The Second Disc: NC-17/Unrated Taboo

***DISCLAIMER***

As the title suggests I am going to talk about films that are very explicit. Some of this explicit material is also on some of the posters. So if you're not up for reading about, or seeing some more intense material I suggest you turn back

***DISCLAIMER***

I remember as a child the restrictions I had when it came to movies, books, and music (as any child should). My parents followed the ratings board very well aside from a few mis-judgements. Much like the time we went to go see Phone Booth in theatres when I was a couple years shy of 17 and all my mom talked on the way home was how horrible the language was. It wasn't always super duper strict when it came to the ratings, though. Many times they were able to use the common sense ratings. Depending on my age, maturity, as well as a few other factors. It would depend on how harsh the content could be and I may get to see a movie with a higher rating even though I'm not old enough based on the advice of the MPAA. So growing up there was a sense of taboo toward certain films because I knew there was a level of extremes I had never seen in film and hadn't grown accustom to. So whenever I would get the chance to see, for better examples, R rated films when I was 14 or 15 years old it gave me a rush of excitement. Not only did I feel like I was growing up but I was fascinated to see where these films would go that I hadn't seen before. Granted at the time some of these films were Freddy vs. Jason or Once Upon a Time in Mexico, films that aren't known for being controversial with the former more immature than anything else. I wouldn't say they were controversial to me, but they were a big deal. Seeing that much blood, nudity, and hearing that much swearing was a different world for me.
Over time and through a thought process like I was stating gave me a fascination toward the more controversial films that have come out over the years. I was curious to see where some of these films went where the films everyone was used to weren't going. Among the mainstream film audience you'll hear them talk about the insane violence of Saw or the vulgarity of South Park. But the difference between the mainstream material like that and the films I will be discussing have a strong disconnect. That disconnect comes rooted in the MPAA rating board.

Most people are familiar with the standard set of G, PG, PG-13, and R. Pretty simple, tells you what you need to know. The only rating that most people may not think of is the notorious NC-17 rating. The reason why is because this rating is known by many filmmakers and film producers as the kiss of death for marketing purposes. The reason why you'll never or rarely see an NC-17 playing at your local megaplex is because most won't carry them. Where I live we have five different local choices for seeing a flick. Three are the standard, mainstream cinema that has all the big new releases, one is a budget cinema that plays the old new release movies at a discounted price just before they hit DVD, and an arthouse cinema. I thank the Lord every day that I live in a city with an arthouse cinema because I get the chance to see the limited release films that wouldn't normally come my way. The last option is the only place in town I have ever seen in recent time screen an NC-17 film (That movie was Shame and I wouldn't be surprised if they pull together some screenings of Blue is the Warmest Color sometime soon). The only other times I've seen cinemas in this town screen NC-17 or equivalent (marketed as unrated) were theatres that are no longer open but were also arthouse.
So that brings me to the next option, unrated. The quick solution to not dealing with the MPAA is to go with no rating at all. This fixes very few problems since most (not all) of the same theatres won't carry unrated, either. I was amazed a few years ago when I saw AMC theatres were planning on carrying Hatched II unrated. I thought it was a step forward in allowing access to those who are interested in these films a chance to see them the way they're meant to be seen. Theatrically. However it only played for only a couple days before being mysteriously pulled.
Any way you look at it the rating and content of a film can and will determine it's success. And giving it a NC-17 or Unrated is still better than what was originally being used, X. The only time an X rating is given anymore is for pornos and the reason it was abandoned by ACTUAL FILM was because it has such a strong association with pornos. But anyway, many titles have been edited to get a lower rating but some stuck to their guns to maintain what their original intention was. So what I wanted to touch on were a few titles that hit me in this intense, controversial, and taboo sense of mind. The following films are like nothing I've seen before and opened me up to a whole different drug of film.

First up...

