Deathgasm is another great example of horror-comedy and New Zealand filmmakers being a match made in horror heaven! This is a bit out there, but it works oh-so-well on so many levels. 

Deathgasm is out and it was finally time for us to watch it. I’ve probably had unreasonably high expectations for this movie. Not only is this a movie in one of my favorite subgenres (the awesome horror-comedy), it also came out of New Zealand.

In other words, the same country that brought us What We Do in the Shadows and Housebound. If you love horror-comedy and haven’t seen those two yet, then you really need to make better choices!

However, I have to say that with Deathgasm we’re closer to Sam Raimi than the above mentioned titles.

Not that this is a bad thing. Not at all! It’s just different from what I was expecting. You still get to enjoy the slasher vibe of good horror, while you get a lot of laughs – and then, of course, this movie has a huge focus on music.

The deliciously twisted Deathgasm

Deathgasm is a beautifully honest – and pretty twisted – look into the world of any teenager, who isn’t exactly mainstream and has no desire to be.

Don’t worry though, this isn’t one of those “Now the nerdy girl takes off her glasses and she’s really a supermodel”. If anything, the girl in this movie turns out to be a hardcore slayer!

Mostly, Deathgasm is about a pretty scrawny boy, who just loves his heavy metal (and various subgenres within metal, which is mentioned in a great scene) and doesn’t care if he gets the girl. Or respect from family or society in general, for that matter.

Then again, it obviously isn’t quite that simple and the story is told with a truly dark and twisted sense of humor.

Deathgasm review

Yes, there will be blood – and nudity

And yes, there will be blood. Plenty of it! Along with violence, dicks, and boobs. All the stuff you’d expect from a horror-comedy like Deathgasm.

Yup, you’ll be squirming in your seat quite a few times. Personally, I would like to forget a few scenes, but I simply can’t.

Unfortunately, the one thing you cannot accept in a horror-comedy happens when we experience a quite boring vacuum, where nothing is funny, scary or extreme. It’s simply sad and tragic, which takes away from the awesome ride of intense emotions.

Sure, you can have a few calm moments in any movie, but this lasts for most of the last third. I’m not saying this makes Deathgasm bad. But I am saying it’s too bad for the overall level of the movie.

We started out with iconic horror-comedy potential and ended up with just a fun and pretty good horror movie.

Feature film debut

Jason Lei Howden wrote and directed Deathgasm and this is his feature film debut. Previously, he made two short films and as such this is a pretty strong debut.

However, Howden is hardly a rookie in the movie-making business, since he has worked with visual effects on several bigger productions. These include Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and The Hobbit-trilogy. 

I hope we’ll get to see more feature films from him, but as of now, there’s nothing official on the horizon.

The cast is fairly unknown to me, but I’m sure those from “Down Under” will recognize a few faces. The male lead, Brodie, is played by Milo Cawthorne, who used to be in a Power Rangers TV show. Also, he was in an episode of the new Evil Dead TV show Ash vs. Evil Dead.

The female lead is quite another story, as she’s played by Kimberley Crossman, who’s done lots of TV and has a pretty solid resumé on IMDb. Since making this movie, she’s stayed extra busy and has three feature films on the way in 2016 alone.

After watching her in Deathgasm, I can see why!

Details

Director: Jason Lei Howden
Writer: Jason Lei Howden
Cast: Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman etc.

Plot

Two teenage boys unwittingly summon an ancient evil entity known as The Blind One by delving into black magic while trying to escape their mundane lives.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
Latest posts by Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard (see all)