Dark Mix Tape Review: A Deranged Symphony of Gore, Exploitation, and Death in Tony Newton’s Snuff Film-Style Horror Anthology!
Rob Ceus’s TerrorVisions Productions regularly puts out so many underground releases and some go relatively unnoticed due to limited visual advertising relying more on word of mouth.
One of the most deranged in the catalogue must be Tony Newton’s Dark Mix Tape. It’s a snuff film style horror anthology similar, I suppose, to V/H/S, but honestly it looks more rugged and gritty like the idea of a genuine snuff film. There’s a lot of names involved within, folks who are wandering the wastelands of rotten gruesome black passages below the realm of horror movies.
Tony Newton himself takes us straight into this relentless shocking bloodbath with his contribution brilliantly shot all fuzzy screen, lovingly warm, like a videotape. There’s gore and a mask in a bath. Melancholic piano keys play over. We cut to a closeup of a bleeding wrist, razor blade hovering over. Then we have a victim tied up in a gimp mask, sat in that bloody bath. Hey, it’s the identical leather mask Partner in Gore, Willow, and I, used in our fake trailer, Perdita for the upcoming Video Shop Tales of Terror II collective, except we mutilated ours to look freakier. There’s a closeup of our assailant’s bare ass as he forces a tube into his captive’s mouth.
Sinister music dominates this prolonged uncomfortable deepthroat torture. Then it’s time to chop up a body! The lengthy paused and lingering moments truly make this look authentic; the music is also key.
Act Two has the crazy duo, Mercedes the Muse and Moses as nude gimp girl with tied up sub. She’s mugging into the camera whilst bullying his danglies with a sharp object. Oh yeah, he’s wearing a pig mask.
This is so funny, especially the obviously fake dismembered member. His real penis is still visible, not even tucked away. They’re a super cool double act though, not too serious, and well known around the California fetish scene.
Next contestant in the snuff movie style is the wonderfully nasty, Matti Soikkeli (we’re reviewing his short flick compilation soon). Matti is a solid working guy, always producing violence ‘n’ muggy depressing visions in minimal colours. This is no different, starting symbolically with a cherub and blood, then we se the total fucking abuse of an emo looking girl. Punches, rape, and finally eyeball fun unfolds in glorious black and white, accompanied by walls of movie posters.
Simply show stopping, effective in its basic extreme approach. What follows is a festive season special as a kid in an elf suit is filming the night before Christmas. His parents argue, then it all ends in….once again torture whilst tightly bound. Hmm, such a jolly running theme to this compilation. A human Xmas tree is made. This segment has been well planned, executed with finesse and detail. Cheerfully violent.
Valeria Henry and Sean Murray bring us a quickie few minutes as a prostitute kills a man who is tied up, of course. He gets to say “Cunt!” loads. Valeria has been in quite a few similar films; this short chapter has a sharp shock intensity so it works well.
Dean Houlihan of Nekrology (see review of Nekrology here) presents Gore Club Elite, a company that pays people handsomely to produce video packages of themselves killing. This part starts off with a montage of images — riots, drugs, death, debauchery, and evil music. Yeah, it’s like a modern take on the old school shockumentaries. “Every package I deliver I promise will be more brutal…” says James, played by Dean himself. It’s very August Underground in spirit but seeing as James is a boss level sadist when it comes to messing people up, it’s a shame the effects are piss poor. But this is great over the top comical fun from Dean and Matthew Mark Hunter (who has written, directed, and produced over two hundred short movies since 2013! What the fuck?!)
The Tim Furlow grand finale is honestly worth the price of admission alone. It’s ten minutes of hell, including stalking, followed by absolutely intense hardcore gore and pain made us need more of it. As Willow said, that could have run for an hour and not dropped off. The pressure is frantic. Cool Anton LaVey tattoo by the way.
We end with a dedication to the late actor and effects artist, Mickey Espinoza who contributed here and there. The man is a legend and incredible artist. He’s been making crazy creations behind the curtains since 2021.
Tony Newton’s Dark Mix Tape is a force of inhuman nature. An onslaught of goresploitation with many different levels on show. It’s similar to Domiziano Cristopharo’s once regularly unleashed anthology films. It’s horror, sex, art, and death.
Currently the best way to get through to TerrorVisions is via Rob Ceus’s social media profiles, until his official website is complete.
Here are the links: facebook.com/rob.ceus.56, instagram.com/robceus
Dark Mix Tape
Directed by: Tony Newton, Mercedes the Muse, Moses, Matti Soiketti, Zach Shildwachter, Valeria Henry, Sean Murray, Dean Houlihan, Matthew Mark Hunter, Emil Levin, Tim Furlow
Written by: Tony Newton, Matti Soiketti, Zach Shildwachter, Valeria Henry, Mercedes the Muse, Moses
Produced by: Tony Newton
Special effects by: Mickey Espinoza and more
Music by: Beetlemuse, Kevin Macleod and more
Cast: Toby Newton, Dean Houlihan, Sonja Hadjiiski, Matti Soiketti, Romeo Soiketti, Morgan Miller, Sadie Tate, Mercedes the Muse, Matthew Mark Hunter, Mickey Espinoza, Sadie Satanas, Moses
Year: 2021
Language: English
Colour: Colour, Black & White
Runtime: 1h 14min
Distributor: TerrorVisions Productions
