With his 2015 comedy-horror film Deathgasm, director Jason Lei Howden perfectly captured the listlessness of the teenage misfit. Yes, it was primarily a coming-of-age story about a young metalhead, but its themes were applicable to anyone who’s ever felt a little alone and misunderstood. With this belated sequel, the New Zealand filmmaker just-as-accurately paints a target on (almost) middle-aged ennui and wasted potential.
Following the events of Deathgasm, Brodie (Milo Cawthorne) is in a rut. His relationship with Medina (Kimberley Crossman) has fallen apart. His music career is non-existent. And his only friend in the world is Giles (Daniel Cresswell). Hoping to recapture his youth, Brodie decides to resurrect his old bandmates, harnessing The Black Myth to bring back Dion (Sam Berkley) and Zakk (James Blake). Needless to say, it doesn’t go well, and the pair return as braindead zombies – only gaining sentience and a semblance of their former selves when they indulge in the pleasures of the flesh. Eating it, that is.
If Deathgasm was a heavy-metal infused tribute to The Evil Dead series, then this sequel is more Ash vs Evil Dead than Evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness. The decision to pick up with Brodie as an ageing failure is a canny one on Howden’s part, and will resonate with those of us who have also aged disappointingly over the last ten years. Age isn’t the same thing as maturity though, and Goremageddon is just as gleefully juvenile as its predecessor, and rammed to the hilt with blood, guts and dismembered schlongs.
While it lacks some of the first film’s edge, Howden certainly brings the violence, unleashing all manner of inventive, colourful bloodshed over the course of 102 splatter-filled minutes. The film’s $300,000 crowdfunding campaign has been put to good use – Goremageddon looks incredible, and the action is delightfully staged. If the scale is smaller, Howden only ramps the rest up, making it a sillier, spunkier experience, but one that’s no less metal than the first film.
A beautifully bonkers encore performance.
DEATHGASM II: GOREMAGEDDON premiered at FrightFest Halloween on October 31, 2025
