Exploring August Underground: Review of the Jam-Packed Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from Unearthed Films!

The wait is over and the infamous pseudo-snuff film that started it all, August Underground, is back with a vengeance with a jam-packed Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo release from our friends at Unearthed Films! What makes this release even more special for your humble editor is I was fortunate enough to contribute to this release. More on that later…

Many with the knowledge of Toetag Pictures have an August Underground story; and Severed Cinema is no exception. Near 2001 a few VHS tapes showed up in the mail. One lone unmarked tape stared me in the face. What I didn’t realize then was that what I was about to witness would change my life forever.

The tape began with a grainy sequence of a couple guys entering a house. One held the camera as the other (Fred Vogel, The Final Interview) led him downstairs into the basement: “You are going to love this.” What was around the corner would become the most depraved and disturbing sequence in cinematic history. A crying naked woman (Ann Marie Reveruzzi), gagged with an apple and duct tape was tied to a chair in the room (a room plastered with blood and pornography). The unknown woman was caked in blood, missing a nipple, and sitting in her own piss and shit. In the back room her dead boyfriend lay in a bathtub, castrated, his penis discarded in the toilet. The degradation and misanthropy to follow would prove to be an endurance test for anyone.

I sat there in disbelief and watched as these two guys did unspeakable things. The cameraman (Allen Peters) smeared shit into the hole where the woman’s nipple once was. The other sadist (Fred Vogel) ate an apple, taunting the tortured woman as she sat starving in her seat of feces. I watched while the cameraman laughed maniacally as he crammed shit back into the victim. In the other room the onscreen killer focused on dismembering the dead guy’s leg while trying to refrain from vomiting, with no luck (in a scene that complements the realism of the sequence). All the while ‘Property of Absu Films’ intermittently appeared onscreen causing me to ponder further into what I was actually viewing. This couldn’t be real could it? After all, with “Property of Absu Films” appearing onscreen, this must mean it isn’t real, but rather, a very well-orchestrated pseudo-snuff film. But if this is the case, then who in their right mind would willingly showcase himself on video enacting such debauchery? On the other hand though, if this were genuine snuff, wouldn’t it be smart to make it seem “staged” by placing a production companies name strategically throughout the film? All these thoughts crossed my mind, while the experience truly frightened, disturbed and sickened me like no other “film” before. I didn’t turn the film off. I couldn’t resist. I had to see what these sicko’s were capable of.

Jump some 20-plus-years-later and Toetag and Unearthed Films have taken the underground horror community hostage, with a ransom note by way of this Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of August Underground. What Fred Vogel created in 2001 is an indisputable depiction of “horror.” When you watch August Underground, you experience what true horror is. What Vogel and crew have also created is a brand name you can trust. In Toetag Pictures existence, they have delivered authentic horror entertainment, with the AU films, a driving force toward the success of Murder-Set-Pieces as modern day exploitation with the combination of Nick Palumbo’s direction and Toetag’s effects work, not to mention the likes of The Redsin Tower, Sella Turcica (read review of Sella Turcica here), and Murder Collection.

Even though August Underground was created to represent a serial killer’s home movie, it does follow a relatively linear structure while taking traditional horror movie conventions and bashing them in your fucking face. The plot of the video follows two close friends, not unlike the guys you went to high school with. Their only divergence from the general public is that they have a crutch for sadism and slaughter. We live in a modern society with serial killers; we just don’t know them. This video intimately follows the two on their journey for self-gratification, to find their next victim. Footage of “everyday life” is juxtaposed with their infliction of human torment in a way that could not be more unsettling. The choice of depicting these two characters as “regular” guys makes it all the more disturbing and real. When Vogel’s baby-faced character lashes out on his victims, it’s terrifying. You see these types of people every day. They could be the murderers living next door. You just don’t know it yet.

This is as realistic as it gets, but is not completely devoid of blemishes. The only sequence that had me questioning the film’s authenticity was with the female hitchhiker. After Vogel’s character forces her out of the car for a blowjob, he ends the copulation by beating her to the ground. Whilst on top of her, he continues to pound her on the ground but the punches come across more like a wrestler’s staged antics than a real beating. This being the only flaw in the film, it does not stand out damagingly.

