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Gothkill

A Review by Nick Peron

When I got back from Cinema Wasteland last Fall among the bounty of movies that I managed to zip past Canadian Boarder Services without nary a blink was Wild Eye Releasing's "Satanic Special Edition" of the film Gothkill. When showing everything off to my roommate, he immediately was drawn to Gothkill. "This one looks awesome" and one night he disappeared with it and the following day he said it was "One of the better movies in your collection." This was likely because my roommate is big into the goth/industrial/whatever-the-fuck scene, for which he is also a fledgling DJ. Plus his taste in movies is vastly different than mine. So while I do tend to keep an open mind, I decided that I was going to have to discount his positive review and see for myself.

Gothkill follows the story of a centuries old former priest named Nick Dread (played by Flambeaux), who would come to question the role of the Inquisition's witch hunts when it becomes apparent to him that their methods are corrupt when he learns that jealous townspeople accuse some wealthy maidens of witchcraft. When he tries to tell his superiors, they could care less since their wealth and land would be taken by the church, Dread decides to go above their heads. You can guess what happens next right folks? Right, ol' Nicky boy is put on a pyre along with the very women he was trying to save. Seeing the hypocrisy of it all, Nick renounces the church and pledges his allegiance with Satan. When he is cast to Hell a pact is made, Nick will be given his own kingdom where he can torture 10,000 souls -- but of course there is a catch: Nick has to kill them all himself, and so he spends the going centuries being reincarnated time after time into new bodies and collecting souls for his kingdom of the damned.

It sure takes Nick a long time, as in the 21st century he is the leader of a Satanic cult with loyal followers. He prepares them for a ceremony of sacrifice and kills them all to suit his own ends. However, his mass murder gets him arrested and planted on death row. This doesn't bother Nick overly much because his centuries old lover Dominatrix (Mistress Juliya Chernetsky) helps him perform a ceremony that will allow him to be reborn once again. However, things take a turn for the unexpected when Dominatrix is run down by a priest and her spell book is stolen by a homeless thief, trapping Nick in his kingdom (which is still empty) until the spell can be cast.

Fate works in mysterious ways as two college girls Kate (Eve Blackwater) and Annie (Erica Giovinazzo) explore the New York goth scene. Kate is given an invite to an exclusive Gothic club which is the home of a vampire cult called the Scorpion Society. Upon their arrival, the leader of the cult is interested in initiated into the group, and has them drugged and prepared for a strange rape ritual. Having found Dread's stolen book, the leader reads the incantation within that would resurrect Nick to the moral world in side someone else's body. He would then possess Anne.

Recognizing the leader of the Scorpion Society a pathetic reject from his previous cult, and finding that the members of the Scorpions are no better than the mindless followers of the church that burned him at the stake centuries ago, Nick uses Annie's body as a vessel for bloody revenge in the hopes that he can return to his realm and rule over the souls of the damned.

Above all else, I'd say that the biggest selling point with Gothkill is it's commentary on the Goth scene: In that, in some of the counter-cultures circles the mentality is that organized religion is a sham and that all the people who follow it's tenants are mindless sheep that blindly follow orders -- and that this mentality is entirely hypocritical, completely oblivious to the fact that they themselves are just as guilty of the same blind obedience as even the most devout follower of the cross. Much like Christianity, the culture itself can be subject to egotistical power mongers who will exploit those gullible to fall for their patter.

Outside of that, the film picks some odd times for sticking in huge amounts of exposition, for example in the scene where Nick possesses the body of Anne, one of the first thing he does is cuts off her potential rapists penis off and then, to the frightened group of Scorpion Society members goes into a monologue about how they're no different the Inquisitors that he was burned to death by (complete with 10 minute flashback scene.) There are also some scenes that were left out of the movie that could have fleshed it out a little better -- for example the exact deal that Nick makes with Satan, and how the cult leader gets a hold of Nick's book.

The former, I can understand it's omission because there may not have been a budget for a scene like that. The latter would have been simple enough -- however a simple suspension of disbelief trying to understand how a pasty white goth cult leader would come about to buying a Satanic spell book from a homeless man.

The only other weak point is the fight choreography. There is a fistfight between Anne and DJ Demon (Anastacia Andino) is pretty bad, it's clear that neither had much experience in faking a fight. It's a little odd watching them fight without actually hitting each other. It's the only really odd scene in the movie, and if you can overlook that, the movie in and of itself is not too bad.

Like I said above, the point of the movie is a commentary on the Gothic culture and some of it's pitfalls, and at the same time provides a entertaining tale about how when you make a deal with Satan, don't expect things to work out as you planned.

Gothkill is an entertaining film, it certainly is aiming for an audience that is part of the goth scene, given the films subject matter, music score, and the fact that Flambeau, Mistress Juliya and many other members of the cast are prominent members of the New York avant guard music and fetish scene. But don't let the target demographic dissuade you from going out and seeing it -- or perhaps let it encourage you (despite all the groan worthy stereotypes some Goths are still hot, and this movie has a fare share) -- it's still an entertaining movie, so go check it out.