Cannibal Holocaust

Of all the films I'm focusing on in this one is probably the most popular. The only other one being potentially more popular is Caligula (which I'll cover immediately following this one) only because it's had a re-release within the last few years. But calling Cannibal Holocaust one of the most popular is also a term that I use loosely. It's not like your buddies who hang out and have movie nights in the girls dorm are going to be featuring this one any day now. I just know over time this one has been talked about and touched on more than the rest of these. Cannibal Holocaust is for the most part a found footage film. A genre that would be used again many years later in The Blair Witch Project and then reinvented in Paranormal Activity. Both of which are films that look cute compared to what Cannibal Holocaust did.
One way it is different is in subtly. While the more modern found footage films have a bit more of subtly by not showing things, making them scarier. Whether that's by artistic choice or for budgeting reasons you decide. This one is pretty balls to the wall insane with what it does in it's violence. It shows everything! And the violence in this is crazy intense for the time and even by today standards. This is because it all looks so realistic. So realistic that when it was first released the director was accused of killing people for the movie. Certainly not true but there's something else that makes my stomach turn. There are multiple animal deaths in this movie. And while you're watching it I guarantee that you will think to yourself how realistic the deaths are. Well here's the thing... they are real. And knowing that now makes it even harder to watch because these poor animals were sacrificed for entertainment value in a horror movie. And I imagine some of these had more than one take! That's one of the most controversial elements of this movie and I've heard of an edit that's been titled the animal cruelty free edition. For what it's worth the director states he regretted ever doing that.
My history with this one was earlier than the others. My first viewing was during my Freshman year of college. At this point I had seen tons of horror movies many of which are very violent. Some even have bits of realistic violence, like the hobbling scene in Misery, but none quite like thus. What I was treated to included multiple violent rapes, very realistic aftermaths to violent acts including a woman murdered by thrusting a post up her anal or vaginal region with the exit wound out of her mouth (a shockingly popular image associated with this movie), dismemberments, murder of innocent (real) animals, and the list goes on. Even with my experience in horror I wasn't ready for this. It left a mark on me unlike any other horror movie out there. Since then I've been curious to watch it again but I don't know. I feel dirty wanting that. Not that I would enjoy it from an entertainment perspective. More an artistic perspective. It's like going on a thrill ride at a theme park. The terror is what excites you. Also I feel this movie is crazy important to the exploitation horror genre of it's era. It did a lot of boundary pushing ideas so well that it holds up decades later. So I'm more interested in this movie artistically than anything else. Think about watching Schindler's List. Do you "enjoy" watching it? You don't exactly throw it in on a Sunday afternoon for some good old historical fun. It's rough to get through. Think of this as a Schindler's List but for horror. Something like that.

