Gore Gore Galore! CD and Movie Review by Brian Kirst

Since his creation of the limb flinging "Blood Feast" in 1963, Herschell Gordon Lewis has, correctly, been referred to as the Godfather of Gore. His influence has been extraordinary and probably has been best witnessed in such recent skin shredding epics as "Hostel", "Saw" and their numerous sequels and knock-offs. Yet, Herr Lewis’ influence extends far beyond the screen.

In the 1990’s, musician Amy Gore, beckoned by Lewis’ bloody siren call, founded a female garage band and named them after Lewis’ 1972 cult classic "The Gore Gore Girls". As you can imagine, they bloody well rock. In fact, they have recently released their excellent Bloodshot Records’ debut "Get the Gore" and none other than Herschell, himself, weighed in on the excitement. "To appreciate this, you have to have a streak of wildness…" he writes on the CD’s liner notes. As usual, good old Mr. Lewis is right!

Gore Gore Girls "Get the Gore" 2007 . Bloodshot Records. www.goregoregirls.com www.bloodshotrecords.com

While Amy Gore and band mates Hammer, Nicky Styxx and Carol Anne Schumacher fashion their look and energy after the mini-skirt wearing wild women of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ "The Gore Gore Girls", they have such a strong streak of self-confident power in their musicality that no one would consider them less than the sexiest, most balls-to-the-wall feminists in existence. They assert themselves, first off, with fun, take charge wildness on tracks such as "Fox in a Box" and "Pleasure Unit". A winning creepiness pulses through the tension filled "Where Evil Grows". They offer up a throbbing surfer’s wail on the rhythms of "You Lied to Me Before". On a different note, "All Grown Up" vibrates with a clap along 1950’s drive in vibe. There truly isn’t a weak track among the 14 offered here and Gore proves that within the seemingly limited arrangements of garage rock that there is plenty of musical dexterity to be found.

Now, as for the movie that inspired the band, much has been already written – but I’ll give it another bludgeon or two.

The Gore Gore Girls. 1972. Something Weird Video. Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis.

Someone is murdering the Go Go girls who work for Marzdone Mobilie (comedian Henny Youngman) in vile and vicious ways. Hired by a determined reporter (Amy Farrell) seeking a scoop, vain and pompous private eye Abraham Gentry (Frank Kress) soon finds himself up to his eyes in ravaged, obliterated flesh. While delivering his typical over-the-top effects, Lewis also develops a kooky energetic banter between Farrell and Kress. Their chemistry is nowhere near as potent as the 30’s screwball comedies, yet they attack their lines – and each other- with glee and they are obviously having fun.

Lewis also has fun with the comical Hedda Lubin playing Marlene, a cocktail waitress whose outfits change every time she enters a scene. Feminists, Vietnam Vets and awkward college students are, also, given the comic shakedown here.

Surprisingly, much like Douglas Sirk and Dario Argento, Lewis also saturates his scenes with deep color. Red and white seem to be the prevailing motifs here and it is interesting to watch their essence overwhelming certain scenes.

Of course the centerpiece effects, while obviously fake, are so potently aggressive that one’s stomach still may flip a bit despite their overall ridiculousness. There is the famous death by meat tenderizer (on one unlucky showgirl’s ass), death by nipple removal (one sprouts white milk and the other sprouts chocolate) and death by boiling French Fries. Yum!

Ultimately, this whole affair is so gleefully over-the-top that if you haven’t seen it yet, you simply must.