Most Items We Have Reviewed and Commented On Are Available Through Amazon.com. If you want to pick them up for yourself, please don't hesitate to do so through this link below, proceeds on any sales will go towards the operation of this website:


		Gothkill A Review by Nick Peron When I got back from Cinema Wasteland last Fall among the bounty of movies that I managed to zip past Canadian Boarder Services without nary a blink was Wild Eye Releasing's "Satanic Special Edition" of the film Gothkill. When showing everything off to my roommate, he immediately was drawn to Gothkill. "This one looks awesome" and one night he disappeared with it and the following day he said it was "One of the better movies in your collection." This was likely because my roommate is big into the goth/industrial/whatever-the-fuck scene, for which he is also a fledgling DJ. Plus his taste in movies is vastly different than mine. So while I do tend to keep an open mind, I decided that I was going to have to discount his positive review and see for myself. Gothkill follows the story of a centuries old former priest named Nick Dread (played by Flambeaux), who would come to question the role of the Inquisition's witch hunts when it becomes apparent to him that their methods are corrupt when he learns that jealous townspeople accuse some wealthy maidens of witchcraft. When he tries to tell his superiors, they could care less since their wealth and land would be taken by the church, Dread decides to go above their heads. You can guess what happens next right folks? Right, ol' Nicky boy is put on a pyre along with the very women he was trying to save. Seeing the hypocrisy of it all, Nick renounces the church and pledges his allegiance with Satan. When he is cast to Hell a pact is made, Nick will be given his own kingdom where he can torture 10,000 souls -- but of course there is a catch: Nick has to kill them all himself, and so he spends the going centuries being reincarnated time after time into new bodies and collecting souls for his kingdom of the damned. It sure takes Nick a long time, as in the 21st century he is the leader of a Satanic cult with loyal followers. He prepares them for a ceremony of sacrifice and kills them all to suit his own ends. However, his mass murder gets him arrested and planted on death row. This doesn't bother Nick overly much because his centuries old lover Dominatrix (Mistress Juliya Chernetsky) helps him perform a ceremony that will allow him to be reborn once again. However, things take a turn for the unexpected when Dominatrix is run down by a priest and her spell book is stolen by a homeless thief, trapping Nick in his kingdom (which is still empty) until the spell can be cast. Fate works in mysterious ways as two college girls Kate (Eve Blackwater) and Annie (Erica Giovinazzo) explore the New York goth scene. Kate is given an invite to an exclusive Gothic club which is the home of a vampire cult called the Scorpion Society. Upon their arrival, the leader of the cult is interested in initiated into the group, and has them drugged and prepared for a strange rape ritual. Having found Dread's stolen book, the leader reads the incantation within that would resurrect Nick to the moral world in side someone else's body. He would then possess Anne. Recognizing the leader of the Scorpion Society a pathetic reject from his previous cult, and finding that the members of the Scorpions are no better than the mindless followers of the church that burned him at the stake centuries ago, Nick uses Annie's body as a vessel for bloody revenge in the hopes that he can return to his realm and rule over the souls of the damned. Above all else, I'd say that the biggest selling point with Gothkill is it's commentary on the Goth scene: In that, in some of the counter-cultures circles the mentality is that organized religion is a sham and that all the people who follow it's tenants are mindless sheep that blindly follow orders -- and that this mentality is entirely hypocritical, completely oblivious to the fact that they themselves are just as guilty of the same blind obedience as even the most devout follower of the cross. Much like Christianity, the culture itself can be subject to egotistical power mongers who will exploit those gullible to fall for their patter. Outside of that, the film picks some odd times for sticking in huge amounts of exposition, for example in the scene where Nick possesses the body of Anne, one of the first thing he does is cuts off her potential rapists penis off and then, to the frightened group of Scorpion Society members goes into a monologue about how they're no different the Inquisitors that he was burned to death by (complete with 10 minute flashback scene.) There are also some scenes that were left out of the movie that could have fleshed it out a little better -- for example the exact deal that Nick makes with Satan, and how the cult leader gets a hold of Nick's book. The former, I can understand it's omission because there may not have been a budget for a scene like that. The latter would have been simple enough -- however a simple suspension of disbelief trying to understand how a pasty white goth cult leader would come about to buying a Satanic spell book from a homeless man. The only other weak point is the fight choreography. There is a fistfight between Anne and DJ Demon (Anastacia Andino) is pretty bad, it's clear that neither had much experience in faking a fight. It's a little odd watching them fight without actually hitting each other. It's the only really odd scene in the movie, and if you can overlook that, the movie in and of itself is not too bad. Like I said above, the point of the movie is a commentary on the Gothic culture and some of it's pitfalls, and at the same time provides a entertaining tale about how when you make a deal with Satan, don't expect things to work out as you planned. Gothkill is an entertaining film, it certainly is aiming for an audience that is part of the goth scene, given the films subject matter, music score, and the fact that Flambeau, Mistress Juliya and many other members of the cast are prominent members of the New York avant guard music and fetish scene. But don't let the target demographic dissuade you from going out and seeing it -- or perhaps let it encourage you (despite all the groan worthy stereotypes some Goths are still hot, and this movie has a fare share) -- it's still an entertaining movie, so go check it out.
		Most Items We Have Reviewed and Commented On Are Available Through Amazon.com. If you want to pick them up for yourself, please don't hesitate to do so through this link below, proceeds on any sales will go towards the operation of this website: