It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Best movie of this year hands down!

The first must-see film of the year.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This one is definitely in the "so bad it's good category" except, of course, for the fact that it's not at all good. Herschell Gordon Lewis is a cult figure in the world of horror and exploitation films. His 'Blood Feast' and 'Two Thousand Maniacs' are famous examples of his "craft". Both of those films, I have to say, are better than this one. At least Two Thousand Maniacs has that toe-tapping "And the South will Rise Again" opening song.Wizard of Gore is of course a terrible TERRIBLE film. But it will raise more than a few smiles, which is why it fits nicely in the "so bad it's good" basket. But then again it's so deathly boring! Between each outrageously gory yet incredibly fake-looking murder scene are stretches of dialog and ham acting that beggar belief for sheer boredom. At least the Wizard himself (Montag the Magnificent, played by the illustrious Ray Sager) is entertaining for some of the WORST acting you've ever seen in your life. I wanted to slap him and scream 'spit your lines out man'. He lingers over every lame sentence; each and every word is delivered so painfully slowly and painfully badly. Seriously, your DAD could act better than this. And you've seen him try on those few rare embarrassing occasions after a few too many beers at a family barbecue. Well, that's how bad Ray Sager is here! The gore scenes are rightfully notorious. Well, if someone fingering entrails (the local butcher's finest) and grinning salaciously is what qualifies as gore. There's plenty of guts on display but it's hardly convincing. Actually, it probably couldn't be LESS convincing. Especially considering after each shot of the viscera being fondled we cut back to a full shot of the victim without a drop of blood on them, let alone guts hanging out. The sword swallowing scene is particularly badly done. The actresses almost seem to giggle at times. They know how ridiculous it all is.Aside from Montag's on-stage gore fantasies, the highlights for me are: his Mesmer stare (with powdered eyebrows that don't match the ones he usually 'wears'), which supposedly represents him hypnotizing his audience or a hapless volunteer; the journalist with the crime scene photos who visibly glances at someone off camera several times, perhaps to read his lines; the way the victims suddenly fall down dead after the show in the most awkwardly edited ways...I could go on.So, yes, it's a WOEFUL film, but it's so bad it's an entertaining watch. But, really, it's just awful AWFUL film-making in every department. Be prepared to fast-forward through all the dialog and everything in between Montag's eyebrow close-ups. The only thing Mr H. G. Lewis had in spades was gumption. And a big-a** pair of "cojones". I hope one day to see some of his nudist camp movies!!!

This might have been an excellent short. And it works wonderfully as a fetish movie if seeing young women getting tied up and mutilated is your cup of tea. As a feature movie it's just dire.Unusually for a horror movie, it features a young professional woman in one of the leading roles -- and she doesn't even get raped and mutilated in the first five minutes for being a harlot! She investigates a magician who performs gory tricks in his show, with the same girls he performed his tricks on later dieing accordingly. This repeats itself no less than four times (if I counted correctly), each scene lasting maybe ten minutes and being as linear as train tracks in a desert, until her boyfriend muses: "All those girls who went on stage in the show died in the same manner later in the evening. Maybe there's a connection?". His girlfriend is so impressed by his cleverness that she proceeds to fornicate him out of gratitude -- and rightly so. It was the most intelligent moment of the entire movie.I'm not asking for too much, am I, here? I just want to be entertained. For that, I'm willing to forfeit good taste, intelligent plot, competent acting at the door. In the Wizard Of Gore, though, Herschell Gordon Lewis reveals himself as a gore fetishist. The premise of blurring reality and imagination may be interesting, but it's never developed into a story. Fail!

Clearly the only reason one would watch 'The Wizard of Gore' is for the gory aspect of it for it is pretty much a poor film in every other aspect such as execution, acting, score, writing etc. Yes, there are too many plot holes, very bad acting and abysmal special effects but it does succeed in being gory, even though the scenes of torture and maiming are too obviously fake, it invokes disgust or laughter (at the cheesy way it's executed and portrayed). I found the ending twist to be a bit strange. 'The Wizard of Gore' is one of those campy films that has attained cult status. I was referred to it by another movie and since I am fascinated by gore in films, I decided to watch this. Yet, it could be watched as a film that's so bad that it's funny. Yes, there is plenty of unintentional humour for those who want a little more than visceral violence.

There are 6 women in this silly thing that get bloody parts pulled out.Its a completely worthless bunch of cinema, the lowest level of product designed to fill drive-in double features. I have to admit that there is the possibility of a clever idea at the end, but its all so random you can't put anything together.I suppose its interesting that all six of these women, plus the only other woman in the thing (a waitress who screams) are redheads.Now normally I would drill into this and purport that there is some significance to this. I surely did with "Peeping Tom," a real movie where all the women were reds. But that was made by someone we know paid attention to every detail (and who had a redheaded lover).Here, if you listen to the commentary (a commentary!) you'll learn that these were girls he picked up off the street for 20 dollars. Its just an effect of the class and time I suppose. It takes a certain type of woman to agree to stuff chicken parts and fake blood in her mouth and then do her only scene by spitting it out.But if you reach as I do, even here you will appreciate the slippery way the plot moves in and out of nested realities: shows, created realities, TeeVee, imagined romance, dreams. Its actually cool, but not in the exciting way that Ed Wood's realities bend. Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.