Black Metal Veins

Lucifer Valentine, probably best known for *Slaughtered Vomit Dolls* made this documentary in the late 00s. It was supposed to be a chromicle of one of his fans lifestyle in the Virginia Black Metal scene but ended up being much more about him and his friends substance abuse. Personally I think the intention was to make a shocking gonzo exploitation / snuff film that used the realist elements to root the horror scenes and make them more impactful. It fails in those terms because the grisly stuff where (minor spoiler) some of the participants apparently die on camera are clearly faked, come off as a bit cheesey. What he does manage to do, somewhat paradoxically, is capture the reality and the despair of the front line of the class war in late capitalist America. These kids, this doomed generation are the product of the opiod crisis and this could well be watched along with a good documentary about the Sacklers and the opiod crisis in general. The fake OD looks like balls and is not scary but just hearing these people talk about their lives and seeing their mental and physical deterioration under the strain of the junky / crack head lifestyle is fucking terrifying. Worth a watch, probably more so than any of Valentines other stuff. Worth getting the DVD with the directors commentary and extras.