Review: The Profane Exhibit
Blu-ray & DVD: The Profane Exhibit (2013)
The Profane Exhibit is an anthology movie featuring 10 shorts from horror directors that include the likes of Ruggero Deodato (“Cannibal Holocaust”), Ryan Nicholson (“Gutterballs”) and Yoshihiro Nishimura (“Tokyo Gore Police”).
It has largely gone unseen until Unearthed Films thankfully acquired it and are releasing it on Blu-ray & DVD on September 24th.
Not to give too much away before you watch it, but here is a taster of what to expect:
Mother May I, (Anthony DiBlasi): Catholicism and rebellious young females combine in physical and mental torture where only 1 can come out victorious.
Hell Chef, (Yoshihiro Nishimura): Bold colours and quick cuts (no pun intended) showcase some bloody cooking skills that would make the TV Master Chef judges here in the UK puke into their apron pockets.
Basement, (Uwe Boll): A claustrophobic collection of close-up shots showing the juxtaposition of perceived normality and what is really happening behind closed doors.
Some shocking shots, one which includes Clint Howard’s bare arse going up and down as he (not for the first time) rapes his daughter.
Bridge, (Ruggero Deodato): A (very) short 3 minutes, dialogue-less piece that begins to build some tension, but doesn’t get to realise it before it is all over.
Tophet Quorum, (Sergio Stivaletti): Features a lycanthrope-esque transformation scene which had me (and the character) pressing fingers deeply into palms…I’ll say no more!
Goodwife, (Ryan Nicholson): My favourite of the collection features John; a mysogonistic husband who has “the perfect wife” and also has a very different life locked away in a seedy basement.
Despite its shocking scenes, this also touches on some emotional themes, such as coping with a partner who has a terminal illness and how you deal with that.
Mors in Tabula, (Marian Dora): Nazi party audio and a graphical surgery procedure combine in what can only be described as “an experience”!
Sins of the Father, (Nacho Vigalondo): Combine some sexual deviancy with pitch black humour and you have ‘Sins of the Father’.
Manna, (Michael Todd Schneider): Beautiful visuals draw you in to a short tale of women who believe that what (or more to the point, “who”,) you eat makes a big difference in life.
Amuse Bouche, (Jeremy Kasten): The framing device for the anthology is little more than close up shots of meat being hacked to pieces and doesn’t really add to anything. In fact the movie wouldn’t suffer if these short linking shots were not in it.
This is not a horror anthology like Creepshow or Tales from the Crypt, this has every intention of trying to rip your eyeballs out of their sockets as you watch and leave your brain spinning as more bizarre visuals and situations are thrown in front of you with a bloody splat.
Unearthed Films has once again shown that it is more than happy to showcase movies that are challenging, gory, unconventional and often hard to find…and long may they continue to do so.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Audio Commentary by Director Michael Todd Schneider, Producer Amanda Manuel and Ultra Violent Magazine’s Art Ettinger
- World Premiere Interview
- World Premiere Q&A
- ‘Ten Years Later’ by Marian Dora
- Sergio Stivaletti’s Tophet Quorum
- Awakened Manna
- Tiffany Blem Interviews Michael Todd Schneider
- Tiffany Blem Interviews Uwe Boll
- Tiffany Blem Interviews Amanda Manuel
- Tiffany Blem Interviews Jeremy Kasten
- Galleries
- Trailer
The Profane Exhibit is released on 24th September.
Review by Dave from a streaming link kindly supplied by Unearthed Films.
