[Film Review] Vore Gore (2021)

Made up of nine shorts, Vore Gore (2021) is an anthology that explores the links between sex and violence, consumption and capitalism all under the umbrella theme of voraphilia. 

I’m very rarely a fan of anthologies. I could probably count on one hand all of the anthology films that I’ve enjoyed, yet when given the chance to review a film that explores such a very niche fetish in an extreme horror setting, curiosity got the better of me and I couldn’t wait to get my teeth into this anthological study of voraphilia, also known as vore.

As the opening sequence of Vore Gore informs viewers, voraphilia or vorarephilia is a sexual fetish in which one is aroused by fantasies of being eaten alive or devoured by another creature, human being or otherwise. It is distinct from the act of cannibalism and it is nothing other than a fantasy action rather than an act which physically occurs in a sexual encounter.

Like most anthologies, Vore Gore has a wraparound sequence which involves a Dragula-esque pair of ultra glamorous lips introducing each segment. In fact, it would come as no surprise if the whole raison d’etre of Vore Gore was due to the Boulet Brothers’ influential mantra of “Drag, Filth, Horror, Glamour.”

Mouth, directed by Mike Balerdi, is the metaphorically suitable opening piece of Vore Gore. A mix of disturbing visuals set against a soundtrack interlaced with orgasmic lady noises and the unsettling cries of an infant, it sets the scene thematically and dramatically for the shorts that follow. 

Sweet As Honey, directed by Emanuele Marchetto, tells the story of a beekeeper who fantasizes about being eaten by another version of himself whilst masturbating. The short is an interesting take on what it is to be wholly consumed by oneself.

With every anthology movie, there is always the standout addition, and in Vore Gore’s case it is the Lorenzo Dante Zanoni directed Finger Lickin’ Good. A young adult develops an erotic fixation with his bathroom sink hole. Add to this some penis amputation and some good old Italian eye violence and what is created is a graphic depiction of the interlinking of sex and violence, and the death of innocence. 

Please Not In My Mouth directed by Poison Rouge is unfortunately one of the low points of the collection. A woman violently stabs her captive with what looks like a toy screwdriver. Whilst I can appreciate the possible sentiment of the addition of this short, it does fall flat compared to the other segments when it comes to the common theme of voraphilia. 

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Creatives are known to put their sweat, tears and actual blood into their endeavours, and Italian Ladies Do It Better by Irene Jones Barufetti is, although at times quite absurd, the embodiment of this. This short tells the story of an Italian dress designer who allows her work to devour her, with bizarre consequences.

It is with utmost importance that an anthology collection not only have strong opening and closing segments, but also a powerful middle piece, one that visually kicks the audience up the arse. Infernal Gluttony 2 from Patrick Fortin is Vore Gore’s proverbial kick. A sequel to Gore Gore Dave’s Infernal Gluttony (2010), part two opens on a scene that is stylistically similar to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) in which a person is barely masticating, whilst gorging themselves on a mix of food and body parts, belonging to both others and themselves. It is a heavy symbolism for the gluttony of consumers and capitalism and has possibly the greatest end scene of the whole anthology. 

Yummy Fur from filmmakers White Gardenia, Daniel Valient and Cherokee Nevin gives us the most realistic and shocking piece. Influenced by black metal bands, the central character and narrator performs a self mutilation act that I think would even make Lars Von Trier squirm. 

I harbour a real fear of tight and enclosed spaces. The Descent (2005) was my worst fear played out on screen, and Stretching, directed by Domiziano Cristpharo had a similar effect on me physically, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. Portraying the human version of “if it fits, I sit”, Stretching demonstrates how dangerous it can be to allow a fetish to take control over one’s life. 

The closing segment The Egg by Dario Almerighi is unfortunately the bad egg within the Vore Gore anthology. A man plants said egg in the forest, and hatches a woman who he ultimately dismembers. It seems an ill-fitting piece, devoid of any sort of voraphilism, metaphorically or otherwise. I feel like this short would have been better off as a stand alone piece and for the closing segment of Vore Gore to have been Stretching.

Conclusively, Vore Gore is an exercise in the creative undertaking of a subject matter that is extremely taboo. It is very much a mixed bag of outcomes, some play very loosely with the voraphilia theme, whilst other segments are a perfect embodiment of vore, leaving the viewer hungry for more.

You can grab yourself a copy of Vore Gore over on TetroVideo website now!

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