Deep Web XXX Review from The Enchanted Architect!
Domiziano Cristopharo and his merry band of sick-in-the-head freak shows are becoming something of a regular theme for Severed Cinema. I’ll be interviewing Domiziano in the near future, but it always appears that the anthology films they create drop by our Severed Laboratory time and time again. We’ve reviewed two of the POE collections, and most recently, the rather unique A Taste of Phobia — Amicus Productions and the Herbert Van Thal paperbacks were never like this.
The first thing which struck me in this anthology, Deep Web XXX, is the particular choice of music. It is so haunting and ‘80s electronic, similar to the Maniac remake score and very fitting to the subject matter.
Our bridge character apprehensively sits at his laptop and gingerly enters the world of the web. He’s very nervous, almost shaking as he types and searches The Queen of Hearts accompanied by identifying numbers. He selects a video – Fucks Blondes Body Fucking. Go on, lad. Live it up!
Everybody who passes through the door to an executive club must produce a playing card – the Queen of Hearts. Throughout the movie, I guess to have your vid on this feed, you have to be a card holding member because the Queen is shown many times. We’re into segment one which is called, Queens No Hearts. It’s a women only club and all bathed in luscious red. Blurry hand-held and keeping company with a terminally erratic piano. Masks, feeling ups — it’s a hen party extraordinaire. It is also very classy, especially when we’re introduced to their choice of toy for the evening – a bloke tied to a chair looking rather depressed. They’re ramming food in his face and grinning. I mean, they’re feeding the poor chap – properly feeding him. Most of the grub slops down his chin and onto his naked lap. The get together steps up further as a girl wearing a rabbit mask and sporting a huge strap-on cock appears.
This first story is an attention grabber. Stylish, brilliantly realised, keeping the red hue all the way through, and nobody speaks. We just hear the grinding music. It’s filthy, sickly, and totally absorbing.
Our central chap is having a right good chuckle watching this whole thing unfold on his laptop. He selects another video. Welcome to Exposure.
“Please! Why are you doing this to me?” cries a blonde girl as she’s hauled into a room by some fella who’s face is blurred out and his voice distorted to protect his identity – a nice touch to that one. She’s secured on a chair, sobbing and we notice a few instruments of pain by her side laid out on a table. Yeah, this isn’t going to end well for her. “I’m going to show you what true horror is all about.” his voice does sound a little bit like Mr. Bean with the distortion. He teases her with various sharp implements and I began to wonder if he was basically all words and threats, perhaps she might end up getting bored. It takes a while but things do get a bit bloody – a bit. This is like a more held back variation of the fake snuff movie that Rob watched on the cinema in the original Nekromantik.
Our surfer looks like he’s either engrossed or bewildered at how tame the last video was by standards that he’s probably paid up a subscription for this site. Never mind, segment 3, Cruising, by our main man, Domiziano Cristopharo could save our blackened souls as a ‘Bear’ wearing leather and holding a playing card (guess which one?) stares out of the screen. What follows is a load of blokes, dressed to impress and a healthy bit of flagellation. Well, limp wrist puny flagellation at that. Come on! Put some fucking muscle into it! Hell, even Kate Winslet endured a near to real whipping in the 2000 classic, Quills. The scene wouldn’t look right, so she apparently told them to whip her for real. Damn girl! There’s a youthful buck walking around filming all the goings-on in the dark room. The older bloke dishing out the whip is wearing glasses and looks like a scary librarian. “This is what happens when you don’t return your books on time, young man!” he might say at any moment. The chapter is, like the first, silent, but for the throbbing music.
After a while, the lad who’s manacled up starts to look a bit sore and bothered. I mean, after so many light flappy strikes, skin will feel it. I’ve seen a few CP, BDSM and extreme vids (research purposes of course!) in the past, and this is rather tame. Meanwhile, in an adjoining room, a man wearing a dog mask is being buggered ruthlessly by a chap in a pig mask, for a laugh obviously.
If you personally don’t have any gay friends who are very open about explaining their conquests (yeah, you know who you both are!) and you’ve never chanced upon the BDSM scene whether homosexual or heterosexual, then you will be repelled by this part and be like “Ohhh, nooooo…” especially by the onslaught of men’s cocks and bare asses all over the place. There’s a fair amount of lubrication, fisting, and a massive shock to end proceedings. There are more hanging chains than Hellraiser, and the Bear who held the card up at the start, just has a permanent pissed-off expression throughout which made me chuckle. Miserable old sod! Cheer up, you’re part of a great segment!
