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56 reviews in total

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
A really strange and disturbing masterpiece of hilarious nonsense, 1 February 2005

Author: dataclast from Canada

Though this is one of my all time favorite movies, I would still have to give it 7 out of ten because it has too many flaws for me to rate it as a perfect film. For one, the plot does meander and great deal. Also, the characters for the most part are pointless and annoying. Still, this does not matter in the world of Herschell Gordon Lewis. This is easily one of the stupidest, most unbelievable, disturbing and hilarious movies that I have ever seen in my entire life. You'll find yourself laughing out loud as you vomit at the sight of people having swords shoved down their throats, being done in with punch presses, being chainsawed in half and every other disgusting thing you can possibly imagine. Only in the world of cinema can things this ridiculous happen. That's what I love about movies, they take you into a different world, and this movie does just that. Aside from the gore, what really makes this movie stand out is it's evil villain 'MONTAG THE MAGNIFICENT'. After watching this movie, my friend Jason and I decided to start worshipping him and revelling in his badassness. Also, what totally rules about this movie is just how terrible the acting is. Ray Sager is actually the worst actor of all time. It made me laugh the entire time I watched it, yet at the same time his presence has an unnatural creepiness to it. The ending has to be seen to be believed.

Truly a unique horror film that should be seen by fans of bad cinema or just anyone who wants to be totally grossed out and given nightmares.

(My personal rating is 10/10)

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11 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
One of the great "what the..." movies., 21 June 2001
Author: Martin O'Gorman from London Village, England

Utter madness from HGL and probably his most accessible and entertaining film. The central premise is brilliant - someone should remake it - but all the weird subplots and scenes all add to the deranged atmosphere.

The gore is pretty nastier and a definite progression from A Taste Of Blood and The Gruesome Twosome. The "eyeball" scene really surprised and shocked me because for once the effects are reasonably convincing. But it's Ray Sager's pompous portrayal of Montag that is the most appealing aspect for fans of kitsch and the ending is a genuine eyebrow raiser. Questions of existentialism and hardcore gore? It's all here. You will, at some points, question your sanity. That is, of course, if we're not all a figment of someone's imagination. Indeed, are you in fact sitting reading this review now? Or are you actually at home, asleep, dreaming that you are here? Aaaaagh!

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12 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
You will lose your mind, and possibly your lunch..., 20 March 2001
Author: jtk57 from Baltimore, USA

Some say the Wizard of Gore is one of HG Lewis' weaker flicks, but I must disagree. Blood Feast may have been more ground-breaking and unintentionally hilarious, but W.O.G. stands up fine against that movie and any of his other gore films. There is a certain cheesy charm to Lewis movies, no matter if they are skin flicks, gore flicks, or even kiddie flicks. In this movie, the wonderfully hammy Ray Sager plays the Wizard and his main occupation seems to be delivering quasi-fascistic prattle to audiences with mutton chop sideburns, interspersed with running his fingers through the tomato-sauce covered animal organs that erupt from his victims, all to the audience's delight. There is some weak storyline involving an independent woman reporter and her well-tanned boyfriend, who try to solve the mystery of the Wizard, the fools. However, this is pretty much just window dressing for the 5-6 gory scenes of the Wizard doing his thing. In particular, there is an eyeball poking and manipulating scene that would have done Lucio Fulci proud. And please don't forget the awesome furniture and late 60's bourgeois home furnishings and polyester pantsuits that make all of these late 60's films look like "Barbarella" by todays standards. If anything, you have to love the fact that there was actually a time in this country where you could make a movie like this and it would be distributed. Thinking about the time period when Lewis was doing his thing and the way he was doing it is enough to blow your mind even more than his movies. If you haven't checked them out, you are doing yourself a disservice!

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12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
HEADS off to see the wizard...the nauseating Wizard of Gore!, 20 April 2006

