10 Relentlessly Morbid Films

7. The Killing Of America (1982)

the killing of america uncut At last! A Mondo movie that actually has a purpose... or does it? Mondo movies make a conscious effort to shock the viewer - in fact they thrive upon shocks (hence their other genre title - the 'shockumentary'). The Killing of America purports to be a serious examination of violence and gun control laws in the USA. Antonio Climati is not directing it - instead we are graced by the presence of Leonard Schrader (brother of Paul) in the directorial seat. And by golly, this is a morbid film! Political assassinations such as the killing of JFK are shown on screen - the JFK murder is shown from several different angles - you can see the man's head pop open like a watermelon. The viewer is treated to the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy among others, the serial and spree killings of John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Charles Whitmore to name a few and real life footage of genuine crimes. The film sticks on a plea for tighter gun laws in America, quoting some scary statistics and generally just goes really grim and morbid. It is presumably quite hard for American audiences to watch the on screen mayhem but it does contain impressive archive footage of crimes and killers that is fascinating to behold, if you are a ghoul or merely an historian. Much scarier than anything Michael Moore ever attempted with his documentaries and also more eloquent with its use of real life imagery to back up its points, The Killing of America is the grand daddy of Morbid Mondo Movies.
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Contributor

My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!