Ghouls Magazine: August Underground, the most disturbing franchise ever made

Is August Underground the most extreme and disturbing franchise to exist? The answer is probably yes. Whilst extreme cinema has been around for many years, and has always been boundary pushing, Fred Vogel’s gruesome threesome has been cited as one of the most heinous and depraved pieces of filmmaking to ever be created. The first film has gained so much notoriety, you only need to mention the words and people are suddenly filled with disdain and sheer horror that you have even been able to watch something so monstrous. And it’s true, watching something like August Underground does feel like both a rite of passage as an extreme cinema fan, and also a moment that you cannot go back from – the way you view the world is different after viewing a film like this. 

So why did Vogel want to create such a film? He has mentioned in an interview with another extreme horror filmmaker, Jonathan Doe, on the Uneasy Terrain Explorers Podcast that he simply wanted to see if he could create something that felt real. There is no doubting that the threshold was reached and surpassed with some of the most realistic, disgusting and horrifying scenes ever shown in an extreme horror movie. Even as a fan of these depraved movies, it has taken me quite some time to pluck up the nerve to be able to once again put myself through a re-watch of the first film, let alone the entire franchise. With Vogel having accomplished creating one of the most disturbing films ever made, why was there the need to continue making audiences feel awful and go on to create August Underground’s Mordum and August Underground’s Penance? 

Interested in reading more? You can head to Ghouls Magazine to read August Underground: The most disturbing franchise ever made