Ron Atkins crept from the depths of the underground and cemented a name for himself with the outrageous Schizophreniac: The Whore Mangler which later spawned the sequel Necromaniac.  Both films were fun exploitation efforts from Atkins -- the then very amateur filmmaker -- and garnered the praise of fans, largely on the acting of John Giancaspro alone, who played psychopath Harry Russo.  Now many years later Atkins is back, with a new exploitation opus, and this time around he brings his filmmaking ‘A’ game.  The film is Mutilation Mile…

The film centers around two thugs, brothers Jimmy and Jack DeGrasso who find their uncle Sal murdered in a room decorated with blood.  They then go on a killing spree of mayhem to find their uncle’s killer.  Everyone who crosses their paths on their journey for vengeance finds a painful demise.  When he found his uncle’s cutthroat body, Jack had a vision of his corpse telling him to avenge his death, which is what brought him on the carnage to begin with.  “I’m gonna tell you the same thing my fuckin’ uncle told me.  He said, Jack, don’t kill somebody, he said FUCKING KILL EVERBODY!!” Jack shouts at a victim.  No one escapes the insane wrath of the DeGrasso brothers!

The brothers are definitely a force to be reckoned with and are apparently inspired by real events back in 1993.  Daniel McCabe steals the show with his portrayal of psychopath extraordinaire Jimmy DeGrasso, a cocaine-rattled murderer, lunatic rapist.  Longhaired, bearded Jimmy DeGrasso is absolutely off the wall, and right from the get-go we get a taste of his madness.  Whilst picking up a bag of blow from some Navada dive in the middle of nowhere, he finds a haggard old whore in the back room and proceeds to rape and beat her to death.  “You’re dealing with Jimmy Crack Corn and I don’t fuckin’ care!” he shouts, in a scene as ridiculously comical as it is disturbing.  In another scene which cemented the film for me, Jimmy picks up a hitchhiker (Toni Ferrari), forces her to perform filatio on him, all before leaving her on the side of the road with a bullet in her face.  Afterward Jimmy inquires “Do you hear that?  Sounds like James Brown, the hardest working man in show business!”  He then proceeds to do a post-murder celebratory dance while singing Get Up Offa That Thing!  If this doesn’t spark your interest in Mutilation Mile, then you’re not alive!

Lawrence Bucher does a good job as younger brother Jack DeGrasso, who is equally insane with a slightly larger hairpin trigger.  When the duo isn’t killing people they spend the rest of the film yelling at each other.  When not bickering though, they’re team players.  After Jack slices up a naked chick tied to a bed in his uncle’s house, Jimmy bites out a piece of the poor victim’s genitals.  Then Jack seals the deal in a scene that would force the MPAA to create a new rating.  It brings misogyny to new heights.  He christens the massacre by slitting her from her anus to her vagina, creating one opening.  The film Chaos instigated this brutal scene, but was done off camera.  Atkins on the other hand had the balls (nerve) to show it in all its shocking grotesque glory!  To make matters worse/grand, the effects appear rather authentic.

Atkins’ films are a one man show and this hasn’t changed over the years.  His earlier works are painfully evident of this.  Even though Schizophreniac and Necromaniac are undoubtedly awesome, they display their budgetary constraints and Atkins’ lack of filmmaking knowhow.  This time around, however -- after years of doing everything himself and learning along the way -- he has matured into a competent director.  He shows a directorial and editing style now, and it’s evident that he’s grown greatly as a filmmaker. Mutilation Mile has a Tarantinoesque quality to it and Atkins is definitely a fan of Tarantino.  This is confirmed with a character that is an obvious homage to Pulp Fiction (when you see his red hair and robe you’ll know what I mean).  Now, with a new camera, a new story to tell and some newfound savvy, Atkins has created one of the most intense, entertaining underground exploitation films in years.  You’ll be shocked and disgusted with the DegRasso brothers, but their charisma (particularly that of Jimmy’s) shines through, enabling sleazehounds to still get a huge kick out of them.  If you don’t see Mutilation Mile, you’re missing out.

Mutilation Mile will have a select theatrical run starting this July 2009.

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MOVIE: "Mutilation Mile"