Now for a different take on Glenn Danzig’s feature film directorial debut, Verotika
What's up there, Horror Bound fans? Your resident comic book nerd here with something a little comic book adjacent. Have ya heard? Punk rock and heavy metal icon, Glenn Danzig directed his first feature film last year and the source material came from none other than Danzig himself via his comic book imprint, Verotik Publishing. This tiny company was founded during a time when both indie publishers and heavy metal music were both in the spotlight, albeit for different reasons. With the creative geniuses behind some of Marvel’s hottest selling titles breaking off and starting the now legendary Image Comics brand which singlehandedly launched the independent comic book scene to heights previously unreachable, it seemed everyone was trying to get in on the ground floor of this new movement. Heavy metal music, on the other hand, was on its way out after nearly a decade at the top of the charts thanks to the emerging Seattle scene and the wildly popular Grunge music for which it was known.
Maybe seeing the writing on the wall, who knows, the Danzig front man set out to blaze his own trail in the realm of the comic book world, himself a huge fan of comics for decades, with the formation of publishing company Verotik, releasing flagship imprint, Verotika issue one in October of 1994. The anthology series promised to deliver content combining two very specific criteria: Violence and Erotica, hence the name of the book and the company, a clever combination of both words. Along a similar vein and style of then decades old Heavy Metal magazine, Verotika also told tales in the fantasy genre, but added the horror, upped the violence and increased the sex.
Danzig was also able to enlist the art talents of some of the greats in the illustrative world like Simon Bisley, Liam Sharpe, and Tim Vigil. Aside from Glenn himself, the first issue of Verotika even included a story written by a young Grant Morrison, who would of course go on to write some of the greats like Superman and Batman for some of the great publishers like DC and the aforementioned Image Comics. Verotik publishing would go on to release over a dozen different titles all based on different characters and taking place in different worlds.
Fast forward some 25 years later and we finally got a feature film based on Danzig’s infamous line of comic books. Yes, I am fully aware of the lukewarm response by both the critics and horror community at large for the 2019 Verotika feature film. But I wanted to use this space to, not defend the film by any means, but more so to highlight the can-do attitude of Glenn Danzig and the indie spirit of the film’s namesake comic and publishing company.
Right off the bat, I can tell you that this film suffers from two very specific problems: lack of budget and lack of time. Lack of budget in not being able to have the funds to hire big name talent who would in turn bring with them top notch skill. And lack of time to tell these three tales to completion. Clocking in at the average hour and a half, one can easily allot a good half hour for each story to be told as the in-between sections aren’t really telling a wraparound story like most anthologies, but instead, simply include a brief introduction by our hostess, Morella (think kind of a cross between the beauty of Elvira and the sarcastic wit of The Crypt Keeper).
As such, I can kind of see how this would have played much better as an ongoing series during the late night hours of Cinemax or prime time on Playboy TV. Speaking of which, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the nudity and sexual situations are not that graphic at all. I’m sure we’ve all seen worse in any horror film from the 1980’s. But seriously, if I were Glenn I would have tried to sell the idea to a pay television network and then at least gotten the big money backing that comes with such an acquisition.
None of the three tales feel like finished stories, but more like windows into worlds that are much larger with more characters and more backstory to explore. That’s where the lack of time shows the most. But that’s always the hardest thing about adapting any written medium into film. In the written medium, whether it’s comic books, novels, or even a series of novels, there’s always a ton more material than can fit into a simple hour and a half or two hour movie. If each of Verotika’s characters had their own comic book series, there’s no way you can expect to get the entirety of their story in one half hour segment. So yes, believe it or not, each story would have been better served by a feature film or even limited cable series event.
All that being said, make no mistake that Glenn is telling some really deep stories here. Sure, they don’t look like it on the surface, but each one of his characters is dealing with some serious issues. In The Albino Spider of Dajette, the namesake creature is totally a metaphor for the demons Dajette is fighting in her own mind as he only appears when she’s asleep and when he does appear, he does some very bad things, finally leading Dajette to take her own life in order to finally stop the evil in her unconscious mind. This is a story about mental health, people.
