''Skulhedface'' is a 1994 movie that was directed by Melanie Mandl. It is yet another story in
Gwar
Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...
's grand storyline (about the ne'er-do-well Scumdogs of the Universe), and the third to be released on video.
Story
''Skulhedface'' being the movie coinciding with ''
This Toilet Earth'', the story of both album and movie are nearly identical (though the album diverges from that story frequently). Skulhedface, formerly a beautiful queen of a peaceful, vegetarian planet, was transformed into a foul creature during a raid on her planet by Cardinal Syn, Gwar's eternal foe. She travels to Earth, where she is instructed to acquire sufficient amounts of Jizmoglobin, a blue bodily fluid that is responsible for the creativity, rebellion and decadence of all creatures.
Gwar, meanwhile, is hosting a telethon on their pirate television network, Slave Pit TV. The goal of the telethon: offer enough human sacrifices to unite with the World Maggot, which lies dormant in the Earth's core, and ride it off the planet. They are having an increasing amount of success, which draws the attention of GlomCo, an archetypical evil media conglomerate.
Boss Glom, the CEO, summons Gwar's manager,
Sleazy P. Martini
Sleazy P. Martini is a persona, character played by Virginia, American artist, filmmaker, musician, performance artist, writer Don Drakulich in the heavy metal band Gwar. He wears two oversized gold necklaces, one with a dollar symbol, and one w ...
, in the hopes that he will sell Gwar out, reduce them to commodities, and ultimately kill the band to prevent any interference. Martini repeatedly refuses, until he is offered more money than he has ever seen in his life. At this point, Gwar breaks through the ceiling, and Boss Glom summons his armed guards. Gwar makes short work of the guards and the other board members, but Glom escapes to his private elevator. After that, Slave Pit TV is then broadcast to the public, having taken over the equipment as well as the corporation.
On the way down to a secret laboratory, Boss Glom is revealed to be
Skulhedface, and in her laboratory, her assistant, Flopsy, assists her to a large Jizmoglobin extraction device. Rocker
Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...
is placed in the device, his Jizmoglobin removed, and emerges a business type with absolutely no personality. Skulhedface starts to drink the Jizmoglobin, when a transmission from Cardinal Syn comes in - he will "be arriving in the next movie" (which he does) to collect Jizmoglobin and subjugate the planet (which he attempts to do, but fails).
Meanwhile, the telethon is still going well, and Gwar feasts their imminent departure from the planet.
Beefcake the Mighty
Beefcake the Mighty is the bassist of the heavy metal band Gwar. He appears as a stout (hence his name) humanoid girded in Roman-style armor. He is usually portrayed wielding either an oversized Gladius sword or a large battle-axe.
Background ...
, however, spots Flopsy, who has come to lure him into a trap. Skulhedface removes his face, dons it herself, and tells Gwar of midgets in the basement (with which they could sate their sexual appetite one last time before leaving).
When they get to the basement, they find Beefcake, tied up and without a face. During a conversation with Skulhedface, Flopsy returns Beefcake's face, and in return, decides to stick his fist in Flopsy's mouth (which is vaginal in shape). Unfortunately, he is too rough, and Flopsy dies.
Skulhedface reveals her greatest weapon - the Flesh Column, composed of the foulest of human pieces. The combined efforts of Gwar are insufficient, and they are subjected to the device, which is overloaded with their combined Jizmoglobin. Skulhedface is reverted to her old self, and Gwar into infants. Now benevolent, she returns their Jizmoglobin, and things return to as they were. The entire band (minus
Slymenstra Hymen Danielle Stampe is a singer, dancer, set designer, and performance artist, best known for her work with Gwar as "Slymenstra Hymen." She has set records for fire breathing and voltage endurance.
Early life
Danielle Stampe was born in San Diego on N ...
) rapes her to death. At that moment, the World Maggot finally awakens, and begins to fly with Gwar's stronghold on its back. Gwar hurriedly returns to the surface and try to wave down the Maggot, only for it to blast off into space without them. Balsac considers whether there might be "''two'' World Maggots" as the band begins bickering amongst themselves. Sleazy P. Martini "consoles" them and concludes the broadcast day.
Music videos
''This Toilet Earth'' had three music videos: "Saddam a Go-Go", "The Insidious Soliloquy of Skulhedface" and "Jack the World." Two of these videos, "The Insidious Soliloquy of Skulhedface" and "Jack the World", were filmed during the making of this movie (the former actually being a portion of the movie itself). "Saddam a Go-Go" used footage (and new bassist Casey Orr) from the tour corresponding with the album and film, and was not in the final release.
Miscellaneous
* This was to be the first film in which guitarist Peter Lee plays Flattus Maximus, but he was recovering from a gunshot wound to his stomach. He is seen in one of the commercials as a police officer - it was during the filming of this scene that he and
Dave Brockie
David Murray Brockie (August 30, 1963 – March 23, 2014) was a Canadian-American musician, who was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus. He performed as a bassist and lead singer in the b ...
, the other police officer, came up with the idea for
X-Cops - but in no other.
Flattus Maximus
Flattus Maximus is the name of a character and former guitarist in the American heavy metal band Gwar. He is known for his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" is indicative of the charact ...
was portrayed by two other people, as Lee was absent for most of it. "Jack the World" was his first video, and it featured him wearing a colostomy bag.
* ''Skulhedface'' is the final film to feature
Michael Bishop (bassist)
Michael "Mike" Bishop (born September 7, 1968) is an American bassist and vocalist and a member of the heavy metal band GWAR.
Life and career
He attended Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Virginia. Most notably, he was the bass guitarist a ...
as Beefcake the Mighty; he left the band shortly after filming.
* This was filmed at the height of Gwar's popularity, and featured a number of well-known people: Boss Glom was portrayed by
Jello Biafra
Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.
Initially ac ...
, and
Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...
appears as himself.
* Melanie Mandl, the director, was also a voice (Lady D) on the ''MC Rhythmless'' Slave Pit Single, a series of non-album recordings released to the Total Slavery Fan Club, and was Gwar's main videographer. She left shortly after the album's tour cycle.
* This film was originally going to be in theaters, but that did not happen, as the
MPAA
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
refused to rate it anything other than NC-17, saying there was no way to cut it for an R.
* During the telethon, parody commercials were featured, including "Sperm-N-Slide" among others.
References
External links
*
{{Gwar
1994 compilation albums
1994 video albums
American splatter films
Gwar video albums
Music video compilation albums