John’s Horror Corner: Little Deaths (2011)

MY CALL:  More about sick sexual themes than horror or death, this anthology presents a perverse trio of unlinked shorts that I hesitate to recommend to anyone other than fans of the torture-porn or Tokyo Gore Shock subgenres.  It’s just for people who want to be shocked by the appalling.  [B-/C+]  IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH:  If you like this for what it is, then aim for The Human Centipede films.  Otherwise, some fun, decent or clever anthologies include (in order of release date) Black Sabbath (1963), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973), Creepshow (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), Creepshow 2 (1987), Tales from the Dark Side: The Movie (1990), Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993), Campfire Tales (1997), 3 Extremes (2004), Trick ‘r Treat (2007), Chillerama (2011), The Theater Bizarre (2011), V/H/S (2012), and the upcoming The ABC’s of Death (2012) and The Profane Exhibit (2012 or 2013).

The French word for orgasm translates into “little death,” clearly the etymology of this title.

This British anthology is about the most perverted I’ve seen.  Not for gore, torture or murderous means, but such from the darkest and most sexually depraved recesses of the fragmented mind.  These tales feature rape, masturbation, psychological abuse and BDSM…and images of full frontal nudity (male and female), urination, mutant genitals, vaginal bleeding, ejaculation and semen, with many of these themes and elements present in more than one of the shorts.   The “horror” themes seem minor; rarely supernatural and serving more to “end” the short stories instead or drive them.  This is clearly an inappropriate film which should not be taken lightly, not be presented to minors (or even most adults), or really recommended at all lest you be someone with cinematic tastes favoring shocking extremes.

Unlike more thoughtful anthologies, the three short films of this movie are not linked by an over-arching concept or storyteller.  They are simply presented one after another, each of them with shock-value-driven themes and lousy endings.  Below, I present a synopsis and critique of each short film.

House and Home–written and directed by Sean Hogan (Summer’s Blood writer)

Richard and Victoria Gull are an upper-middle class British couple that appear equal parts caring and cold.  Posing as religious do-gooders they lure homeless people into their homes for a kind meal, a bath and a night in a warm bed.  After luring a young woman (intriguingly named Sorrow) to their home for dinner, they drug her and take turns doing, ummmm, things to her.  MY CALL:  Sure, it opens and endures with a solid, sick but well-done, shock-schlock cinema appeal.  But it’s ending degenerates into something overly simplistic as if the writers, or perhaps the director, got lazy and dumped some gaudy scene on us that relied on gore as a crutch rather than a cinematic device.  [B-/C+]

Mutant Tool— written and directed by Andrew Parkinson (Venus Drowning, Dead Creatures)

Jen is an ex-prostitute, a drug dealer and an addict looking to kick her bad habits–all of them.  She seeks medical assistance from a shady doctor who prescribes a new, very promising drug that has its share of side effects including hallucinations and increased “sexuality.”  However, the doctor is more concerned with experimenting on his patients than helping them.  MY CALL:  After a quick, cheap opening shock, this story really doesn’t go anywhere until the very end, when an inanely ridiculous twist ending is shoved in our face.  Depending on your taste, you might even get a laugh out of it.  [C-]

Bitch–written and directed by Simon Rumley (The Living and the Dead, The ABC’s of Death)

Pete and Claire share an interesting relationship.  Claire is a psychologically abusive domme who weaponizes her sexuality against Pete.  Claire also has an irrational fear of dogs even though she has Pete behave, live and “dress” as a dog for her domination pleasure.  MY CALL:  The ending is quite sick and was likely intended to represent some manner of poetic justice.  I would suggest that, outside of a little shock value, this venture failed while still being the best ending of the anthology’s shorts.  However, a fine job was done setting a depressed mood (from Pete’s perspective) using blue-tone soft lighting and gritty film.  Their relationship was depicted very effectively and, beyond the aim of this film, told an interesting story on its own.  [C+]