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

Another sensationally over-the-top splatter party directed by everyone's favorite horror lunatic; THE Hershell Gordon Lewis! "The Wizard of Gore" might not be his 'best' film, but it's definitely a fun experience and actually one of Lewis' most ambitiously plotted films, since he toys with subjects like hypnotism and optical illusions. None of the magical tricks are properly explained, as Lewis' sneakily avoids that in the dumb finale, but at least he tried to do something extra and ingenious with this film. Ray Sager, some sort of crossover between Vincent Price and porn actor Harry Reems, plays Montag The Magnificent; a self-acclaimed illusionist genius who butchers girls from the audience live on stage but has them return to their seats again in one piece. A young reporter, who's always dragged along by his girlfriend to see Montag's shows, discovers that the girls turn up dead after all and their corpses are damaged exactly like they appeared to be on stage. It's rather curious how you never grow tired of the way Lewis displays the gore in his movies! The sequences here in which female bodies are disemboweled, impaled or even crushed with an industrial punch press are overlong, monotonous and completely implausible, yet you stare at the screen with a gigantic smile on your face. Of course, these are the only significant scenes in "The Wizard of Gore" as the rest of the film hangs together by lousy acting, embarrassing dialogues and a shortage of decors. By the year 1970 and after having unleashed a handful of similar horror movies already, Lewis still couldn't care less about building up tension or continuity and went straight for exploitative grossness. The least you can say is that his work is an acquired taste, but he shall be forever worshiped by drive-in fanatics and other sick puppies, like myself. Amen, Mr. Lewis…

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12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
I am scared! A masterpiece!, 29 September 2003

Author: yediotm from Israel

Hey People,

I can't believe this is what you had to write about this film. OK, the acting is bad - but it is also hilarious. The frames are not normal - but they have a very queer charm. The effects are very unreal, but this is part of the ideology. The crowd is not shot together with Montag. But really, why be picky. This is also part of the laugh (and this film is very funny). Ok, so Herschell, didn't have much money. So what?

Monatg had me panicking. No, this is not only about gore. This is about destroying the line between illusion-cinema-reality. About viewing and seeing. About the conscious and sub-conscious. We all take part in Montag's horrible show.

I watched the film with a few friends, and we all liked it a lot, but I guess I am the only one who really has nightmares ever since. I don't know why. This film touched some very deep point in my psyche probably, but I can't get over montag. Over the horror of the girl screaming her pain and the crowd not hearing cries.

Watch it (10 Points!)

Ido,

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
My personal favorite H.G. Lewis film, one of his goriest and most surreal offerings, 7 May 2007

Author: TimothyFarrell from Worcester, MA

"The Wizard of Gore" is one of the legendary H.G. Lewis's goriest films. Its also one of his most interesting, as the plotting is rather ambitious, touching upon concepts such as hypnotism, meta-fiction, and illusions. Despite none of these themes being explored with anything resembling subtlety, its certainly an adventurous move for Lewis. To his credit, the ending is unforgettably bizarre. It also makes this one of his most surreal efforts, and in my mind his finest achievement. Sure, "Blood Feast" and "2000 Maniacs" are more groundbreaking and have larger followings, but this is the Lewis film I find myself watching the most.

If you were actually fooled by what I said above into thinking this is a technically adequate film, well, I'm sorry. This still features all the Lewis trademarks, and fans of the godfather of gore wouldn't have it any other way. As the lead, Ray Sager is hilariously over-the-top, coming across as Vincent Price without the talent or the dignity. Wayne Ratay as the reporter working on the case is pretty wooden (not to mention he takes off his shirt one too many times, this isn't exactly a buff guy). Judy Cler actually offers a half-decent performance (by Lewis standards anyways). As I said above, this is one of Lewis' goriest films, and where the guy actually had some skill was staging memorably morbid death scenes utilizing bizarre props. They're cheap, but they're sometimes effective and unnerving (if also hilarious and monotonous). Lewis' direction hasn't improved too much (he never really got the hang of pacing), but for fans of drive-in trash, "The Wizard of Gore" offers much entertainment. (8/10)

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7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
So-Bad-It's-Good Definitely Applies Here, 7 March 2008

Author: Scars_Remain from United States

This movie has been on my Netflix queue for quite a while so I can safely say that I've wanted to see it since before Juno was out. This is the fourth Herschell Gordon Lewis film I've seen so far and only the second I've liked, the other was Two Thousand Maniacs. This, much like Two Thousand Maniacs, is a good movie. Not because it actually has substance and is well thought out, but because it is a lot of fun to watch and has become a cult classic.

Let's be honest for a minute here, when Herschell Gordon Lewis was directing films, he had no idea what he was doing. As a friend of mine said "he is the Ed Wood of gore films." I have to agree completely. The editing is always choppy and horrible, the music is poorly placed, the acting seems to be straight out of a junior high play, and nothing seems believable. This brings me to the gore. If HGL only got one thing right in his career, it was gore. The gore in this film is awesome and cheesy. He may have made bad films, but they sure are entertaining.

Sorry for going off on so many tangents, I'll get back to this movie. The story follows a TV reporter and her boyfriend who attend a magician's show of blood and dismemberment. They become suspicious of several deaths being linked to the show. It's a simple story but it is a lot of fun. I really like the magician theme. The bad acting factor definitely applies in this movie. I often wonder where HGL found these people. But as always, the gore is magnificent(no pun intended) and almost saves the movie. I had a lot fun with it.

