150 Word Review: ‘This Is GWAR’ (2022)
Mayhem and madness… live!
I’ve never known how to describe the gross-out heavy metal art collective GWAR to nice, wholesome people, and thankfully, I don't have to anymore. I can just recommend filmmaker Scott Barber’s surprisingly emotional documentary This Is GWAR, which charts the quirky cult band’s rise from local weirdos to touring legends.
The doc features interviews with middle-aged members of the band and videos of GWAR hanging out in Richmond, Virginia, in the early 80s. The best footage, of course, is their wild, gory stage show featuring the band, an ever-evolving pack of crude space barbarians playing guitar and soaking audience members with alien bodily fluids shooting out of every orifice available. There are also decapitations and dinosaurs.
Barber’s movie is smitten with GWAR’s story of punk goons who turned goofing around into an unlikely business and their late lead singer, Dave Brockie, a.k.a. Oderus Urungus. He lived the rock star, unfortunately.
It’s great! I like the TedTalk that Mike Bishop (Blothar) gave ten years ago connecting GWAR To the history of RVA too.
Where can I watch it?