Fred Vogel’s August Underground depicts some of the most derogatory footage ever captured (next to Mordem and Penance of course). Abuse and degradation are taken to new heights of depravity with not only the footage of the blood and shit covered woman, but also with a couple prostitutes and two twin brothers (Aaron and Ben Labonte). One of the twins is murdered in front of the other, while being tortured and ridiculed of his loss. This is all before his skull faces the same demise as his brother’s, by the blow of a hammer. Not only does the film contain its own grade of nihilism, it also plays homage to another worthy piece of horror cinema. The home invasion sequence in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is mentioned in one of the commentaries by Vogel, as being a big inspiration for August Underground, and definitely shows homage in the convenience store invasion sequence where an unsuspecting couple is forced to sniff each other’s asses.

August Underground is a true testament of what horror should be; nasty, nihilistic, raw, and real. Murder is not an easy subject to stomach, and if August Underground makes you feel like a piece of shit as the viewer, then it has accomplished its task of depicting true serial murder.

Unearthed Films deliver a killer Limited Collector’s Edition at long last with a slipcase of new artwork as well as a reversible cover. The film is presented in both Blu-ray and DVD. The Blu-ray is presented MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 1.33:1 and is Region A format. The audio is presented 2.0 PCM. The menu design is awesome with an original menu which has a video of Vogel’s character (Peter Mountain) in a basement appearing to tell you “to just fucking hit play already.” Moving to the ‘Extras’ menu we get an even cooler menu design. This time Vogel’s character has a female (Shelby Vogel) gagged and tied to a chair ala the beginning scene in AU. He pulls her hair and forces her to tell the viewer to “pick a special feature.” This menu design has to be the best of any I have seen. The originality and layout are superb.

For the supplemental features we get an original screener version of August Underground as well as a whopping four audio commentaries. There is a new audio commentary with Fred Vogel and Ultra Violent Magazine and horror film historian Art Ettinger. Highlights include the discussion of the VHS screener being released as property of Absu Films as well as Vogel discussing meeting Jerami Cruise at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. The next commentary is with Vogel and former students Ben and Aaron Labonte, who worked on the film as actors and makeup effects artists. This commentary is interesting, but usually overlaps information given by Vogel in his director commentary. However, due to the consistent and repeated use of the phrase “you know,” this could be used as a popular August Underground drinking game. Each time someone says the phrase “you know” you take a drink. The next is a director commentary. Vogel gives an insight behind the making of the film, the cast, how many of his students from the Tom Savini institute worked with him on AU, and even some filming mishaps on set (one of which Vogel’s character accidentally smashes his brothers head through the glass of a cooler in a convenience store). The final commentary is from the Killer’s perspective. What we get is Vogel’s serial killer character forcing another captive girl to endure this home video. He mocks her and beats her, the whole while the sobbing girl begs to go home. This puts a fresh feel to August Underground for fans who have viewed the film multiple times. Whilst watching the film with this new sadistic soundtrack it becomes almost surreal and brings back the original emotions of seeing such a disturbing film. 

