Binge & Purge — Binge & Purge(DVD)
Binge & Purge is an early 2000s SOV horror/ thriller focusing on a series of cannibalistic murders. The film is at the more polished/ pro-end of the SOV genre- with it featuring a fair bit of gut-chewing ‘n’ gore, gun-bound action, some passable acting, and fairly engaging mystery. Here from SRS Cinema- those resurrectors of low-budget horror fare from the past- is a new DVD of the film taking in a new/ archive commentary, and a few other extras.
From the year 2002 Binge & Purge was written and directed by Canadian independent film-maker Brian Clement. He’s been active since the early 2000’s having nine features to his name, as well as around ten shorts. His feature-length output went from the classic underground zombie picture Dead Meat (2000) and its sequel Dead Meat 2(2001). Moving onto sci-fi horror of Dark Paradox (2007), though to the sci-fi action thriller Project Breakwater (2012). Binge & Purge is well conceived/ realized SOV film- with some impressive set-ups, a large cast, and some general craft/ skill.
The film is set in the near future- after its flashback to the Spanish Revolution of the mid 30’s, and a horror connection/ credit. It begins with a filmed from the backseat shot of two cops going on a nighttime call out. We find out that in this future the cops can now enter people's homes whenever they want- with society being very much observed/ controlled. They get to their call out- finding the house in darkness and a wound-down Christmas song playing in the background. They hear munching- panning their flashlight around they see a woman in seemingly a near rabid state chowing down on someone’s guts. Next thing we know the two cops are overcome by the munching figure.
Next up pop on the scene our three leads- who are ex-cops who now run a PI firm- they gun down the woman and the seemingly now zombified cops. And as the film/ investigation unfolds it becomes clear that a group of models, and a rather smug sunglasses-wearing fashion designer Karl Herfinger (Gareth Gaudin) are involved somehow with the killings.
On the gore side, we get a fair bit of gut-munching- this includes some quite unpleasant close-ups, as well as at points some moments of yellow-coloured vomit which melts the bodies they are attacking. Otherwise, on the gore front, we get a cock cut-off/ blood bath spurt, a few eye ripping’s, and a few human meat munching/ disembowelments. On a few occasions, the guts themselves do look rather false/ cheap- but due to a few gut-wrenching close-ups/ sounds these can be largely forgiven.
As mentioned in my introduction the acting for the most part is fairly good for low-budget horror- though a few of the actresses who play the models do look a little rough/ tubby to be genuine models. The film runs at the one hour and twenty-three-minute mark- and for the most part, it’s an engaging mix of investigation, action, and horror- with the whole thing resolving in a decidedly downbeat/ fairly impressive manner.
Moving onto this region-free DVD, and by SOV standards the print we have here looks good- yes some of the nighttime shots are a little difficult to define, but they are not too bad. On the extras side, we get one new thing for this release- a commentary track with director Brian Clement, and this is very down-to-earth & honest. He begins by saying that this is one of the least favourite of his films, and it was all shot in Fernwood Ontario. We find out this was the last film he shot with S-VHS cameras, and many of the shooting locations were friends’ houses/ apartments. He talks about how he wanted the film to be an unlikely Christmas film- quoting both Die Hard & Eyes Wide Shut as influences. We find out the guts were made from old stockings, paper and fake blood. He talks about where the female actress who played the models are now, and how he revisited some of the locations not long back. Later on, he talks about some of the issues with night shooting, points out props/ where they came from, and more. All in all one of the better director's tracks I’ve heard.
We get a few archive things another commentary track that featured Clement and members of the cast. There are a few minutes of deleted scenes and an image gallery. So a not bad selection of extras.
I’ll have to say I was more impressed by Binge & Purge than I thought I would be. I was expecting more of a run-of-the-mill zombie or cannibal film, and while there is a fair bit of gut-munching here. There is also some depth & skill to the filmmaking. Let us hope SRS Cinema has got a few more of Mr Clement’s early films lined up for reissue- as I’d love to check out more!