Do you love Glenn Danzig? Do you have a passion for cheesy horror with bad acting? Do you smile at the thought of straight to video B-Horror? Well, Verotika may be the film for you. Glenn Danzig makes his directorial debut in this 2019 anthology film release. Heavily influenced by the way his music videos appear, this flick is both a blast and horrible at the same time. Claiming his directing inspirations from Mario Bava, an Italian horror director, Sergio Leone, and Jean Cocteau, Danzig made his way from the Misfits, Samhain, and goth rock hit Mother to the limited release on big screens and VOD.
Verotika is a three part anthology film hosted by Kayden Kross’ character Morella, a black-haired and horned gothic succubus there for eye candy, cheesy puns, and introductions to each short. The first short, The Albino Spider of Dajette, follows a sex worker, Dajette (Ashley Williams), who has eyes for nipples and a supernatural killing machine, a human sized albino spider, that kills and wreaks havoc when she sleeps. Well obviously this doesn’t turn out well for anyone. With a deep look, it almost seems as though it’s trying to make some sort of reference to inner dark desires and wants, ultimately being overlooked as a theme due to the terrible acting, line delivery, and ridiculous dialogue.
Bringing on short number two in the story is Change of Face. There really isn’t much to talk about here. It’s another short that seems to work more towards showing off strippers than much of anything else. Mystery Girl is a local stripper that’s cutting off girls faces as both a collector and to wear. As actress Rachel Alig goes about doing her deeds, actor Sean Kanan tracks her as Sgt. Anders. There really isn’t any substance here at all. It has all the same problems that the first short had. Nothing really stands out or makes you want to know anything that happens after the end of the short.
On to the final short. I’m not going to cover much on this one either. If you know anything about historical figure and vampire legend Elizabeth Bathory, you know the basis of Drukija Contessa of Blood. If I hadn’t have read the title of the short before it came on, I would have thought it was a 13 year old boy's interpretation of the legends. It really just seemed like an excuse to have scantily clad or naked women covered in blood. Really. That’s the plot. No joke.
I don’t know if I would recommend this with any sort of enthusiasm. It seems more like an attempt to shock more than anything else. Danzig, and the legend that he is in music, just seems to have hired strippers and porn stars to play out some weird fantasies he may have had in some drug or alcohol induced fever dream. It has everything that makes for fun, cheesy horror experiences. It also lacks every bit of talent that makes those work.
RORSCHACH RATING:
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Victims and Villains is written Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey (and produced by), Caless Davis, Dan Rockwood, & Brandon Miller. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Verotika is property of Shudder. We do not own nor claim any rights. This review was edited by Cam Smith. Verotika is now streaming on Shudder!
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