Cards of Death (found slasher film; 1986): Difference between revisions

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[[File:Cardsdeath.jpg|thumb|300px|Photos of a copy of the film that was sold online in 2008.]]
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'''''Cards of Death''''' has been described by some as the "holy grail of slasher films", not for its content, but for its sheer rarity. Shot on video in 1985 in California, the low-budget, English-language film was only ever released on VHS in Japan on Sony's Exciting Video sub-label in 1986; evidently in limited quantities.
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|<center>This article has been tagged as <span style="color:hotpink">'''NSFW'''</span> and <span style="color:red">'''NSFL'''</span> due to its disturbing and pornographic subject matter.</center>
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The first and only feature film directed by W.G. MacMillan (then in his mid-40s, and who is better known for his acting roles in George A. Romero's 1973 film ''The Crazies'' and in James Fargo's 1976 film ''The Enforcer'', respectively), ''Cards of Death'' centered around a cult-like group in LA, (spearheaded by a mysterious man known as Hog), that would hold gatherings to gamble with their lives. The group would meet, the males in rubber masks and the females in dominatrix gear, before a Tarot deck would be randomly handed out amongst the members, and a poker-like game would begin, with the unfortunate one to be holding the Death card at the end being subsequently killed (in a variety of graphic and imaginatively sadistic ways, such as a woman being crushed to death in a 'shrinking' room). The person with the winning hand would take home the money, but also the responsibility of having to kill the loser within 24 hours (else they both be killed). The police are involved in the film throughout, trying to solve the increasingly frequent murders. The film is also said to contain elements of rape, masochism, vampirism (ie. a scene in which two nude female lovers make out next to a corpse, after having previously drank the corpse's blood from a wine glass), drug use and a notable scene from the beginning of the film, in which a police officer has his nose sliced off.
{{InfoboxFound
|title=<center>Cards of Death</center>
|image=CardsOfDeath-2008AuctionCopy.jpg
|imagecaption=Photos of a copy of the film that was sold online in 2008.
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
|datefound=25 Aug 2015
|foundby=''Unknown''
}}
'''''Cards of Death''''' is a 1986 slasher film directed by actor W.G. MacMillan, his first and only time directing a feature film. It is seen by some as the "holy grail of slasher films" due to its rarity. Shot on video in 1985 in California, the film, despite only being available in English, was released on VHS exclusively in Japan on Sony's "Exciting Video" sub-label in 1986 in limited quantities. The gore effects (provided by Bryan Moore, who has since provided special effects for 1987's ''Dolls'' and 2006's ''Underworld: Evolution'') were considered "in-your-face and over the top", and it is assumed that this was why the film only ever received a commercial release in Japan due to the Japanese market being more accustomed to gore since the release of movies such as the ''Guinea Pig'' series at the time.


The gore effects, (provided by Bryan Moore, who has since provided special effects for 1987's ''Dolls'' and 2006's ''Underworld: Evolution''), were in-your-face and over the top, and it is assumed that this was the reason that the film only ever received a commercial release in Japan (the Japanese having already become somewhat accustomed to gore, since the release of movies such as the ''Guinea Pig'' series, the first of which was released in 1985). The acting is said to be sub-par and the camera work shaky, although despite this, many people continue to seek out the elusive film.
==Plot==
''Cards of Death'' centers around a cult-like group in LA, spearheaded by a mysterious man known as Hog, that holds gatherings to gamble with their lives.  