See this movie if you're a fan of Herschell Gordon Lewis and you won't find much of anything new but it is a very good time. Go! Now!

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
One of the "Godfather of Gore"'s very best!, 24 November 2006

Author: alanmora from United States

I am a HUGE fan of Herschell Gordon Lewis and I have to say that this film, along with "2000 Maniacs" and "She Devils on Wheels" is one of my favorites. I'd also like to say a few words to those who have criticized the effects in Mr. Lewis' films. Herschell Gordon Lewis is the FIRST director to bring us in your face blood and guts such as those effects in this film and therefore he had no pre-set standards to go by, in fact he set the standards (as low as they may have been) for many of the genre films today. Many of the horror films of today use god-awful CGI effects most of which are MUCH more fake in appearance than anything I have ever seen in one of Herschell Gordon Lewis' films. If it weren't for films like "The Wizard of Gore" there would be no Freddy Kruger, no Jason Voorhees, no Leatherface and no Michael Myers. On a side note, this film is also notorious as being the first horror film to have a chainsaw murder in it (years before "Last House on the Left or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). A re-make of this classic (starring Crispin Glover in the title role)is currently in post-production stages and it is being reported that the very same company that is producing this re-make is also producing a re-make of "She Devils on Wheels". There is also an idea being pitched that would cast many of Mr. Lewis's most (in)famous villains including Montag the Magnificent from "The Wizard of Gore" in lead roles. Watch for Mr. Lewis next film "Herschell Gordon Lewis' Grim Fairie Tales" which puts the eighty-something year-old director back in the director's chair, where he belongs!

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Great Film From HG Lewis, 31 August 2006

Author: CMRKeyboadist from Sleesburg, VA.

This is a real fun one. "The Wizard of Gore" is another movie from the awesome Hershell Gordan Lewis and is filled with ridiculous gore, bad acting, and a storyline so out there you have to wonder what was going on in his head at the time.

Ray Sager plays Montag the Magnificent a magician who does more then just pull the old rabbit out of the hat. No, Montag likes performing tricks that involve sawing women in half with a chainsaw, or ramming a metal spike through a woman's head, I think you get the idea. The magic part comes in when he is able to murder these women without the audience knowing. To the audience, it is nothing more then a trick. To us, the viewer, we see the goriness of what is really happening. Apparently, the women being murdered don't even realize they are dead until long after the performance is over when they just drop dead in public places. Will the police figure out what is going on and who is committing these horrible crimes?

Ray Sager's performance as Montag is a lot of fun as most of his performance is him yelling and boasting. Obviously Montag has quite an ego. The gore effects are what you can expect from any HG Lewis film, cheesy but extremely gory and bloody, nevertheless. The acting is truly hilarious and is just awful, but this all works to the movies charm and the style. Let's face it, this is no award winning film here.

I heard that a remake is in it's post production. I am not sure what to make of this as most remakes just suck. But on rare occasions we get a decent remake.

Anyway, "The Wizard of Gore" is a great gore film and should not be missed. 8/10

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8 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
One of Herschell Gordon Lewis goriest and dullest movies., 6 January 2003
Author: Infofreak from Perth, Australia

'The Wizard Of Gore' is one of H.G.Lewis' goriest movies but it is also one of his dullest. More explicit than any of the "blood trilogy" which his reputation rests on, but without a tenth of the entertainment value. In fact I'd say it's even worse than his non-gore turkey 'She-Devils On Wheels'. At least that one had one or two laughs. Ray Sager plays Montag The Magnificent and could be Lewis' most wooden leading man (which is saying a lot!). He plays a magician who causes a sensation by dismembering female volunteers on stage then apparently making them whole again and none the worse for it. However afterwards the girls turn up dead, injured as they were in his "illusions". An ambitious TV talk show host (Judy Cler) and her sceptical sportswriting boyfriend (Wayne Ratay) try and solve the mysterious deaths and determine just what, if anything, Montag has to do with it. Some people seem to inexplicably rate this snoozefest very highly, but if it was the first H.G.Lewis movie I'd ever seen it would probably be my last. The acting is terrible as expected, and the gore is ridiculously unconvincing, but this time round the plot drags, and I found the whole thing terribly unamusing. For Lewis beginners I'd recommend you avoid this one and go straight to his hillbilly horror 'Two Thousand Maniacs!'. It may not be as in-your-face as 'The Wizard Of Gore' but it is a lot more fun.

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