Chaos Review on DVD from Razor Digital!
It’s incredible to think just how far extreme cinema has gone. What a bloody red snowball has built to such an avalanche because so many people seek something so wide open and real. The central road of horror is fantasy, it’s the Universal classics, Hammer, those things where good always triumph over evil (as Peter Cushing explained). It’s Evil Dead and Dawn of the Dead because nothing like that could happen, so horror is an escape from reality, a thrill chase.
Then there’s the extreme. Did it begin with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Last House on the Left? Movies so damn real, so extreme? I don’t mean filled with blood, but relentless roller coasters showing no mercy. Did it start there? I suppose it’s the same argument as “Did metal begin with Black Sabbath?”
Regardless, since that golden dawn, extreme cinema in these times is a huge genre, filled by artists and thugs alike. Many of these films reveal a doorway to something raw and bloody, situations which could well be happening elsewhere whilst you watch it.
Welcome to Chaos, a 2005 creation by the larger than life, David DeFalco, who also wrote, produced, and starred in one of the late ‘80s biggest WTF visions, Heavy Metal Massacre! Once seen, never forgotten. Since Chaos, David has stepped back and drilled his big muscular torso into the world of straight to video/DVD gang delights (Dark Force Entertainment) which crowd many a store shelf, usually producing. Shame, he never did put together the gem he mentions in one of the extras – more on that later.
My Partner in Gore, Willow, and I were terribly excited at the menu, flashes of unspeakable violence, and the scowling Kevin Gage as the central titled character (I last saw him in Laid to Rest) before we cuddled up ready for nastiness. The beginning write up states it’s based on true events (hmmmm…) and basically serves as a warning for parents I suppose to show their kids. Similar to Megan is Missing (see review here) which I read up years ago, USA parents did show their daughters that one.
Chaos wears many influences on its sleeves because the whole style feels like an old ‘70s drive in ‘n’ grindhouse thing but without overly forcing the issue. Two redneck blokes pick up a hitch-hiking girl with wild hair. They’re slimy, not even waiting for her to get into the vehicle before launching into a tirade of comments. Both fellas are jumped by the rest of her gang, car smashed up, then robbed.
Next, we meet two sweet American teens, Emily and Angelica. Emily is a very good girl, whilst Angelica is a bit more way out having experienced the big city for a while. They’re planning to go to a “big rave” deep in the woods nearby in this sleepy ol’ town.
Meanwhile, Chaos, Frankie, and Daisy are arguing over the small amount of booty they collected. “Fuckin’ women!” snarls Frankie, “Can’t live with ’em, can’t kill ’em!” Chaos passes by, “Speak for yourself.” That made us both laugh, so well timed. Back to the girls, leaving the desert roads momentarily, Emily’s mum is very stressed, whilst her dad uses a chainsaw, thus setting up a later set piece in this Last House on the Left remake. There’s a great blast of metal as they drive off.
Our gang of miscreants are planning to have some fun before they leave the state. There’s actually four of them, but we haven’t seen the son of Chaos just yet, called Swan. he’s apparently out somewhere trying to hook a few girls for their entertainment. Angelica notices a young guy by himself at the rave. “He looks like a stoner.” she decides. “Why?” grinned Willow, “cause he’s got black hair and a beard?” Nonetheless he says he can score for them, but they have to come with him to a cabin where his musician mates are having a get together. Yep, this is, of course, Swan, played by Sage Stallone, the eldest son of the infamous Rocky Stallone. Sage was actually a quite decent actor, at least in this. He sadly passed away rather young in 2012. Emily is quite guarded and doesn’t want to go, it’s only when Angela threatens to go by herself, that she reluctantly agrees.
Chaos, Frankie, and Daisy are lazing around among trash and loads of wasted pizza. Chaos is wanted in four states, he sees himself as something of a celebrity. The girls are lured in and held, The Devil’s Rejects style before they’re chucked into the back of a van, tied up. Emily’s mum seems to sense something is wrong, she’s getting more anxious. The gang head out deep within the woods and administer a few beatings to the helpless teenagers. Then the games and torments begin. Daisy (played by Kelly Quann) is absolutely brilliant. She is crazy. She loves it all, wanting a taste of the girls more than the guys do.
