Brodie is into heavy metal, unfortunately his mum was into drugs due to a mental health issue. As a result he was sent to live with his very Christian Aunt and Uncle and their meathead jock of a child in Greypoint. Brodie does not really fit in locally, he is even bullied, it is not until he meats the mysterious Zakk that he really gets a friend. Together with Zakk and other outcast geeks Dion and Giles, Brodie forms a heavy metal band called Deathgasm. Brodie is even attracting attention from popular cool girl, Medina - somebody all the boys fancy - so his life is on the up. One night, Brodie and Zakk break into a building that's apparently where legendary heavy metal guitarist Rikki Daggers lives. They are not the only people breaking in though, in a panic Daggers gives the boys a record he has been holding onto and tells them to run. Daggers is then killed by a sharp dressed individual, a cultist who is trying to claim something that Daggers has. After escaping the boys are "Rickrolled" with the album, but Brodie finds some sheet music. Unbeknown to him the music is the 'Black Hymn', music so evil that it can unleash a demon called Aeloth, the "Blind One". Fortunately, Brodie is prevented from playing the music a couple of times. It is not until he deciphers the Latin wording that he begins to realise what exactly he has. As with all teenagers, drama is getting in the way of harmony. In a fit of anger one night, Brodie gets the band to play the music, and things are never the same again. People become possessed by Aeloth's minions who are attempting to kill everyone in town, preparing for the "Blind One's" arrival. At 3pm the most-evil person in town will be the vessel for Aeloth. Zakk decides he does not care for preventing the impending doom and takes a seat to watch the end of the World, Brodie, on the other hand, is up for the fight and manages to convince Zakk. Armed with sex toys, power tools and an array of objects they attempt to get the sheet music, in order to play it backwards - because of course, logically that would prevent the summoning. But Aeloth is powerful, on his side has a cult of demon worshippers who will stop at nothing to see their master freed, as well as the possessed minions doing Aeloth's bidding. It is up to Deathgasm, and popular cool girl Medina to stop the demon from unleashing an apocalypse.
"Deathgasm" was written and directed by New Zealander Jason Lei Howden. It stars Milo Cawthorne as Brodie, James Joshua Blake as Zakk and Kimberley Crossman as Medina. Running at 86 minutes, this film, originating from New Zealand, was made on a relative shoestring of a budget
Bordering on horror, action, comedy, and horror - this B-Movie low budget film is really enjoyable. It is packed with the kind of tongue in cheek gore that you might expect to find in other New Zealand classics such as "Bad Taste" and "Braindead" - which is high praise. It is not just a goretastic film that looks awesome, this film also has a heart. It is a coming of age film in which Brodie finds himself and his place in life. He is taken away from his mother and being looked after by family that do not necessarily understand him or want him. He feels out of place in life and school. When he does make a friend, he starts coming out of his shell, but at same time he is unashamedly in love with his passion for loud and heavy music. Along his journey of discovery, he gets a girlfriend from the most unexpected sources, he meets a heavy metal legend, his friend betrays his for a girl, fights a demonic cult, fights the demon which the cult worship - and ultimately saves the world! As Brodie, Milo Cawthorne delivers a really solid performance. There were times I really felt connected to the character (maybe because of my own upbringing), and Cawthrone does a sterling job, being authentic and believable. Likewise, James Joshua Blake does really well as the catalyst for realisation and change in Brodie's life. Kimberley Crossman is sweet and gorgeous in a sickly way at the start of the film, but a performance grows as she changes too, accepting Brodie for what he is and finding happiness with that rather than a shallow existence. Research I have done told me that the characters and the scenario are all directly from director, Jason Lei Howden's, own experiences growing up.
Well written with engaging characters that have a journey of discovery and personal development. Lots of fun for audiences who enjoy their films with darkness and a splattering of blood and guts. This is Tenacious D and Scott Pilgrim smashed together with Sam Raimi's Evil Dead and Peter Jackson's "Braindead". This is a very clever and entertaining film which makes fun of itself as much as the content it is dealing with. The film has lots of occult references, bad language, blood, guts, sexual and graphical content, and frontal nudity. I wouldn't recommend it to younger audiences. If however you like bad tongue in cheek humour, good horror, blood, guts, blasphemy, occult, heavy metal, and a film that is the polar opposite to the trashy "American Pie" style teenage/buddy movies of the 2000's, then in this you will find a gory but shiny hidden gem of a movie.
"Deathgasm" was written and directed by New Zealander Jason Lei Howden. It stars Milo Cawthorne as Brodie, James Joshua Blake as Zakk and Kimberley Crossman as Medina. Running at 86 minutes, this film, originating from New Zealand, was made on a relative shoestring of a budget
Bordering on horror, action, comedy, and horror - this B-Movie low budget film is really enjoyable. It is packed with the kind of tongue in cheek gore that you might expect to find in other New Zealand classics such as "Bad Taste" and "Braindead" - which is high praise. It is not just a goretastic film that looks awesome, this film also has a heart. It is a coming of age film in which Brodie finds himself and his place in life. He is taken away from his mother and being looked after by family that do not necessarily understand him or want him. He feels out of place in life and school. When he does make a friend, he starts coming out of his shell, but at same time he is unashamedly in love with his passion for loud and heavy music. Along his journey of discovery, he gets a girlfriend from the most unexpected sources, he meets a heavy metal legend, his friend betrays his for a girl, fights a demonic cult, fights the demon which the cult worship - and ultimately saves the world! As Brodie, Milo Cawthorne delivers a really solid performance. There were times I really felt connected to the character (maybe because of my own upbringing), and Cawthrone does a sterling job, being authentic and believable. Likewise, James Joshua Blake does really well as the catalyst for realisation and change in Brodie's life. Kimberley Crossman is sweet and gorgeous in a sickly way at the start of the film, but a performance grows as she changes too, accepting Brodie for what he is and finding happiness with that rather than a shallow existence. Research I have done told me that the characters and the scenario are all directly from director, Jason Lei Howden's, own experiences growing up.
Well written with engaging characters that have a journey of discovery and personal development. Lots of fun for audiences who enjoy their films with darkness and a splattering of blood and guts. This is Tenacious D and Scott Pilgrim smashed together with Sam Raimi's Evil Dead and Peter Jackson's "Braindead". This is a very clever and entertaining film which makes fun of itself as much as the content it is dealing with. The film has lots of occult references, bad language, blood, guts, sexual and graphical content, and frontal nudity. I wouldn't recommend it to younger audiences. If however you like bad tongue in cheek humour, good horror, blood, guts, blasphemy, occult, heavy metal, and a film that is the polar opposite to the trashy "American Pie" style teenage/buddy movies of the 2000's, then in this you will find a gory but shiny hidden gem of a movie.