Dir. Marcus Koch (2007)
Two tabloid reporters are on the hunt for new ideas and decide to do a story about serial killers, starting with the Teardrop Killer. Things, naturally, go awry from there.
CAUTION: THIS MOVIE'S SUBJECT & CONTENT IS EXTREMELY DISTURBING AND/OR BRUTAL. I HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO INCLUDE ANY PICTURES IN THIS REVIEW BECAUSE THEY BE UPSETTING TO SOME READERS. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
100 Tears is rated NC-17, but there's absolutely no nudity or sexually explicit material here whatsoever. It's directed by Marcus Koch, who owns Oddtopsy FX (one of my faves), which you might know from the new American Guinea Pig series. Those two things... add up to a lot of fun.
A pair of tabloid news reporters decide to do a story on serial killers, and it just so happens that there's one operating fairly close to where they live. The Teardrop Killer, who has just massacred a group of people in a halfway house, is on the loose, killing pretty much indiscriminately and for no reason whatsoever. He dresses like a clown, and he carries a giant cleaver/axe, using it in some of the most gruesome ways possible.
The reporters end up tracking the clown down to a local carnival, where, with the help of a dwarf carny, they find the killer, who has recently reunited with his long-lost daughter to wreak even more carnage. After what seems like bathtubs full of blood and guts, the news crew comes face to face with the, uh, face of evil.
While this is certainly a B-movie, and most of the acting is subpar, the gore is ever present and ridiculous (in a good way.) Stars Georgia Chris and Joe Davison (the two reporters) are actually fantastic in the movie, carrying what could be your standard stupid gore movie into becoming an actually watchable film. They're likeable, which is hard to pull off in a movie that has no right to be as good as this one is. Davison is the comic relief (who is actually funny at times, reminding me of a B-movie Dean Norris from Breaking Bad), and Chris is the sexy final girl, who does a great job carrying the role. Raine Brown is also excellent in the "scream queen" role of the Teardrop Killer's daughter, and her heel turn into the homicidal maniac she becomes is actually pretty creepy (though she was pretty freaky deaky well before this.)
The film is clearly low budget, though you can only tell from the digital film quality and the absence of A-list actors, because the gore is surprisingly good at times. I don't believe, after watching, that it was deserving of its NC-17 rating, as I've seen much worse with a much lower rating. There was one particular kill, though, that is pretty graphic, utilizing both killers in a chop-fest that lasts a good long while. That one alone elevates this flick into gorehound territory, but there's plenty more where that came from. As good as the gore is, Koch has clearly come a long way since, as American Guinea Pig is much more realistic (and he's set to direct the next one, too!)
The film tends to drag at times, but the gore more than makes up for it. The plot is a little jumbled, and the acting really is subpar, but the trio of stars mentioned above definitely help lighten the burden. (And there's 9 kills in the opening scene. Seriously, it really doesn't stop, all throughout the movie.)
Who this movie is for: Gorehounds, B-movie fans, Coulrophobes
Bottom Line: With a body count of 31 (though some of them came so frequently I might've missed a couple), this one is not to be missed for any good gorehound. Koch is a master, and Chris, Davison, and Brown are all excellent. While I do assert that the film is undeserving of its rating, make no mistake: it's not for the faint of heart. I wouldn't recommend it to those who don't like blood and guts on their cheerios. But, if you're a fellow gorehound like me, definitely give it a shot.
