Clevercell Very disappointing...

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Brettyboy007 August Underground is one of the most amazing horror movies to ever be seen. This is not your usual Friday the 13th/Chucky/Nightmare on Elm Street type horror movies. This movie will make you have a queasy feeling inside you as it did me. The only other movie I've seen that made me have a queasy feeling in me was Slither. August Underground had the feeling in me longer than Slither.August Underground is about two men. The killer (played perfectly by Fred Vogel who is also the director and CEO of ToeTag Pictures) and his friend (who plays the cameraman) go around and film their exploits on their victims. Fred Vogel rapes, kills, pukes, and does other revolting things in this movie. This movie introduced me to underground horror.There is not really a plot in this movie, but there isn't supposed to be. It is just a simulated snuff film. It is supposed to show how serial killers really are. They are perfectly normal people during the day, but at night, they turn into killers and show their "talents" to their victims.A lot of the scenes in this movie I just couldn't stand (in a good way). Fred really did do his job and this movie deserves it's justice. In his interviews, he is a chill guy and he is polar opposite in AU. This movie makes you question whether or not the victims were real people getting killed. They did an excellent job. I think the scene that really got me was the brothers scene. God, it was so disturbing and graphic.The female victim scenes were revolting as well. The whole movie is disturbing but it is supposed to be.I really don't understand the negative reviews saying the movie is garbage and ToeTag should shut down and everyone involved be killed. It is simply a horror movie. True horror. Nothing more. The people that watch this aren't going to kill people after watching it. They just like horror movies same as someone who likes romantic or comedy movies.I have August Underground: Mordum and have ordered August Underground: Penance. I heard that Mordum is the most vile out of the trilogy. August Underground looks to be pretty tame compared to the other two. AU to me was pretty graphic so I'll have to decide that.I hope I meet Fred one day and get my DVDS signed and tell him what a great director/actor he is. I will be getting Maskhead and Sella Turcica eventually as well.Long live ToeTag!P.S. I have the 2 Disc Snuff Edition of August Underground and let me tell you: The special features opening was scary as hell! Fred is with another victim telling her to tell the viewers to pick a special feature and it is just super scary.

Mrpaul1972 How to describe this film? Try the home invasion scene from Henry, directed by GG Allin and shot through the lens of the Blair Witch Project. In a word: nauseating. I came out of the experience feeling physically ill, although I'm not sure if that was down to the relentlessly sea-sick camera work or the scuzz-fest content. Probably both. I ended up watching big chunks of it on fast-forward because (despite the gross-out set-pieces) much of it was quite tedious. From what I've read about the film makers, they're serious about what they're doing and have a genuine passion for the horror genre. However, I struggled to find any real insight or anything remotely worthwhile in this film. At this stage in the game, I guess it's about pushing the envelope, and on that level this film maybe scores. On the other hand, I don't really care and life's too short.

Steve Pulaski There are movies meant to be scary, there are movies meant to shock, and then there are films that do nothing but threaten the limits of nausea and putrid film-making. August Underground is a low budget, and frequently disgusting film that portrays a real snuff film about two men that go on a senseless killing spree for no other reason but sick pleasure. The acts are recorded on a now old-fashioned camcorder to intensify the situation.I will give the film credit for looking very realistic, and being shot with a method I personally enjoy. Shot on video horror films do a great deal to intensify the scene, and make for a very realistic film if done right. August Underground does a good job at making this very low budget independent film look like a black-market snuff film.For those not aware of what a snuff film is, it is a film that is compiled or real murders and torture to human beings. The purpose of their existence is to provide sick pleasure to the person watching them. Apparently, not one has ever been made or sold, and they are just a thing we humans believe exist because we fear the strange. I'm sure somewhere, somehow someone has made and sold one, but there is no record of it.I am a fan of films like The Collector and Saw that are works of the torture porn genre. I am also a slight fan of the 2007 horror film Vacancy which plot revolved around motel murders constructing snuff films. The difference between this and August Underground is the fact that those films all had a story line, thin as it may it was there. This film is nothing but a grotesque picture that exists solely for the purpose of extreme shock, without providing a moral or awareness on the subject of snuff. It's not like this is an hour-long PSA saying this could happen.August Underground was most likely made by people who were interested in the field of film, but didn't think they could pull off making a real film of any specific genre. They took the easy way out and made a film that is just a bunch of compiled murders, ridiculous scenes of animals with large reproductive organs, and senseless acts of torture that make the viewer feel like a sick sadist.What are we supposed to feel from this film? Better yet, what was did this film accomplish by being like this? Screams? Shrieks? Jaw drops? Nausea? Vomitting? Well, it could have all of those, if it didn't add credits at the end. Without those credits, this could've been an even more realistic snuff film. But like everyone, the makers wanted to have their five seconds of fame on the screen. Congratulations? Starring: Kyle Dealman. Directed by: Fred Vogel.