Caligula

One of the earliest (earlier than Cannibal Holocaust) of these controversial titles I remember coming to my attention was this mess. I have no idea when or how it started since it was so long ago. I'm pretty sure I first heard about it as long as 8-9+ years ago when I was still in high school. I'm not even sure what I first heard about it. What I do remember is how it was quite controversial in its day but not because entirely of what was in the film or what it was trying to say, it was because of the history of the film. I would like to start saying that this could have been an excellent, instant classic, epic historical film. It stars Malcolm McDowell in his early days before he took every movie that was offered to him. It had an excellent cast along side him including Helen Mirren and Peter O' Toole. The original screenplay was written by Gore Vidal. Add all these things together, grab a director of that time that knows how to put together a film of this size and there's your instant classic. This one could have been great! It could have been amazing! It's so sad it turned out to be trash.
I guess I should give some context.
As I've made very clear the film had a strong beginning. Gore Vidal wrote the screenplay based on an unproduced TV mini series. When the film was having trouble obtaining a budget they went to Bob Guccione, the founder of Penthouse magazine, and made a deal. Guccione agreed to finance as long as it was a much more spectacular sword and sandal epic as opposed to the modest film the screenplay intended, and that they added more sex and nudity to help promote his magazine. A deal was made. The film wound up being directed by Tinto Brass based on his experience working with very sexual material in the past. At first Guccione was seen just as a producer who signed the checks. Even in an interview Malcolm McDowell stated concern when he reacted with saying, "THE PORNOGRAPHER!?" referring to when he first found out. Because of the financial control a ton of extra, explicit scenes were shot and included in the final cut, essentially making it part epic, part porno. At it's release it was universally panned, given Roger Ebert's only zero star review. That and the cast all disown the fact that they were involved.
Much like Cannibal Holocaust I also saw this movie early in my college career. And boy did I hate it. It was such a mess at the end of the day. However I wouldn't give it zero stars. With the brilliant casting it did have some great performances. Also I'm a big fan of this era of history so all the epic scenery and set pieces were a treat to see. However in story, pacing, editing, and about everything else it is a disgrace to the cinema. The movie is a whopping 2 1/2 hours and it gets to be a chore. Especially when the amazingly unnecessary sex scenes come up. It literally stops the story to show these scenes. There is some crazy violence and a birthing scene that makes me cringe more than the end of Knocked Up, but those are nothing in comparison to to mess of sex that shoots up throughout the movie.
I've read rumors about a really good alternate cut. It removed the explicit material leaving it with an R rating. It was re-edited using alternate footage and apparently it's really, REALLY well done. Unfortunately I cannot find this version of the movie anywhere. The only options there are include the old VHS and DVD releases which include either the uncut version or the heavily cut, very common R-rated version (which I hear is a piece of shit but for different reasons). Then in the Imperial Edition DVD released a couple years ago there's a slightly shorter alternate cut that I'm curious to see (if it makes the movie watchable) but the only way I can get it is by buying said edition. And I'm not ready to do something like that!

The Aristocrats

This one is a unique choice mostly because I never found it to be particularly controversial. The Aristocrats, I decided to include based entirely on why it would be rated NC-17 if it were rated at all. The last two choices are controversial and are given firm warnings because of its explicit material of violence or sexuality. This title requires a warning only to those who can actually hear, or read subtitles I guess, too. As the poster displays "No Nudity. No Violence. Unspeakable Obscenity." To those of you unfamiliar with the aristocrats joke it's simple to explain. A man, woman, family, whatever combination walk into a talent agent's office telling him, "Have we got an act for you." The individual presents the act to the talent agent, usually something horrifically sexual, violent, or whatever variation of these horrid things there are. The agent responds horrified yet still asks what they call it. Their response is, "The Aristocrats!" giving an ironic turn to this horrible concept for a stage show. What makes this joke so notorious is not the cleverness of the punchline. If you're in it for the punchline you'll be disappointed. The joke is all about the journey you take to get to the punchline. It's essentially an exercise in improvising for comedians of all types. A lot of them hold competitions to see how long they can go while still making others laugh. You'll rarely catch this joke on stage. It's more likely to be found in small rooms but Gilbert Gottfried does perform a version of the joke very extensively (Over 15 minutes if I remember correctly) on his DVD Dirty Jokes. Others may go on for 10, 20 minutes, maybe even an hour of the joke only to bomb it at the end by saying the aristocats! Then the listener is confused thinking the joke has something to do with the Disney film, when it of course doesn't.

This one is also a unique choice for me because it's the only one of these that I got to see in theatres. It was released unrated and I saw it at a theatre that is no longer open (I miss you so much Westgate Art). The film was released with the rating surrendered I feel for good reason. When a film is released unrated it doesn't get a lot of attention unless there's a story leading up to it. This could be the case for some of Kevin Smith's films, for this example I'll use Clerks. It was a big fight to get the film released with an R rating instead of an NC-17. So since it has a history, a story, it gives a lot more buzz to see what it did in the first place to received the kiss of death before the fight was fought. But there have been plenty of films released without a rating that have content between G and NC-17, unless there's controversy around it. This film didn't have that controversy. The filmmakers used it's obscenity in it's marketing. There was no word on how harsh the content could possibly be unless the viewer researched the joke's history beforehand. So with that said if this had an NC-17 attached to it which it would deserve it would give that sense of wonder of what's to come. The thing is that this movie would be rated NC-17 entirely on the dialogue. The only visual are suggestive gestures and body movements by a mime telling his version of the joke.

