Directed by the late Carl Anderson in 1990, Mondo Weirdo is a disturbing black and white film depicting the nightmare world a 15-year-old girl enters after having her first period. On the back cover blurb the director is described as a Euro counterpart to the New York “Cinema of Transgression” movement that produced the films of Richard Kern and Nick Zedd. Much like those mavericks Anderson pulls various tricks from out of the bag directors have employed throughout the history of celluloid for dark and cynical purposes.
Starting out with a voice-over straight out of the trailer for Herschel Gordon Lewis’ Blood Feast, we are introduced to Ilona. While in the shower she sees menstrual blood streaming down her leg and then after entering a fetish club she starts having violent and sexual hallucinations. They involve lesbianism, S&M, bloodletting, penetration and oral sex (both hetero and homosexual). Although it is not a silent film there are only a few scattered sections with dialogue and title cards are used. There is music during the club scenes provided by Model D’oo. Ambient sounds also provide an aural background for the strong images in the same way David Lynch used them in his early films. After a series of disturbing hallucinations/encounters Ilona ends up back at the fetish club and re-enters enthusiastically.
Mondo Weirdo satisfies the voyeuristic appeal of underground films in that it features several taboos and is nonconventional in telling its story. The sex scenes were shot and presented hardcore. It is fast moving and some the music of Model D’oo is catchy enough to really work with the images as far as pacing. Anderson keeps things moving within the film’s 55 minute running time.
Cult Epics has presented us with a generous package of 3 discs. Disc one is a Blu-ray of Mondo Weirdo with a making of documentary. Disc two is a DVD with another Anderson feature Vampiros Sexos. It also includes a making of documentary and another film What’s So Dirty About It? Disc three is a cd featuring the music from both films by Model D’oo plus bonus tracks.
