This isn't the first time I've reviewed a film on these pages that bears a massive cult reputation, but this is certainly one of the most talked-about projects among the inner circles of extreme-horror fans. As is usually the case in underground horror cinema, its notoriety has been fueled by its unavailability in any legitimate form, resulting in over ten years of frenzied bootleg trading, even before the advent of the internet. Since the mid-'90s, some variation of this question has popped up across many a dealer's table in countless horror & comic conventions: "Have you seen that one with the mortician who fucks the cadaver?"

Well, ready or not, here it comes. The fevered nightmare of necro-fun that is Ignacio "Nacho" Cerda's AFTERMATH has made its official DVD debut - courtesy of Unearthed films - and it's proving ripe for controversy once again, with a graphic alternate cover and reports of the disc being banned from some retail chains. But here it is nevertheless, packaged with two of the director's other shorts, GENESIS and AWAKENING, and a slab full of supplemental goodies. Whether you'll thank them for this depends a lot on how much you already know about this gory landmark in subterranean horror history; if you've been looking forward to adding this to your collection, then you're in for a treat. If you've never heard of AFTERMATH before this point, let this review serve as your information gateway, bearing the sign "ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK."

Now, those of you itching to get your feet a little wetter in the red stuff, or daring each other to subject yourselves to a sick, disgusting rite of passage, you're in for a double surprise: first, AFTERMATH isn't nearly as disgusting as its reputation would have you believe. Second, it's a far more stylish and compelling work than anyone reading the above paragraphs would ever imagine possible. Sadly, that's the very catch-22 that's burdened Cerda's aspirations to feature-length filmmaking: AFTERMATH is too stylish to be pure exploitation, but too hideously gross for those seeking artistic enlightenment to sit through without puking up their sushi. But regardless of your opinion of this kind of material, you'd be hard-pressed to fault Cerda's masterful use of sound and image to create an unforgettable viewing experience.

The films themselves are assembled chronologically, as well as thematically (more on that later). In THE AWAKENING, a student apparently dozes off during a dreary class lecture after staring at the "all-seeing eye" on the back of a dollar bill... and finds himself in a world frozen in time. Created in 1991 while Cerda attended UFC, this one has "Student Film" written all over it. Not that this is a bad thing - hell knows I made several just like it in my film-school daze. But it certainly bears all the earmarks of a film thesis project: 1) it's essentially a dream sequence; 2) it's shot silent, with sound effects added in post; 3) one or more of the characters dies. Been there, seen it, filmed it.

Still, THE AWAKENING does demonstrate that, even in the earliest stage of his career, Cerda has a firm grasp of shot composition, editing for tension, and effective use of sound - all of which become the driving forces of his forthcoming projects. It also marks the first emergence of the filmmaker's obsession with death - a theme which will tie all of these projects together as a loose triptych. As THE AWAKENING deals primarily with the fear of what lies beyond the borders of mortality, it serves nicely as the first chapter of his so-called "Death Trilogy."

It's the second chapter of this series - focusing on the clinical indignity of death - which established Cerda either as one of horror cinema's most daring and innovative artists, or one of the sickest minds ever to step behind a camera... maybe both. For whatever reason, for the past decade AFTERMATH has been among of the most talked-about films in horror circles, and a grail of sorts for many a thrill-seeking gorehound.

Like THE AWAKENING, the story is simple and direct, and plays out with no dialogue whatsoever, depicting a typical workday for a pair of morgue employees - one of whom is a bit more... er... passionate about his duties. After completing the normal routine of weighing, washing and thoroughly dissecting a pair of male corpses (one played by a live performer, the other represented by a very realistic latex dummy), the more intense of the two morticians (Spanish theater actor Pep Tosar, brooding intensely behind an ever-present surgical mask) locks himself in for the night with the cadaver of a young woman (thankfully, another latex model), and begins a highly eroticized version of the autopsy procedure, all under the frantically blinking eye of his 35mm camera.

