August Underground's Penance
Review by Peter Syslo

(2007)I think that I needed to do a review of this movie in order to sort out my feelings about the whole experience. This is one of those movies that I have mixed feelings about. I don’t dislike it; I just can’t claim ownership for liking it, at this point. With that said, this movie did affect me and I really have thought about it since I saw it a week ago. It is thought-provoking, to say the least, and it is almost like a character study of the brother-sister killers, who are the focus of the picture. I have to say that it wasn’t the gore that affected me (actually, I didn’t think this film was extremely gory or violent – Saw III was much worse in the gore/violence department); it was the “reality” aspect of it that really hit me.

Now, I did not see the first two August Underground films, so I am just taking a look at this one independently. The movie starts off with the brother and sister characters (Fred Vogel and Christie Whiles) traveling around in a car, filming parts of their trip. There is video footage of them doing pretty much normal/mischievous things that anyone in their 20s would do – it’s almost like they just got a video camera and they are taping all the little moments of their lives. However, you quickly get the idea that something is definitely wrong here. Early on, there is a cut scene with a bloody-mouthed Fred and a corpse, which clues you in that these two aren’t “normal”. The whole film consists of this normal/psychotic duality. They do a normal thing like throw rocks in a stream and then they do a sadistic thing like harass a homeless guy. They are at a club watching a band and then Christie has a disturbing sex scene w ith a random guy at the club, while her brother films it. The whole movie shakes you even more when the normal, everyday aspects are interspersed with scenes of rape, murder, and dismemberment.

Like I said before, all of the subject matter is really heightened by the “reality” aspect. First of all, it was filmed on video which always gives that hyper-realism to any film (and it really does involve the viewer to a greater extent). Second, these two killers are like people that you know (aside from the sadistic tendencies for torture and dissection); I could name a dozen people that I went to school with, who are like these people – they have that “everyman” quality. Third, and perhaps the most disturbing part, is the fact that these two live in a world where torture, rape, incest, murder, and desecration of corpses is part of their everyday life and these things are accepted as “normal” to these two.

However, the movie is a little more than just shock and exploitation. Like the synopsis on the DVD says, “there is a perverse sadness” and I think that this claim is right on the money. Let me say, Christie Whiles was excellent in this film (Fred was good too); I think her performance was right up there with Angela Bettis’s incredible performance in May. Like Angela in May, I really felt for Christie’s character (even though she commits these horrible crimes) and I wished that she had peace or some release from the pain of her existence. There are scenes where Fred’s character is forcing himself upon her and it is really tough to watch – it is really that heart-wrenching and horrible.

In short, I think that Toe Tag Pictures has a bright future ahead, but at the same time, I am not sure if they have hit their stride yet. I want to see what they will do next; I think that this indie company has great potential and I am eager to see, The Redsin Tower, and the two previous August Underground films. Yes, they do push the envelope, but it is more regarding subject matter than what you see on the screen. There is some gore and actually, the effects are superb (these people know what they are doing – they are some of the best effects I have seen) but the aspects of rape, incest/abuse, and mental illness are really the shocking aspects (the two enter a family’s home, injure/kill the father with a hammer, kill and rape the mother, and kill their daughter (played by an adult actress – she is really not a littl e girl) in one scene). So, if you are interested in indie horror and the future of horror, see it; but be forewarned that it is sometimes really tough to watch.