COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - THE NECRO FILES (VISUAL VENGEANCE BLU RAY)

English writer John Ruskin once said, “Taste is the only morality. Tell me what you like and I'll tell you what you are.” If we take Ruskin at his word, what do you think he would make of horror fans? The subject of taste and horror are as familiar to each other as oil and water. There has always been and likely continues to be a subset of the population that looks down upon the genre as one of the lowest forms of entertainment. Like any broad generalization, the truth is buried under tons of hyperbole. Its human nature for us to reject what we don’t like or understand, and because of social constructs, we feel the need to organize ourselves in terms of superiority over others. The famous Latin phrase “De gustibus non est disputandum”, roughly translates to “regarding taste, there is no dispute”. Most of us know this as, “there’s no accounting for taste” and who would have thought you’d get a Latin and Etymology lesson reading a horror blog, but I digress. When it comes to preferences and “taste”, even within the horror genre some folks scoff at sub-genres because of their distaste and ire for the content or tropes. So what do you get when you mix up some of the most transgressive aspects of horror AND mix it with the niche genre of SOV (shot on video) film, 1997’s THE NECRO FILES. The second release from the newly minted boutique label VISUAL VENGEANCE is the kind of release horror fans either love to hate or hate to love and today in the crypt we are gonna see if this SOV shocker is a feast for all or simply an acquired “taste”?

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

 A serial killer rises from the grave as a flesh-eating zombie maniac! Two Seattle cops, a satanic cult and a flying demon baby try to stop the lust-crazed ghoul before he can kill again.

HOW IS IT?

I cannot stress enough how much the above description undersells so much of the already absurd plot. In the realm of SOV cinema, the boundary between “good” and “bad” taste is often non-existent. What you usually get is something that would never pass a rating board and looks like it is cobbled together with minimalist budgets and maximum amounts of effort. There is an admiration for SOV cinema, much like cheeses with strong odors, that can signify sophistication and sleaze at the same time. This preamble is largely to inform you that THE NECRO FILES is not going to charm the SOV naysayers to expand their horizons, but for those who already revel in the escargot of horror, it is a blast!

The brief story outline leaves out some rather important tonal markers of THE NECRO FILES that will immediately make it a go/no go for most viewers. Within the first 5 minutes of the film, we see a swastika-masked serial killer attack and rape/kill a woman maniacally. This is by no means a defense of the film’s aesthetic choices, but nothing here is handled with any level of seriousness to the point where it is exploitative. In fact, the sexual violence that occurs in this is more “sixth grade boys telling dirty jokes” rather than a “visceral hardcore horror snuff-like” film. That’s kind of the whole gimmick for the film; a bunch of audaciously ridiculous taboo scenarios played out more for cheap laughs than horror. While the camera does linger a bit too long in the opening shower scene, the rest of THE NECRO FILES is not intended to entice the viewer with sexuality as much as it does with silliness. One’s enjoyment of this kind of thing is less a reflection of the viewer as much as it is their sense of humor and willingness to put up with some extremely bootstrapped production conditions.

There are times when THE NECRO FILES crosses lines with some unnecessary derogatory language that is sadly a byproduct of the times and the SOV genre. It’s not the kind of thing one takes offense to as much as it stands out in today’s modern context. To be clear though, the language is not the thing that is most likely to offend in THE NECRO FILES. If you aren’t turned off by the baby sacrifice in the first 15 minutes, then you’re not likely to find much else to be bothered by. The only reason THE NECRO FILES works is because of how shoestring the effects and aesthetic of the film are. Even when things are meant to induce a shock, they usually induce a chuckle from just how silly the effects are on-screen. The zombie baby literally just zooms by attacking people, and it looks very much like the kind of generic toy doll one would find in a dollar store. At a whopping 72-minutes, it’s over almost as soon as it starts and also no longer than it needs to be. Funnily enough, THE NECRO FILES ends alluding to a kind of sleazy X-Files type of story to come which isn’t a terrible idea even if I’m not sure this is the film to be that pitch’s Trojan Horse. 

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

VISUAL VENGEANCE specializes in SOV horror in the high-def era, which feels like the oxymoronic statement of the year. That said, the visual quality of THE NECRO FILES is as good as the genre implies, it’s shot on video. It is presented in fullscreen 1.33:1 aspect ratio and the transfer was original SD tape masters. Considering this was shot on tape, the quality remains unchanged here although I must imagine that improvements were made if applicable. Screenshots from the release are used throughout the review and below:

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

Much like the look, the sound here is nothing to write home about. The stereo audio track is sufficient, however, I do have to hand it to VISUAL VENGEANCE for putting subtitles on here as an option! In this day and age, every release should have subtitles and if VISUAL VENGEANCE can do it so can everyone else who isn’t.

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

For SOV horror, VISUAL VENGEANCE really rolls out the red carpet of special features. First and foremost, the packaging for the VISUAL VENGEANCE line is some of the best in the boutique world. This release comes with some nostalgic video stickers and a THE NECRO FILES branded condom alongside a reversible sleeve and slipcover. I know this all sounds gimmicky, and it is, but as collectors, that’s what we love! On the special features front, I took in a couple of different vignettes.

The first was an interview with Director Matt Jiassle. It runs about 10 minutes long and takes place in a cemetery, perhaps the same one from the film, and is over as soon as it starts. I’’s mostly a nickel-stop tour of how Jiassle got started making home movies with a Super8 camera which eventually led him to THE NECRO FILES. He talks a little about working with next to no budget and gives advice to aspiring filmmakers. The second vignette I watched was Dong of the Dead: The Making of the Necro Files, which is a 20-minute interview pretending to be a mini-documentary. Most of the footage is of Director Matt Jiassle and some on-location footage is intercut. He talks about stories from the shoot and the tribulations of filming in public areas with the general public as well as when Chris Farley (fresh out of rehab) went to the premier of the film and proclaimed it was “the most messed up movie I’ve ever seen”. 

A full list of special features is below:

• Limited Edition Slipcover - FIRST PRESSING ONLY

• Brand New Audio commentary with producer/ director Matt Jaissle

• Audio commentary with Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs and Billy Burgess of the Druid Underground Film Festival

• Brand New Video chat with director Matt Jaissle

• Matt Jaissle Super 8 Short Films

• Chilean Talk Show Segment

• Dong of the Dead: The Making of The Necro Files documentary

• The Necro Files Original Trailer

• The Corpse: Super 8 Short Film

• Bonus Movie: Necro Files 3000 (2017 sequel)

• Necro Files 3000 Trailer

• English 2.0 Dolby Digital sound

• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0

• Optional English Subtitles

• Visual Vengeance Trailers

• Retro VHS sticker set

• The Necro Files Official Condom

• Reversible Sleeve featuring original VHS art

• Collectible Mini Poster

• 2-Sided Insert

LAST RITES

THE NECRO FILES is the horror film equivalent of “The Aristocrats” joke in comedy. Its only design is to provoke and push the boundary of taste, to which it does well in the silliest of ways to create something wholly unique, appalling, and kinda entertaining. If you like your horror grainy and amateur, THE NECRO FILES would fit right at home in your SOV section! 

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing the crypt with a copy of THE NECRO FILES to review. You can buy THE NECRO FILES now from MVD DIRECT!

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