akuma634 August Underground in a lot of ways feels like an experiment. The idea is to create a "found footage" serial killer movie that really delivers the serial killer experience. In other words it isn't a slasher movie, it isn't like a lot of phony serial killer movies, and it isn't much like a traditional movie. It's all filmed on a handcam and it has the look of a home movie where you see footage that's been filmed over other stuff and lots of cuts with the camera recording much later on. For all of the chaos, it really does tell a very subtle story and there is a lot more thought to it than just a bunch of random murders. I'll admit that when I first saw the movie, I hated it. Something made me want to see it again and again anyway, eventually I started to understand it and the best way to watch it is with director's commentary because it really explains everything in great detail. The movie is shot to look like real footage of a serial killer and his friend with the camera so obviously they can't break character or talk straight into the camera over what they're going to do. It's not easy to follow the first time but it does have a plot.It all starts off where the guy with the camera walks into the basement. The camera has a really awful picture which was intentional, the very raw look of the footage really adds to the realism and gritty nature of it. In the basement there is porn pasted all over the walls, filth everywhere, and a woman tied up, bleeding, and mutilated. She is alive and the killer (played by the director, Fred Vogel) and the cameraman are humiliating her in various ways. Those first 5 or so minutes really hit hard and are just a taste of things to come. Everything that is filmed has a point and there is continuity to that. A prime example is there's a scene where the killer murders an old woman in her home, it wasn't just for the sake of it but she was easy prey and they needed her car so they could blend in better in that town with local plates. Director's commentary really makes much more sense of the movie. That's pretty much how watching the movie is, you're just seeing a mix of home movies and murder on this video. These guys aren't Freddy or Jason, they don't kill 24/7 and they sure aren't the antisocial quiet types. The two guys are great friends, they like to party, go to concerts, drink, hang out with friends, and do lots of very normal things. Serial killers in real life are like that, Ted Bundy was quite the charmer and Albert Fish could persuade people to leave their kids with him.As for the violence, it's not the goriest movie ever made by a long shot. The sequels were far more gruesome while the original feels a bit more reserved and some of the scenes they wanted were too difficult to film which actually kind of worked in their favor. The camera only comes on when these guys are in control so you never see anyone abducted, the killers chasing people, stalking, or taking any risk where having the camera on would be a hindrance unless they have a plan. When they do kidnap someone, they start recording when the person is tied up, bloody, and broken. There isn't a lot of on screen torture or mutilation but the special effects on the bodies of their victims are incredibly realistic looking and it's very sickening to see. It's hard to compare it to anything more well known because nothing else really has this style of violence. For example Hostel had almost all off screen violence but the effects you did see look incredibly fake. August Underground did plenty of make up effects before shooting the scene but the effects look like they could be real cuts, bruises, and dismemberments.Overall it's not something for everyone. Realistically, a good 85% of the people who watch this movie will hate it outright. If you're expecting nothing but the craziest gore ever then you'd probably be better off watching something like Faces Of Death. August Underground is more of an art film without trying to be an art film. It's not really a total horror film nor does it feel like any movie you've seen, that's something that is a very acquired taste. It's really made for a very specific group of hardcore horror fans. Another thing is how much August Underground has been taken by mainstream film. If wasn't for AU then there wouldn't be this Hollywood fad of "torture porn" like Saw, Hostel, The Collector, and other torture heavy horror movies which despite their very high production values lack the realism of AU and the ability to go as far. Even major movies like The Dark Knight borrowed from AU, the scene where The Joker uses that handcam to murder the cop was heavily inspired it. It's a very love or hate movie with little to no middle ground. Another thing is that it wasn't made for shock value but it was made to give people something to think about. Even if you thought it was the worst movie you've ever seen, it will stick with you and make you think.