365 Horror Films – Chvad SB “GUT” (2013)

So by now you’ve probably heard us make mention of it here previously, or read about it on the net, but the most recent Horror Hound Weekend (Cincinatti March) was an absolute madhouse. This is not us complaining, we were thrilled to see such a great turn out for a convention that deserves it, but add to that this 365 field reporter being on crutches, and it turned into a nightmare for thorough convention coverage. I actually need to finish up the review of that weekend. As much as I wanted to see and review many of the films screened that weekend, it was just impossible. To the rescue comes family Video. As was happy to see that just a few month after missing this screening this film was up for rent at my local rental establishment. “Gut”, written & directed by Elias, and released in 2012. This is a very minimal, effective, and disturbing piece. Two long time friends, Tom (Jason Vail) and Dan (Nicholas Wilder), who share a mutual love for horror genre. Like many hardcore video fans as they’ve grown up their lives have change and tastes have gotten darker. Tom, a family man, is planning to move away from the city and his friend Dan, who lives a pretty lonely life as a single guy. In an effort to get some time and and attention from his friend Dan orders some shock video snuff style film off of the internet. He persuades Tom to come over to his apartment and watch it. The extreme video is that of female stabbed to a table and being dissected. The dark and disturbing footage leaves a permanent mark in Tom’s mind and he is having sleepless nights because of it. When Dan asks, their regular waitress at their favorite lunch spot, out on a date we it seems as if Dan gets lucky,because he does, but things spiral out of control when the waitress goes missing and a new extreme video,that he didn’t order, shows up in his mailbox. The mysterious video is very similar to the other video except this time the victim is Sally (Angie Bullaro) the waitress. Dan freaks out thinking who ever is making these “gut” films is stalking him, while Tom has suspicion that Dan is the one making the videos. It doesn’t take long for the disturbing secrets on these video to find there way into Tom’s reality in the same manner. I’m not sure if it’s a result of a small budget or if it was done on purpose, but everything about this film is very minimal and it adds to the effectiveness of the film. I especially enjoyed the score to this film which was made up entirely of minimal experimental noise. This small cast of about 7 main characters all deliver believable performances. The special effects are whats to be expected from a low budget indie film but they worked well in this film with all it’s other minimal aspects. I really like how this film teach a moral lesson with harsh actions.
     We here at 365 Horror Films have dipped our toes into the pool of shock/extreme video a few times over the past year and a half, and to truth be told,it’s not really a genre we seek out. That being said this film would be a great introduction,for those unfamiliar, to a dark and disturbing sub-genre. There really are real deal films,like the ones Tom & Dan watch, out there if you do some digging, but that is a journey we here at 365 will not be taking with you.

Review by;
Jason Whitmarsh

Original Review posted here:365 Horror Films


Posted

in

by

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *