Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Rod Reguez So what's the message in Penance then? A guy brutally murders people because he hates himself? Well f**k me what a revelation! This bombshell aside, there appears, not surprisingly to be no valid reason whatsoever for this incredibly crapulent and nauseous creation. If it's purely infamy Vogel's looking for he's gone about it the right way, but hey Vogel, why not surprise people and at least try to make something remotely intelligent, then you can throw in as much filth and degradation as you like and still get taken seriously? The thing is, Vogel doesn't have the minerals to create anything of any quality or depth, and Penance is a hollow exercise in pushing the boundaries of what is watchable. It's utterly devoid of any subtext whatsoever.Ironically the only thought provoking element in this film is Fred Vogel himself, who co-writes, directs, produces?, and stars. In much the same way as Argento used to perform the stabbings himself in many of his films, Vogel has a vested personal interest in the violence displayed here. Writing, directing and playing the central character seems to be giving Vogel the closest experience possible to fulfilling his ultimate fantasy without actually having to get arrested, although one could argue that even the inclusion of such a young girl in the filming of this offal is worthy of a stern ticking off. Has she seen it yet? I wonder. Charming. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a lover of extreme violence in cinema when it is in context. Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer, Man Bites Dog, Peeping Tom - these are all violent films - Henry especially, but they also deal with serious themes such as alienation, voyeurism, the boundaries between audience and spectator, and in particular, audience complicity. Vogel's film, on the other hand is designed purely to shock and/or titillate. The only comforting thought one should be drawing from this experience is that you're not turned on by imagining yourself sexually and violently abducting people. If you are, then perhaps you should be applying for a job at Toetag films. In Penance, Vogel seems, more than anything to be exploring his own psyche - his own capacity for the kind of behaviour he's mimicking, and it really does look like he's ready to take the plunge.Beware Vogel - when you're staring into the abyss, the abyss is staring back at you!

xth566 August Underground: Penance both sequentially and quality wise comes in third within the faux snuff video series (and I say series not trilogy simply because I know it in my gut that another one will follow in the future most likely out of necessity.) The digital video is clear this go around as opposed to the previous entries which sought to recreate the degraded bootleg VHS aesthetic. In all reality, the budget wasn't there for even average quality digital video hence the artistic reasoning behind the video's look. Reading previous reviews inspired my need to clarify some points. First, TTP has a loyal following who attempt to spread the sickness as it were, but the rest of the civilized world isn't buying the mantra or the videos for that matter. These non-conforming conformists worship at the altar of Vogel and his crew therefore the reviews are incredibly skewed as such.I bought the previous two videos and each one brought something new to the table. The first seven minutes of August Underground seemed interminable for all of the right reasons as any good horror video should feel. August Underground: Mordum brought the gory excess to a new level, but its major drawback was the excessive rantings and ravings of its participants. Participants rather than actors, because in the scenes that required emoting you can easily tell the limits of such were very small as opposed to the moral ones which were non existent, in all actuality. Penance suffers greatly from this huge shortcoming since it is essentially a two character study of derangement.Another glaring weakness of Penance is the insistence to continue the home video footage look rather than a cohesive narrative structure with steadicam shots. Penance gives the viewer headaches not only visually but also conceptually. You would think the depravities shown in the third and final video in a faux snuff series would be taken to Mephistophilian levels unseen before within the gorenography genre, but this is just not the case here. Real animal death and dismemberment? Done to incredibly superior effect in "Cannibal Holocuast." Child murder? This was done even better within its own series in Mordum. Fetal death? This centerpiece of shock was undermined by the utter lack imagination within the scene. There was no build up to the moment. The camera did not follow the mother around a store as she shopped for her baby. It didn't portray her absolute joy about this time in her life nor did it display her horror during her final moments as she realized the impending end to both her own and her unborn child's life. It seems Vogel and company simply ran out of ideas which is shocking considering the repugnant reputation we are dealing with.The whole supposed finale has the feel of a quick dash for cash rather than a true artistic conclusion about the faux snuff phenomena the series explored. Perhaps in this way it truly is a throwback to the exploitation films of yore.

