouldn’t say it’s as shocking as say the August Underground films, as of course you come in & out of the found footage segments, and neither killer is either as intimidating as Fred Vogel(AU trilogy’s key killer), or deranged as Maggot( from Mordum- the 2nd AU film). But really I think you,ve just got to see the AU films as a reference point, and take Atroz as its own distinctive blend of grimy & extreme cinema.
On the less positive side- the acting’s a little mixed, for example the main killer, and focus of the film may well look bulky & intimidate, but seems to lack depth of threat. Though the actor who plays his younger self is much more accomplished- portraying at first a picked-on & abused outsider, though to a psycho-sexual maniac. Another couple of downsides is some of the plotting sometimes doesn’t add-up, and from time-to-time the jarring flow of the film is difficult to follow. But really these negatives are outweighed by the positives, as for a well-made yet gritty extreme horror Atroz is most worthy.
Extra wise on the two discs you get a selection of making of’s, the original short the film grew from, the crowd funding video, music video, and cast/ crew interviews.
You also get a CD, and this takes in three tracks from the soundtrack- which are blends of brooding drones & industrial electronica. And the remaining 14 tracks are a skin-shredding blend of deep guttural laced death-metal & grind core. These track are not featured in the film, so I’m guessing it’s either music inspired by the film, or it’s the band of someone connected with the film. As there’s no info regarding the disc, I don’t know which it is, but seemingly it’s all one band. As death-metal/grindcore goes, I guess its ok, but nothing particularly distinctive, though I’m not really a fan of the genre,
In conclusion if you are a fan of extreme horror, then really Atroz must be on your watch list. And the three disc Unearthered release presents it in classy fashion. And if you enjoy extreme metal you get the CD as bonus.