In the next, A Change of Face, an exotic dancer is obsessed with cutting the faces off of beautiful women in order to wear them over her own, which has been horribly disfigured. Sure, you could say she’s just some crazy slasher, but what really motivates her to do what she does? Vanity, plain and simple. In the final tale, a Contessa drinks and bathes in the blood of the village virgins in order to keep her youthful appearance, another tale of narcissism and our eternal struggle to turn back the hands of time. It is worth wondering though, why Danzig would choose to include two tales with so much in common from a subject matter standpoint.
But by far, the biggest reason for the film getting so panned, and I would tend to agree, has got to be in its technical execution. Danzig alone takes on both writing and directing duties on this one and shares a DP credit with David Newbert. But the worst part about the look of the film has nothing to do with shooting and everything to do with editing. I mean, it’s just horrible. But that’s not on Glenn, unless he’s in the editing suite, elbowing Brian Cox every five minutes to make a change. Listen, none of these guys have a long list of Hollywood experience. Glenn’s directed a couple of his own videos and written lyrics and comic books, Newbert’s largely a camera op and grip and the only other thing Cox has edited is a music video. But therein lies what is most spectacular about the whole movie: Glenn Danzig’s, “I don’t give a fuck, I’m making this movie, anyway” attitude. I haven’t done the research, but Danzig is one of only two executive producers so I’m willing to bet a majority of the one million dollar budget came right out of Glenn’s pocket.
Another ingredient in his guerilla style of filmmaking is Glenn acting as sole composer to the score that permeates each scene throughout all three tales. And it is good, ladies and gentlemen. This is where Glenn’s talents really shine. Regardless of mood, time period, or scene beat, the score is executed with great care. It fits really well everywhere we hear it. It almost makes me wish the limited edition blu-ray release came with a CD of the score and the soundtrack. Which brings me to another perfectly paired piece of the production, or specifically, post-production. The soundtrack includes a few legendary acts in the likes of Ministry, Danzig (of course), and goth queens Switchblade Symphony. Other goth rockers, Jyrki 69, Fantôme, and Vile a Sin round out the rest of the album’s lineup and like the score, where these songs drop in on the film is equally as effective (especially in a few of the scenes that take place in an exotic dance club).
Finally, let’s talk about where I feel the entire budget went. No expense was spared in the make-up department. Like the nudity I mentioned earlier, the gore and violence too was not that graphic. You get some staples like a decapitation, some throat slitting, and some gunshot wounds, but there are other really great set pieces sprinkled throughout and not a one of them looks cheap or amateur. My fave, and possibly homage to the great Fulci, is an opening scene where our host, Morella, stabs two sharply manicured nails into an awaiting victim’s eyeballs, close-up on the penetration. An end scene includes a completely mocked up and completely nude upper body of a woman as the contessa cuts open her chest and rips out her heart, still beating, before she commences to eat it. Good stuff.
So there you have it, my take on what truly stands out about Glenn Danzig’s debut film. I’m not gonna lie, my main reason for even giving this film a buy is because of Danzig’s connection and because it was birthed out of a comic book property I remember fondly from the ‘90s. Is it a masterpiece? No, of course not. But could it grow to become a cult classic, midnight movie sensation up there among works by some other B- movie greats like Roger Corman, Russ Meyer, and Ed Wood? Only time will tell. But I don’t think Danzig was going for Academy consideration here and I think his influences rooted in horror, erotica, and the bizarre are clearly on display. If nothing else, like all novice filmmakers, here’s hoping Glenn learns from the experience here and applies it to his next film, the currently in post-production Death Rider in the House of Vampires. In the meantime, Verotika is currently streaming on Shudder if you’d like to cast your own judgment.
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