I’ve almost given up on coming up with an awesome plot for a script. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t watch horror movies to get inspiration. Or even for just the fun of it.I finally watched The Wizard of Gore after purchasing it months ago. I love these old school exploitation flicks. Some people wonder why “a girl like me” would enjoy seeing horror films like this. The Wizard of Gore is just one of the reasons why I love horror. It’s so over the top, pushes boundaries and it’s fucking funny.

You don’t see films like these anymore. And if you do, it’s because they are being remade into fake, glossy, flashy films that take away so much grittiness from the original that it makes the film an empty shell. If you want to see the “real” shit, go back to the source my dear friends, because you will just be disappointed otherwise.

The Wizard of Gore was remade at the end of last year with Crispin Glover playing Montag the Magnificent. I’d watch the remake for his performance only - you can never miss a Crispin Glover film, especially when he seems so comfortable in roles that just creeps you the fuck out.

I should put out a warning though: This isn’t one of those late 60’s, early 70’s horror films that are rated MA but are tame in the gore stakes. This film is quite gory. The playing with guts scenes don’t really make it a good film to show to someone who has a weak stomach. Also, I wouldn’t recommend watching this film while you’re eating.

To shed a little more light on the subject: The Wizard of Gore is about a magician - Montag - who is able to saw girls in half, drive a metal stake through their brain or shove swords down their throats and they come out perfectly fine only to be found dead a while after the performance from injuries that they would have sustained from Montag’s tricks. Some woman (who obviously wears the pants in her relationship) who hosts a show called “Housewives coffee break” (apparently everyone watches this show, including men and children) and her fiance begin to suspect the magician of the murders after attending his shows.

This film is exactly the crap you want it to be. Not only is it gory, but it’s funny without intentionally being funny. Sherry (aka some woman) wears the same outfit twice when it’s supposed to be the “next evening”. Her fiance Jack talks on the phone like he’s responding to a nagging mother, (”Aw Sherry! I don’t wanna go again!”) and extra’s popping up in different scenes supposedly playing different characters but wearing the same outfits throughout the duration of the film. I guess it’s just another one of director’s Herschell Gordon Lewis’ (aka Godfather of Gore… he has a myspace. Seriously) salvo traits.

One thing I do love about this movie is that it really makes you think about illusion and reality. Towards the end, it seems as though the illusion of Montag starts wearing off as we begin to see reality and illusion. The reality is that poor girl getting the sword shoved down her throat is spitting up blood and the illusion is that she’s standing calmly, under a trance, as Montag gently glides the sword down her throat. It’s an interesting concept, one that seems to have paved the way for other films using the same concept.

There’s also the usual amount of plot holes which are discussed at the end of the movie. For example, Montag stealing the dead women’s bodies from the morgue is never explained. It looks as though it’s supposed to serve the purpose of answering the various plot holes in a discussion between Sherry and Jack on a rug drinking wine. Then it just goes insane from there. It’s an insane ending that just creates more plot holes.

I somehow have a feeling this film will enter my rotation of films I repeatedly watch when I’m either bored or sick. If you like these kinds of exploitation films, then you’ll love The Wizard of Gore.