[Film Review] XXX Dark Web (2019)

To many people, the words ‘dark web’ conjures up images of illegal weapons trading, chemical experimentation the likes of which most of us can only imagine, and a playground for the most abhorrent selection of real-life monsters.

Needless to say, the dark web is probably not a place most of us will find ourselves casually browsing through in our daily doomscroll – although horror fans with a penchant for the darker side of life might feel curious about what terrors lurk beneath the sanitary clear web. Released by the infamously gruesome UK based production company TetroVideo, 2019’s XXX Dark Web, an extreme horror anthology, allows us to explore the depravity that is rumored to lurk in the Internet’s underbelly - while allowing us to stay safe and not accidentally stumble into the terrorist groups that make use of the lawless wild west that is the dark web.

XXX Dark Web does us a favor by easing us in somewhat gently with Domiziano Cristopharo’s Teknobarbie, the shortest and simplest portion of the anthology. Enjoying her own private rave of pounding electronic beats and flashing lights, a blonde woman dances blissfully while scratching herself bloody. In what will become a recurrent theme of XXX Dark Web, the surface level injury no longer satiates her, and she uses a needle and thread to inflict far more piercing wounds upon herself.

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However, Teknobarbie is as tame as the Teletubbies compared to what comes next. The second segment of Dark Web, The Prosperity of Vice, follows ‘The Pervert’, a man aroused by the most graphic and horrendous of images, who finds the limits of his kinks stretched by two masked men. The content of The Pervert’s masturbation material and a variety of shocking newspaper clippings hint at the nature of his possible perversion, leading the audience to wonder if the masked men are seeking revenge or retribution. Or perhaps simply, they just want to inflict pain - and boy, do they succeed. The Prosperity of Vice is possibly the most gruesome and brutal entry in the anthology, and will keep any gorehound satisfied with some painfully realistic SFX and creative use of props. You’ll never look at a vacuum cleaner the same way again.

Before you can catch your breath and settle your stomach, segment three, Emanuelle Marchetto’s Dolls is perhaps the most stylistic of the bunch, and pays homage to Tamakichi Anaru’s Tumbling Doll of Flesh with its subject matter and imagery. A masked maniac dissects a woman and places her most important parts inside a plastic store mannequin, all to the tune of distorted, clownish cackling. The cold, hard plastic of the mannequin cradling the soft, red flesh of the victim makes for a striking comment on the blurred lines between the depersonalization of women’s bodies and audience desensitization to violence. It’s a knowing wink to viewers currently enthralled by a faux-snuff anthology. After the dog-masked assailant has completed his mission, he sits defeated and dissatisfied. The consumption of women’s bodies is a never-ending pit full of gorging mouths and grasping hands looking for every opportunity to rip and tear. It wasn’t enough for him – and it will never be enough.

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When it comes to fitting a more traditional definition of ‘horror’, segment four, Adam Ford’s Deconstructing Roberto is less sinister splatter and more standard fetish porn. In fact, Roberto is one of the only characters in the anthology who actually seems to ahem, enjoy himself during his segment.

He’s also presumably the only character who has actively volunteered to suffer in the film – putting himself forward as a guinea pig in a variety of experiments designed to test the conditions and stimulus of male arousal. With its minimal cinematography, setting and lack of background music, Deconstructing feels somewhat lowkey and even a little bland compared to the rest of the segments – but is still a monumentally savage testament to just how far some people will go to get their rocks off.

XXX Dark Web saves its most gruesome entry for the finale. Allison’s Mouth Fills Up with Blood and Semen is a love letter to self-mutilation, directed by Daniel Valient aka White Gardenia, who has made quite a name for himself in the extreme horror scene for his unflinching fear in the face of perfecting his bloody craft. AMFUWBAS feels like the stuff written about in thousands of creepypastas - the grainy, home video style and wobbly, warping distortion of cutesy Disney-esque music as Daniel and Allison cut and carve each other to pieces certainly feels like a cursed videotape. While the other films are admirable for their use of eye-wateringly realistic practical effects, AMFUWBAS features some very real gore - including a pinky severing that will surely make even the most hardened gore hound flinch.

And finally to finish, Domiziano Cristopharo’s second entry into the anthology serves as the wraparound story, Curiosity Kills the Cat, which snaps us back violently into the real world and reminds us that yes, videos of this caliber do exist and are enjoyed by possibly millions of people all over the same world that you and I share. After thoroughly enjoying the multitude of savageries provided by XXX Dark Web, a young man receives a text from an unknown number – and anyone who has seen Black Mirror’s Shut Up and Dance will know where this story is headed. It works well as a vehicle and context for the anthology, but as a stand-alone feature it is pretty forgettable.

Overall, XXX Dark Web is an impressive selection of extreme shorts that could work well for anyone who is looking to push the limits of their viewing and explore extreme horror without committing to the overwhelming nature of feature- length brutality. Proceed with caution, and remember - cover your webcam.

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