Woodyanders Review of I Spill Your Guts

I Spill Your Guts (2012)

Worthy modern grindhouse revenge thriller

[8/10 · 26 November 2012]

Dennis (well played by writer/director James Balsamo) and Joe (a solid performance by Billy Walsh) are two best friends serving overseas in the military together. After Dennis gets seriously wounded in combat, Joe steals all the credit for his heroic actions and gets a medal for bravery from his superiors. Dennis vows revenge on Joe and exacts said revenge by killing everyone close to Joe in New York City. Balsamo relates the entertaining story at a constant quick pace, makes excellent use of the gritty Big Apple locations, and neatly evokes the unapologetically raw, nasty, and grimy aesthetic of early 80's exploitation fare like "Maniac" and "The Exterminator." Moreover, Balsamo not only delivers loads of in-your-face over-the-top graphic gore (a hot babe having a bottle of Drano poured down her throat while taking a shower rates as the definite gruesome highlight), but also proves plenty of tasty gratuitous female nudity (a couple of guys go full monty for the ladies, too). Popping up in cool cameos are Andrew W.K. as a crazy hobo, Debbie Rochon as hard-nosed defense secretary Elizabeth Gacy, Lloyd Kaufman as Dennis' gung-ho patriotic dad, Lynn Lowry as a cheery TV weather reporter, and "Bloodsucking Freaks" director Joel M. Reed as an irascible Korean war veteran. Further galvanized by a thrashy hard rock soundtrack, this picture overall rates as an immensely enjoyable piece of energetic trash.