Its story is that in 1994 an internet show surface called Murder. It was clips of people dying collected by Balan. After an investigation, the police located where the broadcast was coming from and seized all the compiled footage, but did not find or discover who Balan was. These are supposed to be some clips that Balan had discovered.
Murder collection is great because it is so well done. Between clips, we get garbled, subtitled narration from Balan, he judges us for watching what we are watching, asks us to reflect on our feelings and actions, makes us know what we are doing is wrong. We watch as the clips go by, wondering why we are so fascinated by it all. It's great, it works.
Toe Tag does a great job on the clips, giving us a wide array of styles and scenarios, all very real. We are greeted with a video from a webcams perspective of a Russian or German boy in his room, blaring death metal, headbanging, holding up pictures with 666 on them.... generally trying to be cool/tough. His father bursts in and begins to scream at him. This escalates into a beating as the father knocks him to the floor, punching him and kicking him. He leaves and the boy recovers for a few seconds then the dad comes back at him again, punching him repeatedly in the face, kicking his head and ribs while he is on the ground. His father is so angry, you can feel every bit of rage as he savagely beats the boy. Pounding and pounding, finally he leaves again. We see nothing, no movement. The father comes in again, slapping the boy on the ground, trying to get him to stir. He lifts him to his knees, blood pours from the boys broken face. The dad realizes what he has done, he begins sobbing and yelling over the dead child and then it ends.
There are so many clips, short ones from security cams showing people strangled outside of elevators, beaten as their girlfriends are taken, beaten at an ATM. But the main clips are all a sight to behold. Sure there is the typical robbery gone awry, but then we have ones like the terrorists sawing a mans head off, a gangs ransom tapes as they beat and rape a government officials daughter, the most realistic and grisly autopsy I've seen, some weird (really weird) pedo-rapist preacher, and a husband cutting out the heart of his wife that's cheating on him.
And then there's Gromer. It's a sad, gut wrenching story about a man going out to a party spot with three new "friends" all shot from a handheld camera. Gromer is a little guy, he's dorky, and he's not very good looking. His main flaw though, he's trusting. A previous night he got a little to wasted at a party and started talking to this girl, her boyfriend took notice and of course got angry. And that brings us to this point, our Gromer, out in the woods with three bigger guys.
As time goes on, they make fun of him more, starting with a little name calling, then pushing, maybe a punch or two in the arm. It's all in good fun they say, sort of a hazing to get into the group. They push him a across a creek where he loses his glasses, they kick him down. More and more verbal abuse. They punch him in the gut, "it's ok, we all went through this" They ask him about the girl, and attack him more. Finally he has enough and fights back a little, clocking one of them in the face. Of course they all get on him, overpowering him. They back off and actually compliment him for having a little fight in him telling him once again, "Hey, we all went through this, you're gonna be one of us." He keeps telling them he just wants to go home, he's had enough. They don't let him.
This continues on and on, all you can do is feel horrible for him. He's helpless and alone. He doesn't stand a chance. They just keep at him, hitting and shit talking. It's sad. One of the guys takes a piss and they shove his face into it, and then they try to force him to kiss the ass of another guy. While all this is going on, the boyfriend pulls out a knife.
One of the guys has Gromer in a full nelson, hanging off the ground. The look on his face when he sees the knife... pure terror. He doesn't fight anymore, doesn't say a work. Just fear, shock. The boyfriend yells about how Gromer could never get a girl like that, that he is retarded to even try and hit on her. He keeps going, firing himself up more and more while the guy who has Gromer held teases him by bringing him closer. Finally he pushes him forward and the boyfriend rams the blade into his stomach.
And that's Murder Collection, an amazing, harrowing compilation of shorts with some of the best effects work by the great Toe Tag.
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