RITUAL OF DEATH (1990) Directed by Fauzi Mansur
Complete Entertainment, Inc. VHS
THE FILM
My secret passions involving a decapitated goat's head and sex have finally been realized! Hats off to you, Fauzi Mansur!!
Go ahead and flip through Mondo Macabro; call a few video stores; scour thousands of eBay auctions. Chances are, you'll still come up with zilch. Such is the degree of obscurity concerning Brazil's Fauzi Mansur. And his uncomfortable films.
In 1989, after churning out porn for twenty-plus years, Mansur capped off the smut with filth of a different color. Perhaps, the reasoning behind this abrupt change in direction will never be known. It's really none of our concern. Today, the virtually unknown Ritual Of Death and Satanic Attraction, both directed by The Fauz and released by Complete Entertainment (Deadly Love) in 1990, serve as one of the final bows in mysterious, direct-to-video 1980s sleaze-horror. Subsequently, Coffin Joe's own Brazilian legacy is in little danger of being challenged. That's what really gets my goat.
Ritual Of Death attempts to solidify a foundation, but Mr. Mansur is no union man. So, when Brad and friends discover a hairy Egyptian book about Indian rituals, their decision to interpret said rituals as theatrical performance art speaks for itself. Brad gets possessed. Brad kills everyone. Human smoke machines. Disgusting goop 'n' gore. Lots of nudity. People porking in a bloody bathtub with severed goat heads. Everything else is indistinguishable, as each minute pushes the film that much further into puzzling absurdity. Just remember, "This is a sacred ritual...but not good theater!"
Where international perverts such as Revenge Of The Living Dead Girls offer harmless kicks, Ritual plays for keeps. Distasteful and unreasoning, the film cancels out initial charms with its stone-faced presentation of escalating, sex-tinged gore. There's no fun. No emotion. No enthusiasm. In short, nothing to balance it all out; even the unintentional humor (drugged dubbing, people constantly screaming) is darkened by the fixated attitude. Granted, the unstable anxiety which the film instills is a great feat for dirt-cheap trash films of any size, shape, or form -- the gore content is through the roof. But this isn't At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul. No matter the era, it takes finesse and passion to pull off an admirable and disturbing experience. Ritual is just a big, empty-headed goon.
Ritual Of Death was kind of a letdown, but at least I don't have to keep that whole severed goat's head thing a secret anymore. So point me to the bathtub. I need a pick-me-up.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Aside from a crackling audio problem during the first thirty minutes, Ritual felt great. The picture was surprisingly clear and the print showed little damage, save for a few white emulsion lines towards the end. Also, I can't stop looking at that box cover art. It's quite good, isn't it?
EXTRAS
Have you seen Satanic Attraction? If not, you'll want to fast forward the first three minutes of this tape. The "trailer", which is really a digest version of the entire film, gives away all of the good stuff. By that, I mean chopped off legs and apathetic love-making.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Enough about goats. The extremely rare Ritual Of Death delivers on shocking gore, nudity, and jumbled insanity. Unfortunately, that's all it does. If you want it, it’s out there. Somewhere. However, if your tastes in bizarre exotica are more acute, Ritual is simply a passing curiosity. Time and money are better spent seeking out a film that delivers on all fronts. Like Satanic Attraction.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 06.14.07 | 
"The Fauz sent me!"
This is not a joke
101 Uses For A Severed Goat Head (#12)
Knife moves
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