SMASH CUT (2009) ** ½

David Hess stars as a horror director who is enraged when audiences mock his latest film, Terror Toy.  After he accidentally kills a stripper, he notices the gore in his movies just doesn’t compare to the real thing.  He then takes to using his own blood to make the effects look more realistic.  After passing out on the set, he realizes he needs other people’s blood to keep the movie going.  Hess kills critics, producers, and financiers, all of whom he feels have interfered with his “artistic vision”.  Porn star Sasha Grey co-stars as a journalist investigating the death of her sister, Hess’ first victim, who ingratiates herself into his inner circle by winning the starring role in his latest opus.

The best part is the very beginning featuring the Godfather of Gore himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis warning the audience a la Blood Feast.  He also appears later on in a small role as Grey’s boss.  While his presence alone brought a smile to this gorehound’s face, I also wish he had more to do.

Despite the great set-up, Smash Cut spins its wheels a bit too much in the middle portion of the film.  We do get a fun scene where Hess makes Grey audition with a scene from Hamlet using her dead sister’s decapitated head as Yorick’s skull.  Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is a bit spotty when it comes to the gore scenes.  Some of the effects are good, while others (like the eyeball gag) are crappy.  (I’m thinking specifically of the odd scene where Hess dresses like a boat captain and kills a guy with a harpoon… on a double decker bus?!?)  The death-by-clapboard scene is pretty cool though.

Hess is a lot of fun as the maniacal director.  If you’re a fan of the man, you’ll want to give it a look as he shows he still has the goods.  It’s also fun just watching Hess and Michael Berryman sharing scenes together, seeing as they’re both best known for their work in iconic Wes Craven movies.  On the other side of the coin, Grey shows none of the chops she showed in The Girlfriend Experience (which came out the same year).  At least she gets by on her looks.  Jesse Buck on the other hand grates on the nerves as a completely gratuitous detective who hams it up every chance he gets and manages to sink nearly every scene he’s in.  

If you can’t already tell, Smash Cut is a loving homage to Lewis’s work (especially Color Me Blood Red).  In addition to the Blood Feast-inspired opening, the movie also uses some music cues from that film.  Heck, even the Wizard of Gore himself, Ray Sager turns up in a small role. 

As far as latter day Lewis homages go it's much better than the Wizard of Gore remake.  Still, it’s not a patch on Lewis’s own Blood Feast 2.  The tongue-in-cheek humor never quite meshes with the over the top gore, but hey, if you ever wanted to see David Hess do yoga, this is your chance.