I know that I am not the only one out there in the same situation. Since I discovered the power of music, I’ve always been a great fan of Glenn Danzig. The Misfits were one of the main bands in my teenage years, and more recently the Danzig solo stuff has gained on me a status of almost devotional, being his latest album to date Black Laden Crown to me a real masterpiece of doom metal and my dog’s favorite album at all (true story, and this is serious, it’s not a joke). So yes, I was looking forward to having the chance to talk about Glenn Danzig’s debut in a feature film, Verotika (2019)
For those who are a fan of Danzig, you might already know that Verotik is a mature-themed comic book company founded back in August 1994 by Glenn Danzig himself, as a response to the lame American mainstream comics with all those heroes in spandex and the ridiculous powers and situations. The comics are aimed toward adult readers as they often contain imagery of a sexual and/or violent nature. The film adaptation GrubGirl (2006) for one of the Verotik books of the same name was directed by Craven Moorehead as a horror adult film. And now it’s the turn of one of the star series of the collection, Verotika.
Verotika (2019) is a horror anthology that compiles stories written by Glenn Danzig that served as plotlines for the line of comic books of the same name. Stories which focus on horror content that’s often sexual and violent in nature, usually featuring scantily-clad female protagonists. The main cast of the movie is formed by Ashley Wisdom, Rachel Alig, Alice Haig, Kayden Kross, Scotch Hopkins, Sean Kanan and Natalia Borowsky among others.
Verotika (2019) had this month its worldwide premiere at Cinepocalypse, and it has been reported that the audience had a blast of laughs during the long-awaited screening. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, people who have seen the movie has already categorized as an instant cult classic, and a referent of good bad movies. Danzig had the absolute freedom to do what he wanted in the movie, so grotesque and excesses had its place there. Allegedly it is not as dark and demented as one might think coming from the Evil Elvis, but definitely bizarre and twisted. After the screening, writer and director Glenn Danzig attended to a Q&A session with fans where he admitted not to totally understand the reason of the laughing response from the audience, but that he was glad all the passion he put in the project was compensated with the positive fans reaction.
With movies like Verotika (2019) one could think they are cursed to be remembered as momentaneous underground experiences, that is why it was great news when it was announced this week that Cleopatra Entertainment is planning Video on Demand release of the movie for Halloween! And after that, towards the end of the year, a Blu-Ray and DVD release is also on the works. That is great news, because if something the world needs right now is the chance to grab a copy of Verotika (2019). The horror must-see of the year? Probably not, but still a good one to catch. And I say that from the point of view of the professional because as a Danzig fan I need to see that movie!!