Of the relatively limited number of copies that were ever released, only a few are known to still exist today, the majority of them being owned by film collectors/reviewers. While a few of said copies have been reviewed in thorough detail by multiple people,<ref>[http://tink0917.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-108.html 2011 review of the film from a Japanese blog.] Retrieved 16 Jun '13.</ref><ref>[http://aslashabove.com/2012/09/23/cards-of-death-1986-review/ 2012 aslashabove.com review of the film.] Retrieved 16 Jun '13.</ref><ref>[http://bleedingskull.com/cards-of-death-1986/ 2013 bleedingskull.com review of the film.] Retrieved 16 Jun '13.</ref> no owners as of yet has been willing to provide a VHSRip to the general public.
The group, consisting of men in rubber masks and women in dominatrix gear, meet up and receive a random card from a tarot deck, and a poker-like game begins. The one holding the Death card at the end is killed, with victims dying in a variety of graphic and sadistic ways, such as being crushed to death in a "shrinking" room. The person with the winning hand wins money, but must also kill the loser within 24 hours, lest they both be executed. Meanwhile, police are trying to solve the increasingly frequent murders.


==Screenshots==
The film also contains elements of rape, masochism, drug use, blood-drinking, and mutilation (including a notable early scene in which a police officer's nose is sliced off).
The following screenshots were provided by the aforementioned reviewers:
 
<gallery mode=packed heights=75px>
==Availability==
File:20111105221954b84.jpg
While the film has been re-released, both the original and re-release versions of the film are very rare and are mostly owned by film collectors and reviewers, some of which provided screenshots.<ref>[http://tink0917.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-108.html 2011 review of the film from a Japanese blog.] Retrieved 16 Jun '13</ref><ref>[http://aslashabove.com/2012/09/23/cards-of-death-1986-review/ 2012 aslashabove.com review of the film.] Retrieved 16 Jun '13</ref><ref>[http://bleedingskull.com/cards-of-death-1986/ 2013 bleedingskull.com review of the film.] Retrieved 16 Jun '13</ref> However, on August 25th, 2015, an unknown person uploaded [http://wipfilms.net/surreal-and-bizzare/cards-of-death/ a rip of the film on Women In Prison Films].
File:2011110522195321a.jpg
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File:CardsOfDeath1.jpg
File:CardsOfDeath2.jpg
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</gallery>


==References==
==References==
<references/>
{{reflist}}
 
[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:NSFW]]
[[Category:NSFL]]
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Revision as of 05:54, 26 July 2022

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This article has been tagged as NSFW and NSFL due to its disturbing and pornographic subject matter.
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CardsOfDeath-2008AuctionCopy.jpg

Photos of a copy of the film that was sold online in 2008.

Status: Found

Date found: 25 Aug 2015

Found by: Unknown

Cards of Death is a 1986 slasher film directed by actor W.G. MacMillan, his first and only time directing a feature film. It is seen by some as the "holy grail of slasher films" due to its rarity. Shot on video in 1985 in California, the film, despite only being available in English, was released on VHS exclusively in Japan on Sony's "Exciting Video" sub-label in 1986 in limited quantities. The gore effects (provided by Bryan Moore, who has since provided special effects for 1987's Dolls and 2006's Underworld: Evolution) were considered "in-your-face and over the top", and it is assumed that this was why the film only ever received a commercial release in Japan due to the Japanese market being more accustomed to gore since the release of movies such as the Guinea Pig series at the time.

Plot

Cards of Death centers around a cult-like group in LA, spearheaded by a mysterious man known as Hog, that holds gatherings to gamble with their lives.

The group, consisting of men in rubber masks and women in dominatrix gear, meet up and receive a random card from a tarot deck, and a poker-like game begins. The one holding the Death card at the end is killed, with victims dying in a variety of graphic and sadistic ways, such as being crushed to death in a "shrinking" room. The person with the winning hand wins money, but must also kill the loser within 24 hours, lest they both be executed. Meanwhile, police are trying to solve the increasingly frequent murders.

The film also contains elements of rape, masochism, drug use, blood-drinking, and mutilation (including a notable early scene in which a police officer's nose is sliced off).

Availability

While the film has been re-released, both the original and re-release versions of the film are very rare and are mostly owned by film collectors and reviewers, some of which provided screenshots.[1][2][3] However, on August 25th, 2015, an unknown person uploaded a rip of the film on Women In Prison Films.

References