August Underground's Mordum

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August Underground's Mordum
Directed by	Jerami Cruise Killjoy Mike Schneider Fred Vogel Cristie Whiles
Produced by	Toetag Pictures
Written by	Jerami Cruise Killjoy Mike Schneider Fred Vogel Cristie Whiles
Starring	Jerami Cruise Killjoy Mike Schneider Fred Vogel Cristie Whiles
Editing by	Fred Vogel
Release date(s)	2003 (V)
Running time	77 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	August Underground
Followed by	August Underground's Penance
Official website
IMDb profile

August Underground's Mordum is an independent slasher film released by the Pittsburgh-based film production/special effects/design company known as Toetag Pictures in 2003; like its predecessor, Mordum is a unique entry in the narrow simulated snuff film subcategory of horror cinema, taking genre conventions to arguably questionable extremes with graphic depictions of sexual deviancy (including necrophilia and pedophilia), murder (including a fleeting depiction of infanticide), and other dubious behaviors associated with the serial killer lifestyle. Despite its direct-to-DVD release, the film has garnered a notorious reputation as one of the most explicit films in cinematic history, recently earning the number one position on the "Top 10 Sickest Movies" list posted on the IGN "Horror Brain" blog ^[1] amongst other various praises and condemnations from critics in the internet and press alike.

1 Plot
2 Canadian border controversy
3 New Zealand Censorship
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Plot

Although commonly dismissed as mere series of graphic set-pieces with little or no storyline or cohesion, Mordum has at least some semblance of a plot stringing its atrocities together. The film depicts a dysfunctional love triangle of sorts between the volatile lead from the original August Underground (portrayed by Toetag founder Fred Vogel), his maniacal sister and partner-in-crime Crusty (Christie Whiles), and the animalistic, appropriately-dubbed Maggot (Michael Schneider); as Maggot's mental facilities undergo a noticeable decline and competition with Vogel's character for the affections of Crusty mounts, tensions simmer before coming to full boil at Mordum's climax: in a dementia-tinged confrontation between the two male leads, Maggot manages to wrestle Vogel's knife out of his hands and then proceeds to visibly cut his own throat before the film cuts to static.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Canadian border controversy

Enroute to the 2005 Rue Morgue Festival of Fear horror convention in Toronto, Fred Vogel was stopped by Canadian customs officers for transporting merchandise across the border; the officers confiscated the contents of his van, including Toetag promotional materials as well as copies of Mordum and the original August Underground, and shortly thereafter Vogel was arrested for smuggling obscene materials into Canada. While the Toetag merchandise was undergoing "further inspection" in Ottawa, Vogel was held in a Canadian customs jail; after roughly ten hours, he was released and charges were dropped ^[2].

[edit] New Zealand Censorship

Recently, a house in New Zealand was raided by Custom officials. August Underground's Mordum (as well as its predecessor, August Underground, and its sequel, August Underground's Penance) were among the DVDs seized.

After bringing the DVDs to New Zealand's Censorship Committee, all three of the DVDs were condemned, thus banning them from sale or importation.^{[citation needed]}