Original DVD Release
The lanes will run red with blood after a hot young thing is beaten and gang raped by some local bowling alley roughs. One by one the thugs are beaten, mashed, smashed, raped, gouged and gored by the mysterious BBK (Bowling Bag Killer) and his trusty bowling pins of vengeance.
Being a film critic, especially one that primarily reviews genre fare, isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. I often find myself torn between being a “responsible” critic, dedicated to being as unflinchingly honest as possible, and a hardcore, lifelong fanboy. I have to really look at a film for what it is and ask myself whether it was well made, well written, well acted and finally what significance it holds for the genre, cinema in general and, believe it or not, society. I can’t always speak as a fanboy, sometimes I have to speak as a responsible adult interested in cinema as art, not just mindless, knuckle-dragging masturbation fantasy.
That being said, I’m going to do something I rarely do, I’m going to tackle this film as a fanboy.
Gutterballs is beautiful, it’s savage, gory and nasty in the worst, and best, way imaginable. If Ryan Nicholson had made Gutterballs twenty-five years ago this film would be hailed today as “disgusting,” “disturbing” and “controversial.” It would have been lumped in with amazing exploitation horror like Maniac, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Last House on the Left, I Spit On Your Grave and Friday The 13th. Gutterballs would have been a video nasties candidate through and through; something this grotesque only comes around every so often.
Now, I’m not going to sit around and pontificate about the rape because this is obviously exploitation and if you don’t know what you’re getting into after the first four minutes of rape you’re either stupid or you’re going to be one of those pussies that fall back on the whole “martyr critic” spiel about how you watched the movie “for the fans” so they wouldn’t have to suffer through it themselves. Boo hoo. Nicholson, in my opinion, has crafted himself the kind of sick little underground gem that’s going to have goremongers stealing from their grandmother’s purses to purchase, rape or not.
The acting ranged from OKAY to bad to porn-tastic which isn’t really a turn off for me considering I’m a fan of 70′s porn. If you’re expecting stellar acting from a film called “Gutterballs” you’re DEFINITELY stupid. I was just happy the actors could walk, talk and blink their eyes at the same time! The real draw here is gonna be the possibility of nudity and, like any good slasher film, a major body count and, thankfully, Nicholson & Company don’t disappoint! We get some nifty nudity and some of the best goddamn gore and kill sequences I’ve seen in years. Everything about this film was over-the-top and uncalled for…and that’s a good thing indeed.
This is not your little brother or sister’s horror nor is this the kind of horror your lipstick lesbian vampire girlfriend masturbates to. It’s vicious and ugly and there’s not one single ounce of socially redemptive filmmaking to be found here and for that I can’t thank Plotdigger enough. I’m so goddamn tired of wimpy low budget horror that has nothing going for it but hype and big budget horror that promises horror for adults but only offers jump scares for thirteen year old girls. Gutterballs delivers everything I like about horror and exploitation and it’s obvious it was made for fans by fans and, for me, that counts for something.