Now, if the prior description alone has shocked you into stunned silence, I'm guessing you are probably not planning on rushing out to purchase your glistening new copy of this DVD anytime soon. Fair enough - this is a film for an extremely limited audience. Though not nearly as graphic or sadistic as some of the genre's bloodiest hallmarks (e.g. AUGUST UNDERGROUND or Japan's hideous GUINEA PIG series, also distributed by Unearthed), it is certainly the glossiest, most stylish film ever to deal with graphic depiction of necrophilia. Jorg Buttgereit's low-rent NECROMANTIK series may have delved more disgustingly into the fine art of corpse-fucking, and Lynne Stopkewich's KISSED took the Sundance-friendly high ground while dodging the messy details, but Cerda's film is both technically and stylistically superior to both, which somehow makes the cringe-worthy subject matter bearable (for some, anyway). It's hard to believe that a film in which a man rapes a corpse with a kitchen knife could possess a strange, ethereal beauty. Hell, it's hard just finding the rationale to write that last sentence. But that's my story and I'm sticking to it. (By the way, I hope none of my family are reading this review.)

The final and arguably most artistically accomplished piece is GENESIS, a widescreen mini-epic depicting a tormented, guilt-ridden sculptor (Tosar again) using his skills to preserve the memory of his late wife, who was killed in a car accident (it's hinted in a dream sequence that the artist was behind the wheel). His efforts to create the ultimate likeness of his lost love appear supernaturally enhanced, as the statue spontaneously begins to bleed - while its creator slowly succumbs to a strange transition of his own.

Although not as subversively shocking as its predecessor, GENESIS nevertheless represents Cerda at the height of his powers: masterful use of the widescreen frame, multi-layered sound effects, and powerful editing style. All of these techniques enhance the story's emotional content, rather than serving as a mere show reel for an aspiring feature director. Just as having a good vocabulary means employing the most appropriate words as opposed to the showiest, Cerda has mastered the language of film for communicating human emotion - in this case, the profound pain of loss - without ever having written a single line of dialogue.

The transfer quality of all three films is excellent, with THE AWAKENING being the only print of lesser technical quality, due to being shot on B&W 16mm stock and blown up to 35mm for projection. AFTERMATH is nearly pristine in its anamorphic 1.85:1 presentation - there's only a few stretch marks in one instance, and a small, acceptable level of grain, but otherwise Cerda's blue-tinged, dense and shadowy compositions come through with dramatic clarity. The 2.35:1 Cinemascope presentation (also widescreen) of GENESIS is the finest of the three, and is nearly flawless in its reproduction of dense black backgrounds, sharp lighting and saturated colors. All three films are complimented with Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes, which use the surround ambiance to great effect in enhancing the eerie (and often gruesome) soundscapes which serve the subject matter quite well.

Accompaning the trio of films is a wealth of extra features, all tied to their respective films. Each film is accompanied by a friendly and relaxed commentary by Cerda, who is humble about his creative origins and explains the first stirrings of his obsession with mortality, as well as the obvious challenges faced with a filmmaker trying to gather funding, resources and talent for a film so radically removed from anything resembling mainstream acceptability. He's also the consummate technical artist, and details every aspect of the production process.

Of the three films, AFTERMATH bears the heftiest supplements section; most of the attached features run longer than the film itself. Among these are a subtitled documentary (originally made for Spanish TV, and often paired with the film on VHS bootlegs) featuring nervously tongue-in-cheek narration; a lengthy audio interview with Cerda detailing the controversy attached to the film's reputation; and a witty piece in which Cerda is interviewed by fellow necro-boy Jorg Buttgereit about their mutual (but very different) death fixations. Throughout the AFTERMATH features, Cerda asserts that the grotesque conveniences undertaken by the pathologists depicted in the movie (using kitchen knives instead of scalpels; stuffing an empty cranium with a towel; tossing a pile of loose organs - brain included - in the empty abdominal cavity) are based on his actual observations of autopsies. Suffice to say I've considered unchecking the "organ donor" box on my driver's license after learning this.

But there's more - including storyboard reels for the second and third films; an exhaustive still gallery for GENESIS; screenplays and production notes from all films (for those with DVD-ROM access); a booklet with intriguing liner notes, and trailers for other Unearthed titles. Not too shabby, considering the combined runtimes of the films themselves total less than the length of a single full-length feature.

Speaking of which: many brave viewers who managed to see past the sickening imagery of AFTERMATH and find the surreal artistry beneath have been hounding the message boards with cries of "Why hasn't this guy made a feature film yet?" Well, it's rumored as of this writing that they just might get their wish. After numerous failed attempts at getting a feature off the ground, Cerda has joined forces with Spanish studio Filmax to direct BLOODLINE, a Bulgaria-lensed supernatural tale co-written by Cerda with Richard Stanley (HARDWARE) and Karim Hussain (SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY). Given that roster of twisted talent, one can imagine the next phase of Cerda's career as being anything but tame... we hope.

But it at DIABOLIK DVD!