Rating: 
Summary: One of the better HG Lewis Flicks
Review: Another offering from the creator of Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs that is also characterized by a rock bottom budget and unconvincing gory effects.The story concerns a weird magician who kills people as part of his performance, but hypnotizes the audience into thinking that the people haven't actually died. I have hard time giving useful advice on this one other than to say that if you liked HG Lewis's other movies, you will probably like this one, too. If you haven't seen anything by Lewis, Two Thousand Maniacs is a better and better known movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Best H.G. Lewis Film!!!
Review: Back in the 70's/early 80's, Herschell Gordon Lewis made a slew of splatter films that were weak on plot and acting, but compensating with practically vomit inducing scenes of bodily carnage. Wizard of Gore is one of the weakest of the lot. Even though all of HGL's movies look pathetically cheesy by today's standards, Wizard suffers from blah grossout scenes and way too much filler material between them. It's the type of movie where your finger's on the fast forward button for 7/8ths of the flick. A great intro to HGL's films is the impressive 2000 Maniacs, which combines original death scenes along with some sharp black humor. Wizard is just drab in all aspects.
Rating: 
Summary: Wizard of Snore
Review: Back in the 70's/early 80's, Herschell Gordon Lewis made a slew of splatter films that were weak on plot and acting, but compensating with practically vomit inducing scenes of bodily carnage. Wizard of Gore is one of the weakest of the lot. Even though all of HGL's movies look pathetically cheesy by today's standards, Wizard suffers from blah grossout scenes and way too much filler material between them. It's the type of movie where your finger's on the fast forward button for 7/8ths of the flick. A great intro to HGL's films is the impressive 2000 Maniacs, which combines original death scenes along with some sharp black humor. Wizard is just drab in all aspects.
Rating: 
Summary: SPLATTER comes to DVD
Review: Herschhell's ultra-bad, but very gory and entertaining "The Wizard of Gore" has been given a good DVD release through Something Weird - IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT. The transfer is quite sharp (no compression artifacts like on the "2000 Maniacs" DVD) and the print used is pretty clean (a few scratches and some slight wear around reel changes)...overall looks really nice for such an old low-budget film. There's lots of gore in this one too...much more than in his other gore movies (except for "Gore Gore Girls" which is ultra-sick...can't wait for that one!). The "Wizard" is Montag the Magnificent and he's a maniacal magician who likes to mutilate young lovelies during his stage act. You'll see a woman's brain get spiked out of her head, a pipe machine drill through a woman's intestines, women's tongues and throats mangled by swords, and eyes poked out of their heads! Ya, it's all pretty fake, but it's still pretty incredible to watch. The DVD features another interesting commentary track with H.G.L. and Mike Vraney (Herschell keeps referring to "Montag the Magician" instead of "Montag the Magnificent"!), the original theatrical trailer (not in the best of shape), and another gallery of HGL exploitation art (different from the first 3 DVD's which all had the same stuff). Overall a very good purchase for HGL fans and fans of early gore movies.
Rating:
Summary: SPLATTER comes to DVD
Review: Herschhell's ultra-bad, but very gory and entertaining "The Wizard of Gore" has been given a good DVD release through Something Weird - IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT. The transfer is quite sharp (no compression artifacts like on the "2000 Maniacs" DVD) and the print used is pretty clean (a few scratches and some slight wear around reel changes)...overall looks really nice for such an old low-budget film. There's lots of gore in this one too...much more than in his other gore movies (except for "Gore Gore Girls" which is ultra-sick...can't wait for that one!). The "Wizard" is Montag the Magnificent and he's a maniacal magician who likes to mutilate young lovelies during his stage act. You'll see a woman's brain get spiked out of her head, a pipe machine drill through a woman's intestines, women's tongues and throats mangled by swords, and eyes poked out of their heads! Ya, it's all pretty fake, but it's still pretty incredible to watch. The DVD features another interesting commentary track with H.G.L. and Mike Vraney (Herschell keeps referring to "Montag the Magician" instead of "Montag the Magnificent"!), the original theatrical trailer (not in the best of shape), and another gallery of HGL exploitation art (different from the first 3 DVD's which all had the same stuff). Overall a very good purchase for HGL fans and fans of early gore movies.
Rating:
Summary: Too Much Delay Between Money Shots
Review: I am a fan of H. G. Lewis, but I have to admit that this movie is a little too slow to develop. Of course, by "develop," I do not mean any semblance of plot, but getting the viewer to the highly celebrated "gore" scenes. I know that whatever plot exists is just a means to an end, but this one seems to really drag. Compare it to the transitions in "Blood Feast" where the menacing Mr. Ramses is alone worth the price of admission, or "Two Thousand Maniacs" where overacting (if you can call it acting) is so astounding that it takes a few viewings just to take it all in. In short, it is a good flick, but Lewis did better.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Terrible!
Review: I bought this movie hoping to see a horrible film by the great Hershell Gordon Lewis. I was not disappointed. This has to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The acting is terrible. The story is, well, not really a story. And did I mention the acting. If you are looking for a good laugh, and you are someone who appreciates cheap horror movies, then this one's for you. The commentary is great and probably more interesting than the movie itself.
