The Gore Trilogy Blu Ray Review (SRS Cinema)

Gorgasm is a 1990 Shot On Video Horror film written, produced, and directed by Hugh Gallagher (Gorotica, Gore Whore, and Dead Silence). It was shot in 5 days. Tara (played by: Gabriela from Anal-Sperm Power, Basic Sexual Instinct, and Barefoot Confidential 8) is a call that’s a little psychotic. She has a strange obsession with giving the ultimate climax and all of her clients pay the price of death for it. Chase (played by: Rik Billock from FleshEater, The Dark Half, The Barn, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Knightriders, and Monkey Shines) is the determined detective that wants to end her nasty killing spree at any cost!!!! Gorgasm is a nice throwback when SOV Horror was going strong in the genre and it was getting exposure in all of the video rental stores. The creator of the horror publication Draculina Magazine, Hugh Gallagher is behind the camera for his 2nd film here. He keeps it simple only using a few main locations but it works for this lower budget effort. His style and overall approach reminds me of SOV legend Tim Ritter. I enjoyed the concept here of a female serial killer using her sex appeal to lure in her victims for her own sadistic pleasure. Adult actress Gabriela looks amazing in Gorgasm as the unhinged Tara. She seduces vulnerable men into a gruesome torture and death. Her murder spree gets the attention of an ambitious detective. Lead actor Rik Billock goes on his own to solve this case as Chase. He doesn’t have backup or really any real permission to go undercover for this deadly investigation. Rik Billock appeared in several George A. Romero related movies as a background performer. His character is reckless and out of control like his suspected psychopath. The rest of the supporting cast includes Paula Hendricks, Debbie Patterson, Mick Voss, Steven Vieth, Paula Gallagher (Dead Silence), Dave Johnson (Tales from the Darkside), and Kevin Patterson (Dead Silence). Most of the actors in this never worked on anything again. It goes for the over the top vibe with this one. Gorgasm is probably the tamest from the Gore Trilogy but it still has some nice brutal moments with enough violence and death to satisfy any horror fanatic. It’s a shorter feature so it goes by really smooth and it’s never drags so it keeps itself very entertaining. It’s metal soundtrack gives it more energy as you witness all of this destruction. It doesn’t shy away from having a limited budget. It has plenty of sleaze and nudity from it’s stunning lead actress. Gorgasm delivers on everything that the viewer would expect from something like this plus it adds some unintentional humor to the mix. It’s exactly how I like my Shot On Video Horror productions, I miss those types of films. They had a different feeling to them, nothing is like that these days. RECOMMENDED!!!! Gorotica is a 1993 Shot On Video Horror film written, produced, and directed by Hugh Gallagher (Gorgasm, Gore Whore, and Dead Silence). It was executive produced by Robert Walters (Gore Whore). The main scenes only took around 3 days to shoot. Neil (played by: Dingo Jones from Damselvis: Daughter of Helvis, Gore Whore, Teenage Tupelo, and The Sore Losers) and Max (played by: Bushrude Gutterman from Damselvis: Daughter of Helvis) are jewel thieves working for the enigmatic Miss Miles (played by: Dolores Jackson from Don Juan). After their latest job goes wrong, Max swallows a large diamond, the main piece from the job, so they won’t be caught with the evidence. Unfortunately, he ends up getting shot and killed by a police officer. It leaves Neil in an awkward situation. He’s desperate to hide somewhere so he goes to necrophiliac Carrie (played by: Ghetty Chasun from Red Lips, Vicious Kiss, HorrorGirl, and Demolition Highway) for help. Max is exactly her type so she agrees to hide the criminals. Unfortunately for Neil, she has her own evil plans for them!!!! Gorotica is basically the female version of 1988’s Nekromantik. It’s interesting because Jörg Buttgereit did his own follow up in 1991 which had a similar theme to it. This had a better story compared to it. Necrophilia features are beyond rare so this grabbed my attention right away. I loved the concept, it mixed heist and extreme horror. SOV director Hugh Gallagher follows up Gorgasm with this even more disgusting and gruesome production. He tried to do something different on his previous movie so it could have potential to reach a bigger audience but he decided to not hold back at all on this underground film. It pushes all of the boundaries, break taboos, and it’s unforgettable. It takes a few unlikable characters and it puts these villains together in a tense atmosphere. The stunning Ghetty Chasun is the lead here as the dangerous Carrie. She’s way better than expected. This is a fascinating character that you can’t look away from. She sells bodies to clients that have sex with them. These are usually tested by her first. These corpses gets passed around to a sick community that all has a passion for the dead. She even masterbates to real footage of brutality. Lead actor Dingo Jones is the thief Neil that’s trapped in a bad scenario. He just pulled off a heist but his partner swallowed their score and he ends getting killed by law enforcement. He can’t abandon the body so he has to find somewhere to hide out until he gets what he needs. This leads him to