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DVD: Herschell Gordon Lewis The Wizard of Gore
Rating: Unrated
Starring: Herschell Gordon Lewis, David Friedman, Joe Bob Briggs, John Waters
Written By: Frank Henenlotter, Jimmy Maslon
Directed By: Frank Henenlotter, Jimmy Maslon
Distributor: Image Home Entertainment
Extras: See Below
Series:

Herschell Gordon Lewis The Wizard of Gore

A documentary look at the innovator of the gore film

By Tim Janson October 16, 2011

The Godfather of Gore Exposed!
© Image Home Entertainment

Long before The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Friday the 13^th series, and the Saw films, Herschell Gordon Lewis pioneered the genre of gore and splatter films. In the early 1960s while most of America was enjoying beach party movies and Elvis Presley films, Lewis was directing low-budget gore-fests featuring victims, almost always women, being dismembered, having their eyes gouged out, tongues torn out, not too mention their body parts being consumed. Despite laughingly cheap effects by today’s standards, his films like Blood Feast (1961), Two Thousand Maniacs (1963), Color Me Blood Red (1965), and The Wizard of Gore (1970) are perhaps even more disturbing and unsettling than the more modern films. There’s a raw element that long made me believe that Lewis must have a totally depraved man. Boy was I wrong! What I found out in this enthralling documentary is that Lewis is more like your favorite fun uncle. As drive-in film expert Joe Bob Briggs states in the film, Lewis is more showman than director and he’s a remarkably down to Earth guy.

At age 82, Lewis is remarkably spry, recalling the details of 40 – 50 years ago with clear precision. The documentary looks as his career in films, most of it told by Lewis himself but he’s also aided by Briggs, John Waters, David Friedman who was the producer on most of Lewis’ films, as well as several cast and crew members. Lewis and Friedman formed a two-man team shooting many of these cult classics. Lewis directed and worked the camera while Friedman was Producer and sound engineer. Other cast members assisted with whatever needed to be done. These films were generally shot in less than a week, often within just 3 – 4 days, and it shows. That’s part of the charm.

Lewis and Friedman discuss their early films that were not horror films but rather 1960s versions of soft-core porn. They were referred to as “nudie cuties” and were relatively plotless films with lots of naked women running around. They were often filmed in actual nudist camps and the pair share some hilarious stories about how the management of the camps made them disrobe as well when they were on the premises. Among these early films were titles like “B-O-I-N-G!” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bares” and these films were actually successful. So successful that soon everyone was making them which forced Lewis to find a new genre of film to venture into…horror!

With Friedman, Lewis returns to many of the original shooting locations like the motels they stayed at that doubled as sets and the small town of St. Cloud, Florida where “Two Thousand Maniacs” was shot. They reunite with several of the actors who starred in these films and it’s truly remarkable how many of the minute details they remember. In particular there are the stories about going to local butcher shops and buying raw meat to use in the scenes. In one scene from Blood Feast, a woman has her tongue cut out of her mouth. Lewis commends the actress for letting them use a real animal tongue in her mouth that had been sitting around a few days and become rather rancid.

While known most for gory horror films, Lewis made all types of genre films. Sci-Fi films like “Monster-A-Go-Go”; biker films like “She-Devils on Wheels”; drug exploitation films such as “Something Weird”; even children’s films. The documentary is packed with scenes from most of his films and as such, loaded with gore and nudity. But the fun is in just listening to Lewis talk about his career. He is engaging, witty and seems, well…just like that favorite uncle of yours. It’s a whirlwind tour of grade-Z filmmaking at its best…or perhaps worst, I’m not sure. But I am sure it was a lot of fun.

DVD Extras

A Hot Night at the Go-Go Lounge (10:00) This is a rare short feature film about a trip to a go-go club and mostly just shows a couple of women dancing topless.

Outtakes – The DVD features over an hour of outtakes from Lewis’s various films. These include a lot of innocent flubs and mistakes, Lewis and some of the actors provide commentary to the scenes.

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