Film Review: Necrophagia: Nightmare Scenarios (2004)

SYNOPSIS:

You’ll be bleary-eyed (and blissful) after viewing the nine videos on this packed video. And the piece de resistance? Necrophagia goddess Jenna Jameson turns up in a special guest appearance

REVIEW:

A music video-rooted entry into the extreme category, “Necrophagia: Nightmare Scenarios” is 2004 production that features the music of hardcore gore music-act “Necrophagia”. The 40 minute compilation is designed to illustrated each music number with a “nightmare scenario”. The entrees feature the band performing in addition to acted scenarios that take one gore filled moment into the next. While I am not a fan of the band’s music, (mainly because of the indistinguishable lyrics and vocal tracks) the band has earned themselves a place among hardcore metal fans with their driving low-ended music numbers and horror centered stage shows. My intent here was to review the whole collection as a single entry and its addition to the extreme gore-filled visuals collective of film releases.

“Necrophagia: Nightmare Scenarios” consists of 9 music videos with singer Killjoy at the center being featured in several of them. At the time of this review, there was not much out there that really took to the time to review its contents. So while keeping the volume low, I proceeded to take in all the horror-filled madness this band has to offer.

The collection begins with a rather long intro piece with actor Jose Morale standing in as the character Coffin Joe (yep, them nasty long un-manicured fingernails that are disturbing “enough” to look at). This piece which rambles on with some distinguishable chants and rants to the camera transitions into a 70’s looking psychedelic segment that has the character sitting upon a throne of naked women. While he taunts about and plays with some of the unrealistic hanging corpses swinging about, he carries forth with some playful fondling and snarling only to bring in Killjoy for a “passing of the torch” style ceremony. This segment is probably the most interesting of the bunch which quickly moves into segments using collaged gore and violence to illustrate the noise being exhumed from the band.

One segment has a young girl torturing an intruder with a blow torch with some unsettling scenes that show the flesh burning away. Other segments feel like perhaps they are injected with film clips (which I couldn’t place at the time of this viewing)

The film was directed by extreme favorites, Vince D’Amato and Ryan Nicholson, with Nicholson playing the role of a “psychotic Boyfriend” who kills his girlfriend while she is sleeping and then proceeds to cut her into pieces in the bathtub. I didn’t get “why” this segment had to be repeated twice even though the songs were “Flowers of Flesh and Blood” and Flowers of Flesh and Blood (Version 2). Maybe fans can distinguish betweenthe 2 versions, but to me it seemed like a repeat.

The compilation also features the talents of Jenna Jameson which seems to be the highlight attraction to this release. There isn’t much in the way of substance with “Necrophagia: Nightmare Scenarios”, but you really would expect that to begin with. Horror gore hounds will like some of the scenery which keeps thing nasty from one piece to the next, though because its all wrapped over a collection of music numbers, it feels more theatrical than the films that establish characters you care about to only see them taken down.

The formal release of this includes interviews with the talents, which makes the offering a bit meatier than 9 gory music videos, however you have to keep in mind, this is the kind of footage that you’d expect to see running against the background wall of a punk Goth club while angry denizens spout about in dark celebratory debauchery. I am a fan of Vince D’Amato, and Ryan Nicholson’s work, though its clear that this project was a “hired project” that is meant to be sold to fans of the band. Killjoy, might actually be a great candidate for a film as long as there is no singing involved.

The segment/ tracks are listed as followed which take inspiration from a few extreme cinema titles:

The Divine Art of Torture
2. Ze Do Caixao
3. Sick Room
4. Flowers of Flesh and Blood
5. Rue Morgue Disciple
6. Upon Frayed Lips of Silence
7. Blaspheme the Blood
8. Flowers of Flesh and Blood (Version 2)
9. Upon Frayed Lips of Silence (Uncut Version)

Necrophagia: Nightmare Scenarios (2004)