In the end you've got to either have a very open mind when it comes to dirty comedy or a high tolerance. The hilarity comes from the extreme, over the top creativity in the vulgarity. The joke tends to be any mixture of a family all having sex with each other, bringing the animal in, sadistic violence, again all usually involving a family. If you want a good example of the joke I would try and look up Gilbert Gottfried doing it either from his DVD Dirty Jokes or when he did it on one of the Comedy Central Roasts. Again, very funny but VERY vulgar.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom

This is a big one for me. Where I saw movies like Caligula as a pretty big deal in terms of controversy, this was king in my mind for a while. I think I first heard about it when I first got into The Criterion Collection. The initial DVD release was very limited making it one of the most valuable DVDs out there for a while. In a big case of irony I thought it was funny how it was limited in it's release not because of the controversial material but for copyright reasons. When I first read that I thought it was hilarious! But the movie itself. Whooooooo boy this movie is a rough one. It is damaging in almost every single way. I still see this as one of the most emotionally damaging films out there. But much like other intense movies I do appreciate it for it's artistic value. Unlike Caligula this movie has that value.
So, the plot. The easiest way for me to get into the plot of this movie is to explain that a large group of rich perverts have captured an even larger group of young men and women to do with them as they please. Throughout most of the film these inmates are totally nude with a permanent look of embarrassment on their face. That alone is crazy difficult to get through. But as the movie progresses there is physical, sexual, verbal, and of course mental torture. One scene that always sticks out in my mind is late in the movie. I haven't seen this movie in quite some time so I don't recall ALL the details. But one of the rich perverts squats and lays a pile of shit on the middle of the ground. After this he grabs one of the women inmates (who is nude) and forces her to eat the shit. While she is eating the shit she is crying and the man who is forcing her to do it is screaming at her how her father doesn't love her. It's crazy unsettling but that's only one of many examples throughout the film.
Now the first few I listed and maybe even a couple I list after this you may be able to see why someone may want to watch them. Cannibal Holocaust is horror so it's supposed to be scary, Caligula could be bizarrely erotic to some, and The Aristocrats is hilarious if you're into that sort of humor. But Salo has always felt like one of those odd ducks out. It has that artistic value of making a statement of humanity, politics, etc, but what's the line for going too far? I mean, Schindler's List for example is a really rough ride. 3 hours of the holocaust in some of the most intense detail on film is terrifying. But that was for historical purposes, to show what people were put through. Salo is a made up scenario played out in disgusting detail. It's a constantly negative experience making you feel like shit in the end. Ever seen Requiem for a Dream? Remember how bummed out you were after that? I doubt it was a worse experience than what you would have with Salo.
Still one can't help that there's a reason for such intensity. And trust me there is. After looking into the director's filmography he's definitely got something to say. He's just got extreme ways of saying it, much like Lars Von Trier. It's something I would like to expand on in a future review. Maybe tackle it full on and really get down to what it's all about and appreciate the artistic value. Hard thing to do because it's so hard to go back to. But hey, if I wanted to the movie is crazy easy to get a hold of unlike some other titles here. I could even watch this horror show in HD if I wanted to thanks to the re-release from Criterion a few years ago.