sevdah First of all , I feel an irresistible urge to say something about those " Fred - Vogel - and his - gang - of - non - talents - made -a horrible - piece - of crap " reviews . OK , I acknowledge the fact that we're all entitled to have our own opinion and like or dislike all sorts of things , but for God's sake , how can anyone state something that's obviously not true and ignore things that are apparently there ? Is orange blue ? Is cat a mouse ? Unbelievably small crew , using equally small budget , makes a horror movie so terrifying , meticulous , realistic , important and effective that all the slasher - ghost - haunted house - mutated zombie - cannibal inbred redneck killer nonsense put together fades away when compared . These people are talented . These people are intelligent . There are characters in this movie , there is even a story , albeit a simple one . This is not some amateurish attempt at shocking people , this is extreme horror at it's best .That being said , I can go on to reviewing .What we have here , in the 3rd part of August Underground series , is a complete downfall of our beloved , slimy , pathetic characters . I have to admit that I enjoyed their suffering , that's how much I started to hate them . And exactly because of that I felt that there is something lacking in Penance : we don't get to see more of their misery . That's too bad . But what we DO see is educational : these killers obviously get less and less pleasure from all the twisted things they do , and that's something that happens in reality with serial killers. There is some character development , especially in the case of Crusty's character . The scene when she breaks down and cries " I wanna die ! " is one of the strongest - and definitely proves that she is a good actress . Besides , she looks a lot better in this sequel because she got thin and really cute ( except in certain scenes where she applied some really horrible make - up to show us the physical effect of her decline ) , I wish she stays that way ... but that's slightly off - topic . Fred's character still shows no remorse , but apparently disintegrates .Of course , Mr Cruise did a brilliant job with special effects , make - up is also top notch , and acting very good . The whole crew works like a precise , powerful mechanism . The movie is delivered with great force and without compromise or relenting . I'm not saying it's perfect - I prefer Mordum , because I think it's stronger - but this is still some very serious horror cinematography , no doubt about it . It becomes apparent if you get to see the snuff edition which contains some deleted scenes and audio commentary from the crew . There is also a documentary about making of two scenes that involve some nasty disemboweling . Yummmy , yummy .All in all , Toetag crew are my definite favorites when it comes to contemporary horror movies and I can't wait to see their future projects . I give Penance 9 out of ten . It's one of the best horror movies I've seen so far .

DVD_Connoisseur The final part in the "August Underground" trilogy has been a long awaited affair. Four years after the over-the-top graphic spectacle of "Mordum", Toe Tog Pictures' "Penance" has finally seen the cold light of day. With much expectation behind Vogel's concluding chapter in this bloody series, there was always the danger of the production being a disappointment for the legion of fans around the world. Thankfully, the finished film is an accomplished offering that is actually better than its predecessors.Starting with a surprising scene in which things don't go quite as planned for Vogel's character and his equally disturbed girlfriend, again played by Cristie Whiles, the film then takes a temporary break into normality. It must be said, Whiles is always a delight to watch. Introduced in "Mordum" as a psychotic powerhouse with a penchant for vomiting and abusing her female captives, her character in "Penance" is going through a transformation. Physically, Whiles looks different in this film - gone are the confrontational punk looks of the earlier film, replaced by a beautiful girl-next-door appearance. Vogel is instantly recognisable - a huge bear of a man with a kind face that turns psychotically satanic when events start to go bad. Vogel's the mastermind behind the series and his presence in the film is a welcome one. In "Mordum", Vogel had been on the outskirts of most of the action. Here, he's well and truly involved and the film's a return to the style of the original "August Underground".Watching the two characters enjoy a break is entertaining and the viewer can enjoy the relative peace before the storm. In fact, I actually found myself dreading the moments when their normal behaviour started to change and they started to explore their darker obsessions. Their run-in with a homeless man, realistically played by Toetag fan and competition winner Fuctup, is the first sign during their vacation that these characters won't be at peace for long.For those seeking gore and violence, this installment won't disappoint but it's not the same intense, fluid-splattered, unrelenting roller-coaster as "Mordum". The set-pieces in "Penance" seem more confidently delivered. There's less emphasis on the extreme and more time spent on character development and atmosphere. If anything, it's a hybrid of the first two films, taking the best elements of both and coming up with an end result that's well paced and satisfying.What really works in favour of "Penance" is the clean, crisp presentation of the video footage. The absence of any degradation of the video source gives the impression that the viewer is watching the original digital tape, straight out of the camera. As a result, there's been more time spent on the serial killers' set-dressing and the wonderfully grisly and original effects. Gorehounds take note - Jerami Cruise's work on "Penance" is splendid.As with the earlier films, this is a confrontational horror film. It takes no prisoners, from its startling Christmas intruder scene and numerous scenes of sexual humiliation and rape to the real demise of a rat at the jaws of a hungry 'gator. "Penance" will undoubtedly offend a lot of viewers but despite its characters, the film has a moral centre. "August Underground"'s message is a simple one. Violence is not sexy. There's a moment in the film when the characters watch a lion being fed raw "meat", some of which you wouldn't expect to find in your local supermarket. It's probably not intentional but the lion seems a metaphor for the killers. They're trapped in a world where they're forced to take scraps to stay alive, caged in an environment where their true natures are constrained largely by society's rules. When the film reaches its climatic, sudden and ambiguous end, there's a feeling of sadness. Sadness for the tragic waste of life that's been displayed on the screen for some 80-odd minutes? Perhaps. The tale certainly makes you reflect on what you've seen and the bleakness of it all. But there's also sadness that this is very probably the final installment ever of "August Underground", a series that has reinvented the horror genre and taken viewers to a new, disturbing place. 10 out of 10. Love it or hate it, this is an incredible achievement for a zero-budgeted independent film. I'm confident that Toe Tag will become more mainstream in the future. Such a move is essential for monetary reasons alone. However, I'll miss the on-screen chemistry of Vogel and Whiles. They've shown a new face of horror that doesn't wear a hockey mask and which is frighteningly real.