The first thing I noticed is how beautifully shot this film is. Seriously, it looks excellent(to quote Alex Delarge, "like it was done up in Hollywood"), and I'm surprised that an independent film of this nature could achieve that. It's also the only film distributed by Unearthed Films that doesn't clearly look like a set(such as the Guinea Pig movies, which were clearly shot on sets). I was also quite surprised how much it was able to accomplish without the use of dialog throughout the first half-hour, and the beautifully artistic, haunting, and minimalistic score throughout. I'm sorry, I'm just having trouble getting over how aesthetically pleasing this film is. The cinematography should've won some awards, and I bet if it was about an orphan trying to cope with life, it would've.
Anyway, when the talking started, I was shocked to hear how feminine Armin's voice was, but that soon came to pass. Something I found quite interesting about the second act was how it depicted The Flesh as the one in control, as opposed to Armin. The eerie role reversal of power worked on many psychological levels, and actually gave off a more disturbing air than the infamous gore did, especially when Armin was gutting his carcass. To think that the slab of ribs that Armin toys with was once the dominate one in their brief relationship really gave me something to think about.
Now, you're probably wondering how I felt about the gore. Well, I found the effects to be top notch, and was quite surprised to find that absolutely nothing was left to the imagination. However, the weirdest thing is: none of the bloodshed I saw really got under my skin. Not even the castration(which I blame on the fact that I've seen the rare mondo flick, The Last Savage, which has a penile castration that would give the Pain Olympics a run for its money). Also, I thought that the emphasis on gore made the third act drag quite a bit. Do we really need to spend 20 minutes on seeing a guy's carcass get cut up? This part felt less like a gripping gore film, and more like a how-to video on how to gut corpses. But like I said, some of it does actually add a layer of uneasiness when put in context with the film's prior events. Still, they should've spent a little less time on this.
All in all, this is a hard film to rate, as it's less like a film, and more like an experience. Do I recommend it? Only to those with strong stomachs, and/or those curious about the Armin Meiwes case. It's a well-made film, and is rewarding in its own special way, but I can see 95% of viewers turning this off the moment The Flesh's penis starts to bleed.
Anyway, when the talking started, I was shocked to hear how feminine Armin's voice was, but that soon came to pass. Something I found quite interesting about the second act was how it depicted The Flesh as the one in control, as opposed to Armin. The eerie role reversal of power worked on many psychological levels, and actually gave off a more disturbing air than the infamous gore did, especially when Armin was gutting his carcass. To think that the slab of ribs that Armin toys with was once the dominate one in their brief relationship really gave me something to think about.
Now, you're probably wondering how I felt about the gore. Well, I found the effects to be top notch, and was quite surprised to find that absolutely nothing was left to the imagination. However, the weirdest thing is: none of the bloodshed I saw really got under my skin. Not even the castration(which I blame on the fact that I've seen the rare mondo flick, The Last Savage, which has a penile castration that would give the Pain Olympics a run for its money). Also, I thought that the emphasis on gore made the third act drag quite a bit. Do we really need to spend 20 minutes on seeing a guy's carcass get cut up? This part felt less like a gripping gore film, and more like a how-to video on how to gut corpses. But like I said, some of it does actually add a layer of uneasiness when put in context with the film's prior events. Still, they should've spent a little less time on this.
All in all, this is a hard film to rate, as it's less like a film, and more like an experience. Do I recommend it? Only to those with strong stomachs, and/or those curious about the Armin Meiwes case. It's a well-made film, and is rewarding in its own special way, but I can see 95% of viewers turning this off the moment The Flesh's penis starts to bleed.