Pink Flamingos

Curiosity kills the cat. An old college friend of mine sat through about half of this before he turned it off. He urged me not to watch it. But that only made me more curious. So ahead I went and watched it. The results were... not good.
If you don't know who John Waters is, let me explain. He is very well known for his filth. Between this, Female Trouble, A Dirty Shame, Pecker, etc etc he has made it very clear he is unafriad of making comedies revolving around intentionally vulgar themes and characters. I haven't seen a lot of his movies but Pink Flamingos is the most popular (with the exception of maybe Hairspray but only because it was made into a family friendly musical years later. Although the first one was PG rated in the first place anyway. An exception for sure). And while I don't mind vulgar comedy, there is a line. Not a line where I'm suddenly squeamish. A line where enough is enough. Having explicit content is fine with me as long as there's a place for it. But Pink Flamingos was just excessive.
And now I delve into the argument of whether it's actually good or not. Like I said I am familiar with some of John Water's other works. I also watch a pretty dang good one man show where he just talked about himself and his films. He knows what he's doing and he likes it that way. He even once said there's only one thing he regrets with Pink Flamingos and that's because of what he made two close friends do on camera. Nothing to do with the film's story, content, just because it involved close friends doing something excessive. So this is where I hit a crossroad with what I've been talking about. Doe this explicit content and the quality of the film overall have a purpose? Or is it just filthy trash?
This is definitely an argument for a longer review (one I don't plan on doing) so I'll give my shorter argument. One, the movie just looks bad. It was an independent production so the production value is very low with some horrendous actors. But at the same time I've praised titles with similar features so who am I to judge? I think Clerks is hilarious yet that had a very low production value with some pretty terrible actors (not everyone but there were some) yet I think it's great. Then of course there's the explicit content. Do we really need a subplot where women are tied up in a basement and forced into pregnancy as a make money quick scheme? Sound pretty terrifying, and it is to watch. But is that actually garbage or just pitch black dark humor? Earlier in this post I was praising The Aristocrats for it's hilarity even though it's some of the most vulgar material you'll ever hear. But was seeing some of those things worse than just talking about it? I could make an argument that, that is true. But at the same time it seems hypocritical.
Anyway, say what you will about Pink Flamingos. I feel there are some inconsistencies with my argument. And I can't really argue with the cult following this movie has. People have exclaimed how much they love it. I guess I just don't get it... or it's not my thing. Regardless I think this movie is trash and not in a good way. Still John Waters fans would argue against me in a big bad way. Doubt any of you are one of those people.

In the Realm of the Senses

This one came around a little bit later on. I'm not even sure why I'm including this cause this one didn't have the taboo and shock that these other titles did. But since it was one of the more recent ones (in my time, not literally chronologically) I thought I'd include it in here. The thing is that a lot of the taboo was similar and it didn't make as much of an impact on me. So in a sense this was the first step away from having as big of an interest or excitement of discovery of the shock in these films. And I think a part of it was that I've simply seen worse. If I saw this before Caligula it could be right at the top of my list. But I didn't, which caused the shock value to lessen, which further helps show how intense some of the previous titles I talked about were. Anyway...
First, I actually left it not being that crazy about it as a movie as a whole. Some of the previous ones like Cannibal Holocaust, The Aristocrats, and Salo had their moments of intense shock, but I actually liked them for one reason or another. I thought they were really good films none the less. I even enjoyed Caligula to a point. If it didn't have all the explicit sex in it I think it may have been a much better film. But as for this one, it just didn't do it for me.
I think one thing was the plot. To make a long story short it's about these two lovers, one of which is clearly a nymphomaniac. Throughout their time together they continue to explore deeper and deeper into different methods of sexual pleasure. One of which could (and does) turn out fatal. But as a whole I just didn't get into it. I understand when stories like this come about the sex is the story especially when they grow in their relationship together. What I don't get is when it's almost literally nothing but sex scenes. Maybe it's artsy in a way and I'm just too stupid to understand. Maybe there's something else. Because when I sat through this one all I could think every other scene was... "another sex scene?" I get it's about sex but isn't there usually scenes of these movies to explore and expand character where they're not having sex?
Let me use a side by side example. My favorite action movie of all time is Crank. That's because it offers more action than any other action movie. But is it simply bang, bang, with the guns and nothing else? Well, in a way yes but there is an actual story to it. Not deep, but exciting enough to keep your pulse pounding to know what happens next. There's variety, comedy, excitement, essentially everything I look for in an action movie on complete overflow. And keep in mind I realize Crank ISN'T a deep title and can't actually be compared to In the Realm of the Senses. The point I'm trying to make is that I felt a title that is almost as shallow as a kiddie pool left more of an impact with me than a movie that has the pretension to try and be as deep as a lake or ocean. Keep in mind I'm the type of person who thrives with dept and looks for the richest experience possible.
But this one? I don't know. Felt like there was more to it that I wasn't seeing. I think I need to watch it again to try and understand it better. Still... I don't really want to. I remember feeling bored, annoyed, and when the ending came up I was happy to see it go. Maybe it's because I didn't get it, maybe it's because it didn't appeal to me, or maybe it's because I was on my way out of the taboo. Maybe there just wasn't any more highs for me to get out of these extreme examples. Well it could be true. But then there's...

