“I think of horror films as art, as films of confrontation. Films that make you confront aspects of your own life that are difficult to face. Just because you're making a horror film doesn't mean you can't make an artful film.”
- David Cronenberg.

I think we lost our way in horror film making. When that happened, how that happened is a subject for another article. The true power of the great Horror films has been one of social satire, the expose the raw underbelly of society in a way that shocks and delights us. We often play the role of the victim and the torturer in a real life and to play out the many ways our actions or thoughts can be extended in absurd ways. Documentaries have possibly stolen the emotional need we got from horror films but the need is still there. The amazing and accidental portrayal fo race in the first "Night of the Living Dead" made the film even more powerful. Where are the new and emerging voice of today?

I see a germ of a moment I want to nourish and that is with the Viscera Film Festival DVD. It is a collection of 9 shorts that are character driven, well shot, well acted, and need to be seen.

If I was crass I would make the byline..."Finally a Thinking Man's horror made by women". But that would be a lie because the genre of horror was started by women. Mary Shelley telling the tale of Frankenstein inspired us all so very long ago. It was an amazing satire about technology and what it means to be human in an age where having a scratch would kill you. Being able to live over 40 was a mere miracle and within that context this was an amazing piece of literature.

The Viscera DVD unveils issues and the horror of modern life in a unique way. This is not a "Girls are Victims, men bad" type of story telling. THese are well thought out tableaus of horror without all the fat to make them full length features. In all honesty I had to watch a few of them again because I enjoyed them so much.

The Cleaner by Michelle Fatale is what I wanted Todd Haynes "Safe" Film to be more like. Great Character development as someone with OCD finally figures out what is dirty in her life. Shannon Lark as the femme fatale in the piece played beautiful off the main character. I also liked the fact she humanized the role of the men in the piece so the drama became more real.

Wretched starring Jaime Andrews and Joe Bob Briggs perhaps was my favorite. The character development between this married couple and the internal horror of the main actress played off of each other beautifully. The ability to raise an eating disroder to the power of making a bank heist in emotional intensity has to be seen. And yes I agree with the director Leslie Delano, it is important to remain in control.

Brains is a Music Video for the Livign Dead Girlz. It is part "Clueless", part Brittney, part fun and you will spend the rest of the day humming the tune. I can think of no better way to satirize social consumption than with this music video. We want more! 

Shannon Lark has 2 pieces on the DVD. If Luis Bunuel and Roger Corman had a love child it would be Shannon Lark. Visually surreal moments of carnage and whimsy that amuse and terrify.

If there was anything I could say about the disk is that I wish it had a play all feature and that all of the pieces were shot in 16 x 9. I also would have liked some interviews with a few of the diretors because I think they have a lot more to say.

So confused? Good go out and buy this disk so we can see more.
- Andrew