The most infamous films in the horror genre are often the most extreme. These are films that take all the nasty stereotypes about horror movies and actually make a film out of them. From the taboo to the downright terrible, nothing is off-limits in the Extreme Horror genre. What makes these films so compelling to so many is their ability to elicit “true horror” from the viewer. These are the movies that horror fans are afraid of, and in many cases for good reason. If Horror is escapist entertainment, then Extreme Horror is the McKamey Manor equivalent. No one will fault you for not liking these films because they are violently intentional in letting you know what they are and what is contained within them. Not for you? You’ll know it right away. If you ask fans of the genre, however, they may tell you that this is pure fear effectively concentrated into the most potent content possible. Films that will stain you with the unforgettable nature of their brutality and dedication to realism and/or perversity. One of the most infamous of the bunch is Fred Vogel’s August Underground’s Mordum. The sequel to his divisive first film, it prides itself on being meaner, nastier, and more deviant than its predecessor. Is this horror hyperbole or “holy f*cking sh*t” horror?

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

The sequel to the cult classic August Underground is a character study in the sick, an amoral putrid fantasy. The footage contained in August Underground's MORDUM documents extreme deviant sexuality, torture, and murder, while unfolding a classic tale of a man and woman in love. However, the woman cannot give up her other lover, who also happens to be her younger brother. August Underground's MORDUM will vomit all over you and leave you for dead!

HOW IS IT?

In our last review of “August Underground”, we talked about the effectiveness of the film in delivering an authentic horror experience. One that doubles down on depravity and delivers a viewing experience that could be described as “dangerous”. It is hard to imagine anything ever topping that, but it seems if anyone would be able to it would be the man who did the first one. “August Undergroud’s Mordum” (hereto referred to as “Mordum”) is Fred Vogel saying to Fred Vogel, “Hold my beer”. Not only is “Mordum” a more intense film than the first film, it is something that will haunt you. It will make question if what you’re watching is real, and at the same time make you question why you’re watching it. Watching “Mordum” feels like you’re seeing something you’re not supposed to, and you may even find yourself drawing the blinds and watching on low volume to hide your shame, but one thing cannot be denied; this may be the scariest movie you’ll ever see.

To say that “Mordum” has more plot than the last film would be slightly disingenuous. Yes, there is more going on in “Mordum”, but there isn’t much more in the way of “story”. Similar to the first film, this is handheld SOV style where we follow a sickly love triangle on a murderous rampage. What makes this love triangle “sickly” you ask? Well, that could be that one man’s girlfriend is sleeping with her actual brother and all three of them go about killing people in all types of diabolical ways. All of this is unveiled in the first 5 minutes, and from there, we are treated to more of the same experience of murder set pieces mashed together. Playing out like how you might imagine a cursed VHS tape would, the movie jumps from one torturous murder scene to another with the occasional character development dabbled throughout. The biggest change, aside from this being a trio rather than a duo of killers, is the increased amount of sexual violence. It takes a lot to unnerve me, and credit where credit is due, there are parts of “Mordum” that made me literally squirm and it wasn’t on account of the gore. The production design here is somehow exponentially more disgusting than the last film and a lot of that is on account of the increased amount of taboo situations mostly involving necrophilia. Much of the credit for the unnerving can be attributed to the extremely talented team of folks doing prop and makeup effects.

To say the makeup effects are “great” would be a wild disservice. The work in “Mordum” is some of the most realistic and putrid designs ever committed to film. Films like these live or die (no pun intended) on how well they can execute (again, not intended) the illusion that even though you’re watching a movie it looks too real. This is a literal hellscape on film. A compilation of nightmarish situations in some of the most revolting locations perpetuated by some of the most heinous people you can think of. This is not a comfortable film, and yet, it is exactly what it sets out to be. A detour into the potential that humans, not supernatural creatures or monsters, can inflict upon one another. Vogel and his collaborators understand that this isn’t meant to be an “enjoyable” experience, rather, it is one meant to make you feel. It is a test to ensure you still have your humanity and your wits about you, even in spite of the real-life horrors and atrocities that populate our headlines. I can’t imagine anyone out there watches this film regularly as it is just too demanding on your emotions, or at least it was for me. Nevertheless, I’m glad I’ve seen it and I’m fascinated by the mythos surrounding it. These films are important not because of what they show, but because they are the epitome of horror boiled down into its most aggressive and avant-garde form.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