A Serbian Film

This one is set apart from the rest right being the only one on this list I haven't seen. At least not yet. Like many other people this one did get my attention when it made a very limited release in America a couple years back. The film is about an aging porn star who is hired on for an art film only to find out he's got himself tricked into a snuff film filled with pedophilia and necrophilia. The plot alone is enough to horrify your everyday movie goer, especially the much more reserved and conservative friends and family I have. I mean, this makes the most intense parts of Saw seem like the 5 o'clock Sunday movie on ABC Family (Slight exaggeration). Even with many other taboo films under my belt I still felt horrified by the details of the movie when I found some articles reviewing it. I hadn't felt this intense reaction to taboo since I discovered Salo for the first time. And that's a... good thing? Not sure. But I will tell you this, I don't know what to think of A Serbian Film.
To start off I'd say check out a real deal review of it. That way you can be in the right context. Horror is in my top 3 favorite genres. Some people get a thrill out of the terror of a roller coaster, I get that thrill from having the shit scared out of me. And so I'm always looking for something more and more intense with the scares, whether that's with gore or atmosphere. So when I heard about A Serbian Film I was definitely fascinated. Then I read some of those reviews and even the mere thought of what happens is enough to freak me out. It makes me wonder if I ever even want to see it. Just like with Pink Flamingos the curiosity may kill the cat, except in a different way.
Some of the challenge is getting a hold of it. I find it odd and funny how Netflix will carry Human Centipede and Antichrist but won't have this (Although that could be for different reasons other than content). So the only way for me to see this is to either find a way to stream it online or to just straight up buy the DVD. And I'm not a fan of either option to be honest with you. If I try and stream it online I can't guarantee I'll get the fully uncut version. And if I'm gonna watch this movie I want it to be the proper experience. Also I don't really want to shell out the cash to buy a movie that'll probably not stay in my collection.
My mindset when thinking about this title makes me wonder if I've met my match... I'm curious enough to want to see this movie. But do I really want to see it? Will I immediately regret going through those two hours of the horror described to me or will I find it to be a rough experience worthwhile like Antichrist? Also will it actually be as intense as I imagine? I could be fooling myself with that last part because it probably will be. When the movie was released VERY limited in the states it was released in an edited cut. Even then it got the NC-17. That's right, this movie had to be cut down to receive an NC-17 rating. That said cut was the first released with the fully uncut movie being released shortly thereafter. As a P.S. to that DVD release I will say it has one of the most creative DVD cases I've ever seen. It really takes the snuff feel of the movie to a new level when you ship it in a jewel case glued to a piece of cardboard. I love it!
I would definitely say this is my new Salo. A movie I've only read about containing unspeakable horrors I can hardly imagine. I don't know if or when I'll actually see this movie. But I feel like I may owe it to my readers to deliver the full experience in a review when I do.