Nope, I doubt our web surfing buddy expected it to finish up the way it did. He looks rather taken aback and hurriedly selects something else to watch instead. Deep within the catacombs, a candle burns as a Nun silently says her prayers before a nude woman who is crucified. This is more of a skit in amongst the meat on the bone. After the interval, we have Sam Mason Bell’s Test 424, and three solemn girls lead by the stern voice of Alex Mott. They are subjects in an experiment which starts with happiness, euphoria, and leads to something else. What particularly makes this one jump out is the great use of gritty old school style camera, akin to the old medical videos which feature on documentaries and YouTube, which, due to the subject matter, is exactly where Sam was going with his entry in this collage. The actresses play their parts well and make it totally chilling as we watch their progression and then decline.
Feed Me More could easily be a desert and sequel to chapter one. We witness a blindfolded girl simply being made to eat and eat and eat. She gags, she retches, but the food keeps on coming. I suppose it has been inspired by the 2005 flick, Feed, but succeeds in treading further in a matter of minutes. Uneasy camera angles and close-ups share the banquet with the viewer – but reveals that not a lot is actually consumed by the actress, it all ends up down her chest and into her lap. Mind you, there’s a brutal shock ending like in Cruising, so it raises a “Whooaa!”
Stalker by Emanuele Marchetto, stars Steve Swadda as a disturbed bloke who sits before his TV, nude and swigging spirits whilst viewing videos he has made of his latest unknowing subject. “He’s got a small willy.” chuckled by Horror Soulmate. I think it’s the way that he’s crouched down does him no favours. As if hearing her words, he decides to have a jolly good wank whilst wearing a stocking over his head. In his home movie, the Stalker follows his prey and finally catches her. “Dirty bastard.” stated my Horror Soulmate. She’d been rather quiet and engrossed by everything so far, only now in the later part growing vocal with some choice quotes.
Stalker is a complete mind-fuck. It’s incredible and a throwback to the old experimental shorts which circulated in the late ‘80s and ‘90s. You know what I like about these anthology flicks? There’s always one performance which cripples everyone else along the way – Steve Swadda gets the honour this time around. His self-mutilation is show stopping – he certainly stunned my Horror Soulmate into complete silence.
However, the show isn’t over. The curtains are still open. Let’s not forget our internet surfer, and what secrets he has in his apartment as he films his entry to the site…
Deep Web XXX has a lot contained within its pulsing throbbing walls. Sex, death, gore, chopping, torture, slicing, it is unstoppable and out of control. Thrilling, disturbing, and eye popping. It refuses to give any mercy to the viewer as it beats you down.
Don’t expect a story with a twist as you view the segments – they exist to chill and delve into dark fetishes only. Deep Web XXX is an instant underground classic with perfect ideas, direction, lighting, acting, and especially effects. I cannot find a weak link anywhere. Even, Exposure, though it held back way too much, paid off in the end.
Will this anthology violate you? Will it offend some? Will it turn on others? Yes to all of those questions and then some. You know what to expect now, so brace yourselves and get ready.
Directed by: Martyna Madej, Jason Impey, Domiziano Cristopharo, Davide Pesca, Sam Mason Bell, Emanuele Marchetto | Written by: Domiziano Cristopharo, Martyna Madej, Jason Impey, Francesco Foletto,
Sam Mason Bell | Produced by: Francesco Foletto, Elisa Carrera Fumagalli, Domiziano Cristopharo | Editing by: Domiziano Cristopharo,
Sam Mason Bell, Martyna Madej, Davide Pesca |
Music by: Frederic Mauerhofer, Kevin Macleod, Athanasius Pernath, Francesco Zuccarello, Emanuele Magni | Special Effects by: Sharon Impey, Athanasius Pernath, Davide Pesca, Alessandro Basso |
Cast: Mark Thompson-Ashworth, Alisha Payer, Martin W Payne, Chris Mills, Emma Victoria, Elisa Carrera Fumagalli, Kaz B, Steve Swadda, Alan Smithee, Alex Mott, Simone Avincola, Ray Cross, Paola Maccari, Paola Fiorido, Martina Oggianu,Valerie Von Otto, Suzy Weatherall, Alice Mullholland, Pati Douce, Elisa Carrera Fumagalli, Steve Swadda, Alessandro Basso. | Year: 2018 | Country: Italy, UK, USA | Language: English | Runtime: 1h 17min | Studio: The Enchanted Architect, Vestra Pictures