Gorenography (2021) Film Review – A Conscientious Exploration of Extreme Cinema Directors

Posted on by Jim Cox

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Gorenography is a 2021 documentary hosted by director Tony Newton. The documentary delves deep into the world of extreme cinema, divulging an uncensored, unbridled look at this niche underbelly of cinema. Starring directors who have made some of the most influential (and goriest) films in recent years from around the world, the film features the likes of Joe Cash, Lucky Cerruti, Jonathan Doe, Mickey Espinoza, Gore Filth, Patrick Fortin, Nathan Hine, Mercedes the Muse, Moses, Wilhelm Müller, Tony Newton, Davide Pesca, Rob Ceus, R. Zachary Shildwachter, Matti Soikkeli, and René Wiesner as they discuss their creative process, what drives them as genre directors, and feature some of their work for all to enjoy.

At two hours and 40 minutes in length, Gorenography is undoubtedly an incredibly conscientious collaboration of some of the best the genre has to offer. Beginning with a content warning (as if a film titled Gorenography isn’t enough of a warning), the film features an array of comprehensive interviews where each director is allowed to talk about their first experiences with horror, what titles influenced them, as well as reminisce about their time on set creating their films. Each interview certainly delivers an insightful glimpse into the world of modern-day, low-budget gore cinema, in addition to their motives for pushing the boundaries of on-screen violence.

Along with these interviews, Gorenography features a slew of trailers of the director’s work, alongside cult classics that were an inspiration such as Abel Ferrara’s The Driller (1979). Films such as René Wiesner’s Mondo Siam, ABC’s of Superheros, and Konversion, Tony Newton’s documentary VHS Lives, Snuff Movies (part of Tetrovideos Tapes of Death Collection), Grindsploitation 666, and Grindsploitation 9, Mercedes the Muse and Moses’ Rose and Viktor: No Mercy, and Evul Twinz, Jonathan Doe’s Carving the Cadaver 1, and Barf Bunny, just to name a few, all give a peek into what types of films these creators craft.

Additionally, outside of these trailers, the film features a handful full-length short films to be enjoyed, such as R. Zachary Shildwachter’s Solid Gold–part of the Symbollicus Vol. 2 (2021) anthology, Gore Filth’s Gore-crophiliac–a short film created for the documentary, Super Tromette Double Dementia’s music video with the band Nukem High Cretins – Cretins Sell Dope, and an explosive final piece from Wilhelm Müller in addition to clips of Rob Ceus’ Bride Zombie, Slime: It Came from Outer Space, House of the Rotting Flesh, Dismembered aka House of Rotting Flesh act 2, Necro, and Zombies from Sector 9, and The late Mickey Espinoza’s FILTH, The Games We Play, Pink Porcelain, and Torture memos.

However, those expecting for an in-depth, historical genre analysis may be disappointed. The documentary is more of an exploration of the featured directors rather than an analytical study of extreme cinema. Additionally, while the documentary begins editing, cutting back and forth between directors’ interviews and intersplicing their featured work, this stylisation is abandoned (for the most part) around halfway through–instead presenting each one after the other. Although this isn’t an unfounded way to frame a documentary, the sudden dismissal of this stylistic choice is certainly noticeable.

A diligent and entertaining deep dive into the artistic innovation of extreme cinema’s up-and-coming directors, Gorenography is a comprehensive glance at the future of this niche genre and its creators. With thorough interviews, enumerative examples of their work, and even unique content exclusive to the film, Gornography is a great introduction to the genre to newcomers alongside veterans searching for new directors to follow.

Gorenography (2021) is available to preorder from Goredrome Pictures website here and TetroVideo’s Website here.

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