74 Days of Video Nasties: Day 13

Absurd (1981)
Review by Lindsey Darvell 02/13/2016

Synopsis: Watch out suburbia, there’s a crazy guy on the loose. A Greek citizen named Mikos ends up in the United States (actually filmed in Italy) after being subjected to an experiment carried out by the Church, which gave him the ability to heal extremely quickly. A priest nearly kills him, but he recovers in the hospital and subsequently goes on a killing spree…

Absurd is a 1981 Italian horror film directed by Joe D’Amato and co-written by D’Amato and George Eastman. The film is a follow up to Anthropophagus. It was also released under the following alternate titles: Rosso Sangue (Italian), Anthropophagous 2, Monster Hunter, Horrible, and The Grim Reaper 2.

Killer Line: That’s absurd, really absurd!

This is considered a sequel to Anthropophagus, although there isn’t a lot that links the two films apart from them both revolving around a crazed man on a killing spree and the fact both killers are Greek and are played by the same actor (co-writer George Eastman). Then there’s the killer’s name…Niko in Anthopophagus & Mikos in Absurd. Great imagination there. The interesting thing with the two films is that the villain in each of them is a man who starts off normal, but is turned insane. He’s just your average guy who turns into a bit of an ogre. Shocking thing is that George Eastman is actually a bit of a dish in reality.

Most of the action takes place at the Bennetts’ home, and I never quite understand why this is (other than being a convenient setting for the story to take place in). The home is owned by Mr. Bennett, the hit-and-run driver that strikes Mikos as he is escaping from the hospital. Mr. Bennett and his wife are visiting a friend and have left their two children home with a babysitter, Emily. Although Mikos could go anywhere he wants in this small town, he returns to the home to slaughter everyone there.

The gore in Absurd is really top notch. It’s gruesome, and the murder scenes don’t leave anything to the imagination. The director really works them to full effect and has no qualms about leaving the camera lingering on them for a good amount of time. An example of this would be when Emily, the babysitter, has her head shoved in an oven. We get to watch until she finally passes out, and her hair has melted off. The film definitely gives the audience what they want. We’ve also got a drill that is rammed through a nurse’s temple and a bandsaw that cuts right into some guys head, amongst others. As far as violence goes in this film, there