Excellent but underrated film

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

"August Underground's Penance" is basically the personal home video of two sociopathic killers on murder spree.Again two nameless butchers played by Fred Vogel and Cristie Whiles videotape their bloodthirsty madness,but "Penance" shows also their slow decline.First of all I'm not a big fan of "August Underground" series.Still as a lover of extreme cinema who had previously seen "August Underground" and "August Underground's Mordum" I really wanted to see the final installment.This time the faux-VHS look of Mordum has been tossed aside in favor of a more contemporary digital look.The gore effects made by ToeTag crew are very convincing and the violence is dirty and vile.There are some boring moments,but overall "Penance" is not as perverted and repulsive as "Mordum".7 out of 10.

Holy ****, this movie is a hell of a ride. It demonstrates the volatile relationship between Fred and Crusty, their eventual hatred of each other, Fred's utter remorselessness and Crusty's self loathing and hatred for hers and Fred's deeds. It starts off with a nice bit of violence, always a great way to kick off an underground film. From there, it goes to a bit of beauty, which is not without its methods of getting under the viewer's skin in ways not thought possible by the simple video.In one scene, Fred assaults a homeless man, played by the Toe Tag Forum's very own Fuctup34 (whose piercings must weigh more than his head by now). To the average person, this is a simple act of dramatized assault. To the more in-depth watcher, it's much more. That happens every day, and that's the marvel of these films. It shows what happens every day, but what society turns a blind eye to. The rapes. The murders. Assault and robbery. Toe Tag Pictures has done it again by showing us what the public doesn't want to know.Please, if you liked Mordum, and expect this to have the same all out guts and gore approach, then avoid it. This one, though it has its gory moments, including a very graphic and gut wrenching (pun definitely intended) gutting scene, is not about that. It's disturbing, not in a "Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal Lecter" way, not in a "Saw" way (if one can call Saw disturbing) and not in a "The Eye/The Changeling" way. It's something unlike anything you've ever experienced, especially the soon-to-be-infamous "Christmas" scene (trust me, if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about, and you agree).Once more, everything in this film has a purpose, nothing is just to make it longer. Everything from Crusty and Fred's drives through the city, to them firing guns at targets (not live targets, to those wondering). It all has a purpose, and it all serves its purpose very well.The reason this film is so great is because you don't just see the horrible, perversion that you saw in Mordum, you see Fred and Crusty having fun, you see them as normal people, then get slapped in the face with another kill. Like a deer in the headlights, you want to look away, you know you have to look away, but you just can't, and that's why though the violence is much less intense than Mordum, it hits so much harder emotionally.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The end is one of the most powerful scenes. In it, Crusty has a mental breakdown (one that had been building since the very beginning, not just shitty out of the blue), places the camera on top of the toilet, and strangles herself (again, not just random bull****, it's done very well, and very horrific, harder hitting than any amount of gore at this point could be). She fails the first time, and almost collapses, panting. So, she tries again shortly afterward, and collapses. We hear a sharp thud, and see a bit of movement (as well as a hand in the bathtub, which, in the slideshow on the DVD, we see belongs to a woman's corpse, we don't know who) and that's it. It leaves the viewer wondering what happened to the bound woman in the basement? is Fred still alive (while he was sleeping, Crusty stood over him, anyone who's seen it would agree, you'd expect her to kill him)? Is Crusty actually dead? We will never know, and personally, I'm not sure if Fred knows. Perhaps he designed it that way because he may think any ending he could give it would be a cliché, or perhaps it's just one of those things the public isn't meant to know.One theory, nothing has been confirmed by Fred Vogel (though it has been hinted that this may be correct), but one theory on Crusty's breakdown is that in the bathtub was her miscarriage (which would explain her complaints throughout the movie). This would also explain why Crusty began sobbing upon seeing the forced abortion of the woman, and the fetus on the table.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!END OF SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For more information on this film, and other Toe Tag Films (such as August Underground, or August Underground's Mordum, as well as The Redsin Tower) or to purchase it, go to www.toetagpictures.com Rating: Acting: 10/10 Story: 8/10 Gore: 10/10 Character Development (one of the most amazing aspects of this film): 10/10 Disturbing Factor: 12/10 Overall: 10/10 The best horror movie to come out in the past 20 years. I challenge anyone to name a better one. If you think you know better than me, email what you think is the best horror in the past 20 years to Matt@angrymidget.net

The scariest and most disturbing thing about "August Underground's Penance" is that Fred Vogel and his team of no-talents deemed what they'd shot worthy of release. This is a tedious, protracted, poorly photographed piece of video age masturbation about two losers (a male and female) who waste their lives indulging in psychotic behavior. Unfortunately, that psychotic behavior is boring and not fit for the most amateurish of home movies. There is some gore and ugly nudity, and an alligator eats a live mouse, but none of this redeems the endless, directionless, vertigo-inducing scenes of pseudo-shock that make up this rotten failure. There are no characters, there is no story, the Killers' POV perspective is now clichéd and done to death, and the ultra-shaky camera-work just further illustrates the lack of intelligence and talent behind this abortion. If I ever have to watch another Fred Vogel piece of anti-cinema, I'll poke my eyes out and puncture my ear drums. As penance for making this crap, the filmmakers should refrain from touching a camera for the next one hundred years.

Man uses video camera to shoot 2 underground snuff films August Underground Pt1 & Pt2.Man meets girl and goes about making a 3rd only this time messes the formula up and spends the bulk of it filming himself in various redneck/trailer park trash pursuits. See as man acts like a gangster, as he feeds a gator & lion, as he rides a quad, as he does a few lines yawn yawn ...Intercut all this with a few gore moments and yawn some more before the end credits roll. Fred and the toetag team have a way with fx this still can't be argued, but its all pointless unless its alongside narrative.To sum it up I gave it a 3/10. If you want sex go rent a porno, if you want gore rent a slasher movie. If you want to feel like you've wasted your money or time rent this.Watch this if you dare and you'll feel you've suffered as much as any of the victims...