Honorable Mentions: All of those were ones I wanted to highlight because they really stood out in some way for me and my interest in film. There are other ones that have come my way but didn't have that same reaction for me. But I still want to talk about them anyway.
One of the first ones I want to get out of the way is Faces of Death. There has been so much talk and controversy over this film's subject matter and rumors that the deaths in this movie were real. Well I hate to burst your bubble but most of them are not. The only ones that are real are the stock footage pieces that make up less than a quarter of the entire movie. Everything else is staged. And staged really well I must say. Minus the monkey brain dinner scene but I digress. I mean, the electric chair death looked superb. However in the end I didn't get into this franchise. I found the first movie to be really boring. Never got around to any of the sequels assuming they would be more of the same and not as well done. Then there's always Traces of Death which apparently have an even higher rate of real death footage, but I have no interest.
Speaking of movies that are considered a bit too realistic, Guinea Pig. The Guinea Pig franchise is a series of Japanese short films known for being especially brutal and violent. Usually these short films revolve around a bizarre procedure that is being done to the victim. I've only seen one of these (I think it was the 2nd one) and that was about a serial killer capturing a girl, strapping her down, and slowly dismembering all the limbs off her body. The film ends with the killer showing off to the camera his collection of limbs he's gathered from the people he's captured. I am curious to see where the rest of them go, but the DVDs are not widely available even on video rental resources like Netflix. Therefore I would have to spend a pretty penny to get my hands on them. Not sure if I'm ready for that kind of commitment on a series of films I may not even get that into, especially when I could be spending that money on buying more Simpsons DVDs or something.
Others include some I mentioned either in this post or previous posts. I did enjoy both of the Human Centipede movies despite the fact I accidentally watched the edited version of 2 on Amazon Instant Video. They're really out there but I appreciate them for what they're worth. Not something most people go around saying out loud. I also mentioned Antichrist which has to be one of the best of these more controversial choices. I want to give that one a full review someday and the same goes to Man Bites Dog. Brilliant but really rough movies. Lastly I did previously talk about Men Behind the Sun so if you want to read my review of that then go for it.

There are a few others that have come across my radar, but my interest comes and goes. Those include (in no particular order):
-I Stand Alone: A brutal, violent film. I've heard very little about it but due to lack of ease of access I can't say my interest is too strong. Other stuff will definitely come first.
-Shortbus: Played at a local theatre a few years back when it first came out. Crossed my radar early in this taboo fascination. But now I have next to no interest. And even then I think my mindset was "Oooo, another taboo."
-Vomit Gore: More of a genre by Lucifer Valentine than the actual title of the movies. These are supposed to be even more out there than Human Centipede. Again not terribly common on home video or streaming so it's a matter of "do I invest extra cash and potentially not like it? Or focus elsewhere and forget it?" Well the trilogy box set is $55 right now on Amazon. But if I had $55 to spare I'd probably buy a new Dreamcast import instead. Something I know I'll enjoy.
-Nymphomaniac: The new Lars Von Trier epic that is out now in Denmark and will hit VOD very soon in America. This I do want to see but I imagine it'll be a rough ride. I was gonna made a full post about it my initial thoughts but there's so little out there about it I'm gonna wait until I see it to talk about it as a whole. Looks ambitious, looks insane, but it also looks like it could be brilliant.
-Lucky Bastard: A new, openly NC-17 (not common) horror movie that just came out in limited release. Another found footage genre movie that lists many intense violent/sexual occurrences throughout. Will probably try and catch it on VOD. I think I'm interested because the creators made sure to get the rating listed officially, communicating it is definitely not for a young audience (no age restrictions on buying unrated DVDs). Takes balls to take that rating. Knowing you'll be limited.

That's all for now. I still believe a part of me still gets a tingly feeling from the taboo of movies like these, but from a different perspective now. More so from the taboo of the mainstream rather than what I'm allowed or not allowed to see ala parental guidance. If you know of any other good titles that may fall under this category then I'd like to hear from you. Many I didn't list because there's just so many. But if you have any others that may be a bit more obscure then let me know. Until next time... make sure you do your research before jumping in. You might get more than you expect.