his interaction with the crazed Carrie. They have a unique dynamic and the chemistry is unpredictable. The rest of the cast includes Bushrude Gutterman, Dolores Jackson, Melanie Walker, Brady Debussey (Gore Whore), John Mollica (The Toxic Avenger Part II), and Elizabeth Moore (Fast Money). Gorotica feels like the biggest and the highest quality of The Gore Trilogy. Hugh Gallagher continued to hire legit actors and a talented behind the scenes crew for this. I appreciated how unfiltered, uncensored, and completely raw Gorotica felt. The gore, violence, corpses, and death is brought to a whole another level for this follow up. It was handled by artist Robert Gann (Basket Case 2 and Damselvis: Daughter of Helvis). Gorotica has some amazing nudity from Ghetty Chasun. She has a great goth look to her plus those piercings and she’s pure eye candy. This is an equal opportunity production so it shows male nudity also which almost never happens. It has an Industrial Metal soundtrack that just amps up the nasty action in this. It definitely stays with the audience after it’s all over. It’s a truly unique entry for the SOV Horror sub-genre and it deserves way more praise than it gets. RECOMMENDED!!!! Gore Whore is a 1994 Shot On Video Horror film written, produced, and directed by Hugh Gallagher (Gorotica, Gorotica, and Dead Silence). It was executive produced by Robert Walters (Gorotica). This was shot in 5 days. When a lab assistant steals an important formula and all its documentation from Dr. Whitman (played by: Paul Woodard from Gorotica, Damselvis: Daughter of Helvis, Teenage Tupelo, and The Sore Losers), he hires a bottom-of-the-barrel private eye, Chase Barr (played by: Brady Debussey from Gorotica, Damselvis: Daughter of Helvis, and The Sore Losers) to locate it. When Barr digs deeper into the case he finds the lab assistant is actually a dead street whore Dawn Day (played by: Audrey Street) and the “formula” is a reanimation agent. The consumption of human blood, is keeping her alive. In trying to retrieve the formula, Chase is given a rollercoaster ride through hell as the whore reanimates corpses to attack him and help her hold onto the formula!!!! Gore Whore is the final film of The Gore Trilogy. All of them had top notch artwork that made me want to seek them out. Genius independent marketing, modern day cinema lacks when it comes to that showmanship. I thought it was cool that each feature covered a completely different sub-genre in horror. None of these are related but they all fit together. Director Hugh Gallagher goes more underground for Gore Whore. It goes for a straight up grindhouse approach when it comes to it’s style. Lead actress Audrey Street is definitely a complete change when it comes to the look of the main villain in this horror franchise. She’s much smaller and she has her own vibe for this Dawn Day role. She’s the unstable hooker that has to kill to keep going. The viewer never knew what she was going to do next so it added excitement to the chaotic survivor. Hugh Gallagher veteran Brady Debussey shows up as the driven Chase Barr. He has nothing to lose at this point so he does everything possible to solve this case. He’s desperate to achieve something here. It’s a solid role that gives Dawn Day some serious trouble. The rest of the cast includes Paul Woodard, D’Lana Tunnell (The Sore Losers), Sherry Lynn Garris (Damselvis: Daughter of Helvis), Dingo Jones (Gorotica), John McLaughlin (Garden of the Dead), and Dawn Ashcraft (Damselvis: Daughter of Helvis). Gore Whore kinda has a Re-Animator vibe to it. It has a nice variety to it. I think delivers all around, it surprises the viewer with it’s accomplishments achieved with almost no money behind it. It’s not as gory as I thought it would be but it still displays some shocking stuff. It has some ambitious, creative, and off the wall special fx from artist Jim Eikner (Hustle and Flow, Ernest Scared Stupid, Forever Evil, Daylight Fades, and Superstarlet A.D.). It has penises getting bite off and a glowing dildo so it has plenty of WTF moments in it. It shows full frontal nudity and it doesn’t cut away from any sleaze. Gore Whore is wild, it seems like it could go anywhere so that’s always appealing. It mixes a few different familiar horror themes and it’s a fun weird combination. It had potential to be so much more but I understand that you can only do so much with so little so I appreciate it for what it was able to do in this. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from SRS Cinema! These 1080p (1.33:1) unrated transfers are from newer 2K upscales. Just a warning, all of these were shot on video with absolutely barely any funding so don’t expect reference quality when it comes to The Gore Trilogy. I owned all 3 on DVD from SRS Cinema before this was released and it’s a solid improvement over those but nothing groundbreaking. It’s honestly the best they will ever look on home video. I appreciate the fact that all were actually upgraded to Blu Ray in the first place because I never expected that. Gorgasm and Gorotica look much better than Gore Whore when it comes to the visuals. That one is a little rough but I guess it adds to it’s grindhouse atmosphere. They all have English: Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. The sound is kinda rough for this trilogy. The violent scenes are definitely more amped for it but the Heavy Metal soundtracks for these features stand out the most when it comes to the audio. All of the dialogue is clean, the chaos is elevated, and the music has huge boost to it. Gorgasm has a brand new exclusive little over 8 minute “Introduction” from director Hugh Gallagher. He’s very informative in these. He shares plenty of facts, information, and stories about the low budget productions. He’s always honest and humble, it’s definitely better than most intros that you see on home video releases. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Hugh Gallagher. It has almost 14 minutes of “Bloopers”. It has a little over 15 minute “Interview” with director Hugh Gallagher. He chats about his early inspirations and movie experiences. When the direct to video boom happened, he got motivated to finally make his own films. His previous film Dead Silence was a disaster. He’s hilarious on how much he hates that one. He doesn’t hold back. He mentions that a real life death that was an accident influenced him to do Gorgasm. He tells some fun stories about what went down when he was putting this together. He jokes about getting professionals for this that made them captive and he could depend on them no matter what. It has a “Trailer” for Gorgasm. Gorotica has a brand new exclusive little over 6 minute “Introduction” from director Hugh Gallagher. He’s extremely detailed in these openings. He provides all kinds of behind the scenes information, and inside stories about the independent productions. He’s always blunt and humble, it’s more entertaining than most intros that you see on home video releases. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Hugh Gallagher, Mike McCarthy, and Paul Woodard. It has an additional “Audio Commentary” with director Hugh Gallagher. It has a brand new exclusive full length little over 69 minute “Retrospective Documentary” on Gorotica. It has interviews with Hugh Gallagher, Tim Ritter, Debbie Rochon, Donald Farmer, Brewce Longo, Phil Herman, Rebecca Rinehart, Adam Freeman, Tony Masiello, James L. Edwards, Ross Snyder, Mike McCarthy, Paul Woodard, David R. Williams, and Robert Walters. This documentary focuses on director Hugh Gallagher, Gorotica, and his overall career. They go over his work with Draculina Magazine. They chat about some of his previous films which includes Dead Silence, Gorgasm, Gore Whore, and of course this one. It features a variety of known directors, actors, boutique label owners, and others in the horror scene. They talk about their experiences, appreciation, favorite scenes, and the impact that Gorotica made on them. It has a good amount of archival behind the scenes footage. It’s a fascinating inside look into this obscure SOV Horror production. This is one of the main reasons why to upgrade your trilogy to this Blu Ray set. It has an almost 12 archival “Interview” with director Hugh Gallagher. Mike McCarthy convinced him to do in Tennessee and he helped him get it made. He found the lead actress Ghetty Chasun from director Donald Farmer. He seen the Nekromantik movies and he knew he could write something better so it lead to this project. He was mainly influenced by Love Me Deadly for this. It was originally called Wake the Dead. It’s highly informative conversation. It has a “Trailer” for Gorotica. Gore Whore has a brand new exclusive little over 16 minute “Introduction” from director Hugh Gallagher. He drops so much knowledge about behind the scenes, variety of information, and inside stories about the underground productions. He’s always real and humble, it’s more fascinating than most intros that you see on home video releases these days. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Hugh Gallagher. It has an archival almost 10 minute “Interview” with Hugh Gallagher. He chats his experiences on Gore Whore. He says this is his personal favorite from all of his work. He talks about how it was developed. He brings up how the lead actress was cast and her overall unique look when she’s nude. He said he had all kinds of issues making it. It has an almost 8 minute “Gore Trilogy Slideshow”. SRS Cinema even went out to their way to include Hugh Gallagher’s debut 1991 full length horror movie “Dead Silence” on the bonus disc that’s a little over 62 minutes. It’s not that bad but I think it would have been much better if it was a little shorter. Regardless, this is an awesome addition to this collection. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Hugh Gallagher. It has the little over 7 minute “Introduction” with with director Hugh Gallagher. It cracks me up how much he dislikes this one. He takes shots at it during various moments on these extras. He just wants to forget it at this point. He goes over it’s history and how he came up with the concept with a idea he tested at a local cemetery. It was never really released until SRS put it out. Apparently, it was a nightmare to make and he thinks it should have been even shorter. It has a “Trailer” for Dead Silence. It has 10 minutes of raw footage from the unseen “Exploding Angel” from 1995. It has a “Trailer” for Exploding Angel. It has a variety of SRS Cinema related “Trailers”. The Gore Trilogy Blu Ray set is hands down one of best home video releases from SRS Cinema. It’s beyond loaded with bonus material. It has hours of entertainment, it’s a must own for any hardcore SOV fan. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!