Very much like the first film, “Mordum” is not intended to be a hi-fi HD experience. Still, Unearthed Films have once again demonstrated that they are not just releasers of material, but caretakers of the contents within. Again presented in a fullscreen aspect ratio of 1.33:1 this blu ray is as good as the film will ever look. Unearthed Films head honcho Stephen Biro commissioned a new 2023 transfer for this release working alongside Vogel and Toetag Films. The grime and grit of this film are intentional and essential to the viewing of the film. Images from this release are used throughout this review and seen below:

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

Once again, no fancy surround sound audio tracks here and just a nice, crisp 2.0 PCM Stereo track. It is a loud film, and by nature, there are some moments where the screaming is clearly intended to overstep normal audio levels so it should go without saying that this film is going to pierce your ears at points. Again, all this is by design so imperfections are not so much a product of the sound transfer as much as the sound design. A solid audio track, no question.

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

While “Mordum” is a film that isn’t easy to revisit, this release absolutely is! Not only is it packed with some of the previously released material, but it is comprised of over 80% (my rough assessment, not a claim by Unearthed Films) of newly commissioned material. There is so much content that it was hard to focus on all of it, and we started with “Mordum Lives”. This is a roughly 5-minute single-camera interview with Fred Vogel where he talks explicitly about this release from Unearthed and how the film came to be. Vogel speaks about how he didn’t really intend to make a sequel to August Underground, but when he and MagGot were making a music video for Necrophagia they realized they wanted to take these ideas and go feature-length with them. Vogel is a great interview and even in 5 minutes he crams a whole lot of information in there. There is another feature, “The Most Disturbing Scene” where Vogel speaks about what he sees as the most messed up part of the movie. I’m sure it may be hard to pick for viewers, but for Vogel, the decision was clear, the climax of the film. It’s hard to disagree as you get a regular sampler plate of depraved delicacies. It was also interesting to hear that fellow Extreme Horror filmmaker Ryan Nicholson (R.I.P.) loaned them two of the most vile props in the film, and of course if you saw maggots in the movie, they were real.

Another interesting feature was a 33-minute interview with MagGot. Titled “A Family Affair of Love and Hate”, this is an interesting interview with Michael Todd Schneider aka MagGot who played the brother in “Mordum’s” incest-laced trio. He and Vogel worked together on Toetag Films and MagGot goes into detail on how “Mordum” came to be. Interestingly, they almost worked with Fangoria on a theatrical release that didn’t play out, and thus led them to make “Mordum”. One of the areas MagGot was keen to expand upon from Vogel’s first film was not just showing the “aftermath” of the killings and torture, but actually the “happening” part of the experience. Safe to say they succeeded. A full list of special features included in this release is below:

BONUS MATERIALS

NEW! Audio commentary with Jerami Cruise and Ultra Violent Magazine's Art Ettinger
New! Interview with Fred Vogel
New! Interview with Jerami Cruise
New! Interview with Michael Maggot
Audio commentary by Toetag
New! Interview with Fred Vogel and Zoë Rose Smith
New! Snuff Purgatory: Severed Cinema interviews Fred Vogel
'Rue Morgue Disciple' Necrophagia Music Video
Deleted and extended scenes
U.S. Premiere 2003
Photo Gallery
Trailers

LAST RITES

“August Underground’s Mordum” is the penultimate Extreme Horror film. It somehow finds a way to top its predecessor, while also etching out its own mark with nauseatingly effective makeup effects and characters who are unhinged as they are unconscionable. This is an exercise is madness and mayhem, and the supplemental material packaged within makes this a “must buy” for fans fo Extreme Horror, but bet warned…

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to the fine fiends over at MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing a review copy for the crypt! August Undergeround’s Mordum is available NOW and can be purchased via MVD DIRECT or if you’d like a signed copy of the film you can purchase it from the TOETAG PICUTRES SITE!

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Nov 4, 2020

Matthew Orozco