If you are squeamish at all then I suggest you stop reading now. If you don’t like to hear about blood and guts then you should have stopped reading by now. If you’re still with me, then you are one sick and twisted individual. Awesome! Anyone familiar with Faces of Death videos is sure to find this article useful. Traces of Death from Dead Alive Productions makes all other documentaries of it’s kind look like a Disney movie!
I have a Faces of Death DVD collection and have always been fascinated by how fragile human life is. Watching someone die gives me a glimpse at something that I will inevitably have to face one day, my own death. A lot of people may find this gross and maybe even a little disturbing, but they’re usually the same guys who slow down to look at car accidents. So judge if you like and classify all the fans of these types of videos as freaks, but you know you’re curious.
The Traces of Death series was something I always wanted to watch, but I never had the money to buy a set or even a single volume for that matter. They are pretty expensive, ranging from $20+ for a single volume to over $100 for a box set of five. I got lucky one day using Blingo.com and won a $10 gift certificate to use at Amazon. Blingo rules!
I found a Traces of Death: Volume III edition VHS tape for $1.67 before shipping on the site! It was a rental at one time but the seller had a great user rating and claimed that it played just fine. I received my tape that week and greedily stuffed it into my VCR.
The first thing I noticed was the corny narrator. He takes himself way too seriously! I think he’s trying to sound like Satan or something. Anyway, it just sounds funny, but the gore is what I was interested in. Gilbert Godfrey could do the commentaries for all I cared as long as the footage was good.
The first few clips had me thinking that this video would be just like the countless number of other tapes I’d seen, but when they showed a man being chased through the jungle naked by some very real looking soldiers with some very real looking guns I knew that this might be something legitimate. They then capture the guy, hold him down, and proceed to castrate him. By the way, if this doesn’t stimulate your gore fetish enough, they also scalp him.
The picture was a bit grainy since it was an old VHS tape from 1995 and had been a rental video, but the clips were all real and none left me disappointed. Everything from executions to murdered children is right here on this tape. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you’re still reading then you’re probably interested.
Also, the soundtrack is pretty awesome if you’re into Death Metal. They really went all out. Other death films have the worst soundtracks while this tape could be enjoyed just for the music alone. They even sell the soundtracks to their movies separately!
If you like to be shocked and horrified, then check out the Traces of Death series! It’s definitely an adrenaline rush because you never know if you’ll be able to handle the next clip. Try buying these from Amazon or eBay because you can get them dirt cheap if you don’t mind a used one. Just don’t plan to sleep well that night and enjoy the show you sicko!