Rating:
Summary: SILLY GORE - A - RAMA......
Review: I don't know why I watched this ridiculous "gore" spectacle from the 60's but I did. Herschel Gordon Lewis was never my idea of a horror film director anyway. But in this one I saw his tongue firmly planted in cheek. It's so funny and the acting so hammy you can't possibly be offended by it. Montag the Magnificent performs stage illusions where women from the audience are hypnotized as they're gored on stage. The trick is they seem perfectly fine afterward, seemingly unaware of what happened. Then later their guts fall out in restaurants or they end up dead---mutilated as they were on stage. A nosy "Hints For Women" type TV personality sets out to uncover the truth. The ending is WAY out there---what's illusion, what's reality and to whom?
The "gore" is so ludicrous you know it's fake and the film so cheesy it's laughable. And the acting couldn't be any worse. See this if you're game---but remember, it's all an "illusion"!
Rating:
Summary: Are you certain you know what reality is??
Review: I have been providing my own horror reviews for many months now, and I feel that the best way to end 2003 is to critique a movie by the Godfather of Gore himself, H.G. Lewis. His greatest project is none other than "The Wizard of Gore," an outrageous cult masterpiece of murderous, magical mayhem! Filmed in 1970, it's one of the first fright films to present sickening onscreen violence as its main attraction. At the same time, the acting is unbelievably campy. Star Ray Sager brings forth a zany zest to his sly alter ego, Montag the Magnificent; I can best describe his acting as that of a horribly hilarious ham!
The basic synopsis is this: Montag earns his reputation as a cutting-edge illusionist (in more ways than one!). During each performance, he picks a young woman from the audience, bewitching her with hypnotic powers. Then, he butchers his pretty assistant right before the crowd's eyes. By the time he takes a bow, the victimized volunteer is magically restored and walks away unharmed. However, no one realizes that Montag's sadistic lust for blood is real, and that on the same night, every victim comes apart at the seams...literally!
Throughout the film, each trick becomes more gruesome than the last. In the first act of extreme gore, the mad magician cuts a redhead in half with a chainsaw (and this is before Leatherface came along!) Next, Montag hammers a metal spike through a lovely blonde's skull, scooping bleeding brains out of her hair! Later on, he has another female volunteer disembowled on a punch press! Last but not least, Montag forces sharp swords down two women's throats; each screaming victim has her tongue and esophagus savagely sliced open! Meanwhile, a gorgeous and outspoken talk show host named Sherry Carson (Judy Cler) is anxious to have Montag appear on her television program, "Housewives Coffee Break." At first, Montag is testy and refuses her offer, protesting like a Shakespearean diva. But he soon changes his mind as he aims to make Sherry his next victim (this is indicated by the numerous mirages of her bleeding right hand). Seizing her opportunity, Sherry regularly attends the theater to experience brand new illusions, dragging her skeptical fiancee Jack (Wayne Ratay) with her. At first, he's not at all enthused at having to sit and watch Montag over and over again. However, is interest in the weird wizard's work increases as he tries to rationally figure out how the tricks were done. When Jack discovers in the newspaper that each of Montag's volunteers are murdered, and that their deaths are eerily similar to how they were killed onstage, he believes that a psychotic serial killer is copying Montag's magic. Eventually, Jack joins the police department to investigate the baffling murders. I will not bore you with any more details. Let's just say that the film's conclusion will emit plenty of smoke and no mirrors!
To truly disgust and flabbergast the viewer, Lewis required the film to feature extreme close-up shots of mutilated organs and pumping arteries. He made sure that when it came to cinematic shock and sadism, "The Wizard of Gore" had nothing to hide. In the opening credits alone, Montag beheads himself on the guillotine, leaving moviegoers gasping for more. What makes Lewis's direction quite interesting, however, is how he carefully splices together TWO versions of Montag's tricks. On the one hand, the film's audience views his act as nothing more than an innocuous illusion. But on the other hand, WE as outside viewers witness the grisly reality behind the red curtain; we are the ones who truly see the blood puddles and hear the shrieks of terror! That concept makes "The Wizard of Gore" work. Buy the DVD while you can. You won't want to miss this humorous slice of hocus-pocus homicide!
Rating:
Summary: Shakespearean gore
Review: I love when an actor (?) brings such dedication to a role and Ray Sager approaches his Montag role as though his life depended on it (he was hired for the lead day before shooting began).
The Wizard is not filled with highspeed, action hero, death defying stunts or rapid paced scenes. Instead we get Montag giving a Shakespearean worthy monologue to you, yes you!
First time I played this disc my sides were hurting from laughter.
Cute females, grinding gore, twisted ending and bottom of the barrel budgeting make this a new favorite for me.
Watching it again, this time with the H.G. Lewis commentary makes it even more entertaining.
Oh, the glorious days of real time special effects and two-bit acting. Forget about the outlandishly budgeted hollywood gloss junk made for the masses. This is a prime example of creative, esoteric, humerous, low budget filmaking. Shakespearean gore.
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