A Herschell Gordon Lewis tribute done exactly the way it should be done: as an outrageous comedy. Even the close-up shot of an eye gouged out with an X-acto blade is funny. This is the touching story of a universally panned horror filmmaker (a crazed David Hess, in one of his last performances) who decides to improve the realism of his low-budget flicks by using real blood, real corpses, and real human hearts and livers. Of course, this means he has to get that stuff himself by going on a killing spree. Meanwhile, an arrogant, tuxedo-clad private detective and one of the victims’ sister (charismatic porn star Sasha Grey) are on his trail.
B-movie fans will get the most out of this one, as it throws out references to cult film lore left and right. Among the more subtle homages to Herschell Gordon Lewis include the use of real life animal parts from the butcher shop for human gore (just like Herschell did it in the 60s) and film production offices festooned with movie posters that boast unused campy titles that Lewis himself came up with a long time ago (Lover, Take Her Liver; The Receptionist Wears the Body Bag).