THEY EAT SCUM (director/writer: Nick Zedd; cinematographer: Nick Zedd; editor: Nick Zedd; cast: Geoffrey Carey (Brother), Donna Death (Suzi Putrid), Roy Dillard (Father); Runtime: 73; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Nick Zedd; Penetration; 1979)
“This is a film that can be judged by its title.“
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
An anything goes super low-budget zany sleaze-fest cult underground film. Nick Zedd(“Geek Maggot Bingo”/”The Bogus Man”/”Thrust in Me”) is an underground filmmaker, musician, author and artist based in NYC, who coined the term Cinema of Transgression to describe a group of like-minded filmmakers using shock values and black humor in their films.
Suzi Putrid (Donna Death) is a junkie lead singer for a punk band, who incites her audience with such ‘wholesome’ lyrics like “Kill! Kill! Kill your entire family!”. Susie’s transvestite brother has sex with a rabid poodle.Suzi’s disapproving Catholic father fatally slits her throat on stage, at Max’s Kansas City. After her death, Suzi’s twin sister leaves a mental hospital and starts slaughtering everyone in Manhattan by radiation until confronted by a mutant lobster man.There’s also acts of cannibalism and a penis castration taking place in the audience. If the perversity or absurd story doesn’t put you off, then the bad acting should.A mainstream audience would be pissed off if they had to sit through such an anti-movie. This is a film that can be judged by its title.
REVIEWED ON 5/26/2015 GRADE: C
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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