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

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(Wow, this was found awhile ago...)
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{{InfoboxLost
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|This article has been tagged as <span style="color:orange">'''NSFW'''</span> due to its pornographic subject matter.
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{{InfoboxFound
|title=<center>Cards of Death</center>
|title=<center>Cards of Death</center>
|image=Cardsdeath.jpg
|image=Cardsdeath.jpg
|imagecaption=Photos of a copy of the film that was sold online in 2008.
|imagecaption=Photos of a copy of the film that was sold online in 2008.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially found'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
|datefound=25 Aug 2015
|foundby=''Unknown''
}}
}}
'''''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.


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.
'''''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" by some due to its 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 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 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 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 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. The one holding the Death card at the end would be killed, with victims dying 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 win money, but also the responsibility of having to kill the loser within 24 hours, or else both of them would be killed.


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.
The police are also involved in the film, trying to solve the increasingly frequent murders. The film is also said to contain elements of rape, masochism, drug use, 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), and a notable scene from the beginning of the film, in which a police officer has his nose sliced off.


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.
==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.<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 25, 2015, an unknown person uploaded [http://wipfilms.net/surreal-and-bizzare/cards-of-death/ a rip of the film on Women In Prison Films].


==Screenshots==
==Gallery==
The following screenshots were provided by the aforementioned reviewers:
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiWrPHaGNfQ|320x240|center|A mirror of the film.|frame}}
<gallery mode=packed heights=75px>
<gallery mode=packed heights=75px>
File:20111105221954b84.jpg
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File:2011110522195321a.jpg
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File:201111052219535ee.jpg
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File:20111105221952c1b.jpg
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File:20111105222108629.jpg
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File:20111105222108fd6.jpg
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File:201111052221075ba.jpg
201111052221075ba.jpg
File:2011110522210714c.jpg
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File:CardsOfDeath1.jpg
CardsOfDeath1.jpg
File:CardsOfDeath2.jpg
CardsOfDeath2.jpg
File:CardsOfDeath3.jpg
CardsOfDeath3.jpg
File:CardsOfDeath4.jpg
CardsOfDeath4.jpg
File:78675656.jpg
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File:8987656.jpg
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File:8687676.jpg
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File:896875665.jpg
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File:893783763.jpg
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File:death-card.jpg
death-card.jpg
File:983784674.jpg
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File:89786765.jpg
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File:8967875676.jpg
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</gallery>
</gallery>


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[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]
[[Category:NSFW]]

Revision as of 03:59, 30 June 2017

Lmwtan.png This article has been tagged as NSFW due to its pornographic subject matter.


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" by some due to its 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 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 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 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 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. The one holding the Death card at the end would be killed, with victims dying 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 win money, but also the responsibility of having to kill the loser within 24 hours, or else both of them would be killed.

The police are also involved in the film, trying to solve the increasingly frequent murders. The film is also said to contain elements of rape, masochism, drug use, 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), and a notable scene from the beginning of the film, in which a police officer has his nose 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 25, 2015, an unknown person uploaded a rip of the film on Women In Prison Films.

Gallery

A mirror of the film.

References