Next up we get a short original introduction by Fred Vogel (1min-20sec). We then get a new featurette titled ’10 Questions with Fred Vogel’ (12min-30sec). ‘Toetag Masterclass: From Storyboard to Screen’ (6min-43sec) is a very cool storyboard anamatic outlining the scene, following which we seen the scene in question of a man and a woman held captive tied in chairs, back-to-back from one another. Youtube Captain Mrparka conducts his first interview: ‘Dave Parker Interviews Fred Vogel & Mike Watt’ (1hour-7min) which is an informative look back at Mike Watt being one of the first to review the film (featured in Rue Morgue) or even see August Underground. His second interview, ‘Dave Parker Interviews Fred Vogel’ (46min-32sec) the two discuss the mythos surrounding the film, how only limited special editions of the film have been released over the years and tackle why the film is so sought after to this day. The two have a great report with one another. ‘Revisiting Infamy: Severed Cinema Interviews Fred Vogel’ (38min-30sec) is my contribution to this phenomenal release where I interview Fred. Some highlights for me include Fred discussing how the film affected his personal life with family and friends and the difficulties being the face of August Underground. Please try to ignore my choice of blurring the background on my camera and my restless leg syndrome. I’m still very proud of being a part of this release. We continue with the 67-minute documentary directed by the then Toetag Street Team front man Logan Tallman, entitled ‘Hammer to the Head: A Closer Look at August Underground’. This documentary is divided into two sections; the first being ‘August Underground on Location’ which follows Vogel back to the areas in which he originally shot. A highlight of this is an interview with Vogel’s grandmother, Victoria Jones, who relives being murdered in the film and her support for Freddy. The second segment is titled ‘August Underground Behind the Brutality’ and focuses more on behind-the-scenes footage of makeup effects work. We also get some interviews with various people including actor/casting director John Wisniewski, actor/FX artist Aaron Labonte, actor/FX artist Ben Labonte, and FX artist Jerami Cruise. This is one of the best original features on this release. Moving on we get ‘August Underground “Too Real for Comfort” An Outsiders Perspective,’ which is a massive 102-minute compilation of interviews from various people about their first experience with Toetag Pictures and August Underground. It is cool to hear other people’s experiences with the film. Some of the participants include Tony Simonelli of Xploited Cinema, Killjoy of Necrophagia, Nick Palumbo of Fright Flix, Art Ettinger and Allana Sleeth of Ultra Violent Magazine, Jovanka Vuckovic of Rue Morgue, and Rob Steinbruegge the Superfan. Notably, Rob the Superfan’s interview was a great inclusion and is refreshing to see such intense passion and love for the genre. Rounding off ‘An Outsiders Perspective’ is a brutal sequence where Crusty tortures and cuts the throat of Logan Tallman, which is up there with the nastiness of the Iraqi beheading videos. Finalizing the supplemental features, we get a ‘Photo Gallery’, ‘Web Promo’, and trailers for August Underground, Mordum, and Penance.

Unearthed Films’ August Underground Limited Collector’s Edition is the best Blu-ray release of the year so far. Mordum and Penance are coming!

AKA: Fred Vogel’s August Udnerground

Directed by: Fred Vogel
Written by: Fred Vogel, Allen Peters
Produced by: Fred Vogel
Cinematography by: Allen Peters
Editing by: Kelly Hutch
Special Effects by: Loaded Dice Effects
Music by: Kaos FM, Richard J. Donahue
Cast: Ann Marie Reveruzzi, John A. Wisniewski, Alexa Iris, Aaron LaBonte, Ben LaBonte, Fred Vogel
Year: 2001
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 10min

Studio: Toetag Inc.
Distributor: Unearthed Films

BLU-RAY SPECS:

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 16:9 1080p HD MPEG-4 AVC
Region: A
Audio: English, 2.0 LPM

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL:

– NEW Original Screener Version (BLU-RAY ONLY)
– NEW Audio commentary by Actor/Director Fred Vogel and Ulta Violent Magazine’s Art Ettinger
– Audio Commentary By Fred Vogel With Actors Aaron LaBonte & Ben LaBonte
– Audio Commentary By Actor/Director Fred Vogel
– Audio Commentary By ‘The Killer’
– NEW 10 Questions with Fred Vogel
– NEW TOETAG Masterclass: From Storyboard To Screen
– NEW Dave Parker Interviews Fred Vogel (BLU-RAY ONLY)
– NEW Dave Parker Interviews Fred Vogel & Mike Watt (BLU-RAY ONLY)
– NEW Revisiting Infamy: Severed Cinema interviews Fred Vogel (BLU-RAY ONLY)
– HAMMER TO THE HEAD: A Closer Look At August Underground
– August Underground On Location
– August Underground Behind The Brutality
– August Underground ‘Too Real For Comfort’ An Outsiders Perspective
– An Introduction By Director Fred Vogel
– Photo Gallery
– Trailers