Making an international premiere at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in 2014, The Profane Exhibit has earned a reputation as a must-see cult Horror film. A project that took shape back in 2011, interestingly, a sneak peek of the film was given at Philip Anselmo and Corey Mitchell’s Housecore Horror Film Festival back in October of 2013. With this in mind, curiosity about it has continued to grow through the years, and in 2019 it was announced that Unearthed Films would commission a release of it in 2020… but that finished version did not arrive until August of 2022 when it premiered the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. Now, eleven years since initially being released, The Profane Exhibit at last gets a proper worldwide release on Blu-ray and DVD on September 24, 2024, through Unearthed Films.
So, what is all the buzz about? Well summing it all up bluntly… The Profane Exhibit is a gross mess of blood and gore. In short, it is an anthology of ten Horror stories that are filled with absurd themes and ridiculous plotlines. The stories prize scare factor and extreme acts of violence over the rich story and characters. If your memo is murder and Body Horror, you will be turned on by this collection of cruel horror. However, there is no real story here; instead, is a bunch of small biopsies into demented killers’ lives. The biggest issue is that these stories are so short that they give no context or retribution. Rather rapid, they are 10-minute segments of a killer’s spree and bloodlust are followed up by no explanation, no condemnation, and no purpose other than the watching of spilled blood.
The only true throughline is the obsession with butchering meat. In between each story is a short segment of meat cutting. A closeup of tissues and fat being squelched and ripped through by a methodical knife, sometimes in reverse. There is no purpose for these close-up scenes, so the likely reason is to remind the viewer of the existence of The Profane Exhibit. This is a storytelling device to show the viewer that they are watching the butchering of meat, and the killing of many people, and are both continuing to watch and objectifying humans into meat that can be cut without remorse. Then again, that is just a guess at an anthology of stories that has no omnipotent storyteller, no through-lines, and no secular narrative.
Written and produced by Amanda L. Manuel, The Profane Exhibit is directed by a list of Horror film aficionados; including Nacho Vigalondo (2016’s Colossal), Anthony DiBlasi (2023’s Malum), the late Ryan Nicholson (2008’s Gutterballs), Michael Todd Schneider (2003’s August Underground: Mordum), Sergio Stivaletti (make-up artist/special effects technician for 1985’s Demons), Marian Dora (2006’s Cannibal), Yoshihiro Nishimura (2008’s Tokyo Gore Police), Uwe Boll (2007’s Postal), the late Ruggero Deodato (1980’s Cannibal Holocaust), and Jeremy Kasten (2007’s The Wizard of Gore).
With such a prolific directing booth, it is surprising to see an ensemble of stories that have little depth and explanations that do nothing but further the intense bloodlust of each story. Each story is intense and only a few choose to spare the gory details. These are more “tasteful” watches and depend on themes more than just a blood fest or shock factor to drive them along. In watching the film, it seems the themes or purposes for each of the stories are completely varied. Every short film has its own camera angles, color filters, and scriptwriting. While this is a fascinating part of the films that explore culture outside of America, Nishimura’s, Stivaletti’s, and Dora’s, the others have to use something other than foreign culture as their vantage point. Sadly, for over half of them, this vantage point is never found.
For the films that can find a purpose outside of mindless killing, they are the better stories, not just because you can watch them without winching every half a minute, but because they attack the purposes for their existence as well. Postulating the reason behind the heinous acts being committed. The other stories feel empty in comparison. Despite all the crazy action that happens inside of them, they are more like exhibitions of special effects and horror rather than real stories that can make a lasting impact on the viewer. Of course, if you are someone who just loves the mindless spree of horror and your thirst for blood and butchering is always unquenched, then this film is for you. We guarantee there is a cult following somewhere that can adore this film and its unabashed view of the minds of demented killers and horrific deeds. With all of its dark droppings and splatters, there is most definitely a niche audience being pandered to.
The issue is that this film has no entry point. It is for those who want to see others dying on screen, there is no question about it. The stories are weak and unexplained and leave a lot to the imagination in terms of understanding. The imagined audience seems to be other demented killers, people who want to see others destroyed. Those who relish the possibility of human torture. This is not something for anyone who has a loved one in their life, it is meant to invoke those feelings of trauma and desecration that horror gives to little children who stay up past their bedtimes peeking into the TV Room.
Nonetheless, a few of the stories do have an important emotional message in them though, for this reason, Cryptic Rock gives The Profane Exhibit a 2 out of 5 stars.
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