Chaos looks a bit like me if I grew my hair out (yeah, I’m shaven almost to the bone) He laughs his head off when Angela knees Frankie in the dick, allowing the girls to run off. They randomly split up. Angela is caught first, given the ultimate wedgie, then has a nipple cut off. Chaos eats some, forcing the rest into her mouth. We noticed how realistic the blood flow and texture was. He stabs her repeatedly, then fucks her whilst she dies.
Night falls, Emily is still loose. She realises she isn’t far from home. Will she make it? Or will the unhinged Chaos have his way?
We liked this more than the original Last House on the Left. Honestly, as seriously unholy it is to state that in the world of horror and not expect a backlash of fire and brimstone, the characters are better, the set up and reactions are great, plus the angle with the racist police adds a bit of depth to proceedings. Last House on the Left, for its time was extraordinary, ahead of everything else (aside from maybe Straw Dogs) but if we really focus, aside from violence and the man beast of bad guy actors, David Hess with his legendary performance, nothing else really stands up. Chaos is a well presented, tasteless updating of a classic which has a life of its own and a solid identity. It does serve as a warning with a whole heap of exploitation. Should be shown in high schools, with parent’s permission, it’ll bring many more extreme fanatics into the world. By the way, Willow didn’t comment that much throughout, as she said afterwards, she was way too engrossed in “this twisted film.”
We can assume this is the uncut version because the nipple cut and feeding scene is prolonged and very detailed, as is the dying then necrophilia rape. The film quality is sharp but with a slightly grainy look to capture movies of a long-lost decade. Aside from mum and dad, all the cast act and earn their wages well. In all fairness to David, he states in interviews that, yeah, he was influenced by the gritty classics of old, he took the blueprint from the origins of Last House on the Left and The Virgin Spring.
Roger Ebert stated in his review, “Chaos is ugly, nihilistic, and cruel — a film I regret having seen. I urge you to avoid it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s only a horror film, or a slasher film. It is an exercise in heartless cruelty and it ends with careless brutality…” However, he does make the point later on to say quite well, “Kevin Gage makes Chaos repulsive and cruel, Quann is effective as a pathetic, dim-witted sex slave, and the young victims are played with relentless sincerity; to the degree that we are repelled by the killers and feel pity for the victims, the movie works.” This began a series of retorts and letters between Roger and the film makers. On the extras to this Director’s Cut edition, there’s a documentary covering this, but to be honest neither of us were too enthralled by it because we were waiting for the money shot!
When I mentioned to Chris (our Severed Cinema daddy) that we were reviewing this version of Chaos, he said, “Wait ‘til you watch the extras and the one filmed in the morgue.” See Chris knows how Willow and I are into our real death footage and shockumentary stuff. He hit the nail on the head by tantalizing us with the teaser.
Sixteen minutes in the LA morgue. David Defalco stands before us, topless and big, wearing a huge chain. “First time in history! A director has been in here!” Michael, the head coroner is interviewed from the POV camera. He takes us through the proceedings of the day, showing us decomposed cadavers, all ages, shapes, mutilations. Brilliant. Worth the price of admission alone, forget the movie! David cuts in sometimes and is cheesy, I love him. “Ten thousand bodies a year come through here… braaah! This is the demon’s playground! This is reality. This is why I have my outlook on life! This…. is what Chaos is all about!“
Then comes the awkward moment as both director and coroner shares the screen, little Michael looks rather bewildered at the man mountain topless before him. It transpires that they were both at the time planning a film together, about how crystal meth usage is opening the gates to another world and people are getting possessed. Michael has concluded that this is fact. As the The Devil’s Doorway was named, Willow immediately prowled IMDb and other sites but to no avail. Sadly, this potential classic of trash was never made… yet… 2015, David stated in an interview that a future project would be The Devil’s Doorway. “I feel that Chaos was just the beginning and The Devil’s Doorway will be the next step in understanding real evil.“
AKA: The House in the Middle of Nowhere
Directed by: David DeFalco
Written by: David DeFalco
Produced by: Marc Sheffler, Steven Jay Bernheim
Cinematography by: Brandon Trost
Editing by: Peter Devaney, Marc Leif
Special Effects by: Thea Samuels, Tracy Wilcox Gillie, Ron Trost
Cast: Sage Stallone, Kevin Gage, Kelly Quann, Maya Barovich, Stephen Wozniak, Chantal Degroat
Year: 2005
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 14min
Distributor: Razor Digital Entertainment
DVD SPECS:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Region: NTSC R0/ALL
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL:
– The Roger Egbert Controversy
– Tour of the LA Coroners Crypt
– Commentary