The Wizard Of Gore (1970)

The genius of Herschell Gordon Lewis titles doesn't leave much room for question. Movies with titles like She Devils On Wheels and Gore Gore Girls. The title above gives you exactly what you expect... a magician and a whole lot of blood letting, gut spilling and general gory mutilation and mayhem.

The film opens up with our magician Montag The Magnificent giving a speech on the human race and the fascination with murder, execution and death. He then sticks his head in a guillotine and pulls the string. His severed head falls in a basket and blood squirts from his neck. Don't worry he is a magician... His head is rejoined with his body so the audience can enjoy a full 95 minutes of dismemberment and ghastly tortures.

They just don't get much better then this. If you're into conventional film making The Wizard Of Gore and any other Herschell Gordon Lewis production is probably not for you because these movies are definitely from mars.

For those familiar with H.G. Lewis and his earlier films like Blood Feast and Color Me Blood Red, the format is the same. Gore substituted for budget and production value but Lewis definitely takes this one to the next level. More blood and much more graphic special effects are used and we end up with a true piece of smut that wouldn't be topped till The release of Gore Gore Girls. There is no doubt about it, The Wizard Of Gore was done in bad taste and that of course is the beauty in it.

This one also stands out in the sense that it is a supernatural film. The Wizard Of Gore and Something Weird are the only two Lewis films that I know of that deal with supernatural powers.

Not only is the gore exaggerated but the acting is so far over the top in almost appears to have been purposely. Some of the gory treats that The Wizard offers is a chainsaw to the torso complete with splatter and flying guts. A spike is hammered through a girls achy-breaky skull complete with brain matter. Hilarious hypnotism complete with nose-bleeds. Swords are rammed down throats of not only one but two girls who are bound at the wrists, An eyeball is popped out of the face of a girl, A man is burned alive, A drill press is pushed through a woman's stomach complete with gut fondling and blood appears on the hands of the magician's victims which is never really explained but I think it has something to do with the hypnotism. It reminds me a bit of The Wolf Man and the pentigram that appears in the palm of Lon Chaney's victims but it just adds to the weirdness that I love so much from a H.G. Lewis flick.

The Wizard Of Gore is the perfect remedy for anybody who is sick of polished horror movies. Stay away from the 2007 remake with Crispin Glover and chill with The Godfather Of Gore who delivered the goods and exploitation for all us filth fans for all those years.