Pretty Good

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Les Sabo (Brant McCrea) is released from jail and is searching for the killer of his mother whose death he witnessed as a child. He is known as "The Ghoul" as he takes skin from his victims and is hard to kill. He is a hero to the poor in Chicago standing up to thugs and dishonest cops (which could have been better developed with a number of flash scenes or headlines).The film is part art-house, part grindhouse, part 70's gorehouse with a little MTV tossed in. I loved the opening scene during the credits as his dead mother plays the piano from the back of pick-up truck creating an existential scene that borders on surrealism. The director was very careful in creating scenes, but seemed to have neglected the plot. The Ghoul never seemed to care about finding his mother's killer, never questioning anyone or tracking clues. The characters were not developed at all. I am pretty sure every horror and grindhouse fan will find something to like about the film. The style mixing was mostly effective, although there were times when it didn't work that well such as the first bathroom scene where we get 70's gorehouse music.Guide: F-word. Nudity

Seriously folks. How more obvious can some of these fake reviewers be? If you click on the 3 main culprits (all have similar IMDb usernames) who wrote SUPER positive reviews, you will see that each of them have all recently joined IMDb and they all HAVE ONLY EACH REVIEWED ONE MOVIE. This one. Right. Nice try.So obviously the rating here is way over-inflated through fake ratings of people who are involved with this terrible film in one way or another. The film is trash. I had an extremely hard time trying to sit through the horrible acting, the retarded dialogue, and the ridiculous attempt to be over-the-top gory. I love good indie films of any genre, but I don't have much tolerance for the dishonorable and dishonest methods of boosting reviews and ratings.Movies that try too hard to be weird without any substance don't win. Should I even mention the absolutely terrible soundtrack that doesn't fit the pacing of the movie? Or the ridiculously bad music video that starts the movie and seems to interject itself in the middle with a random girl playing piano in the back of a truck? No, no I'll let you torture yourself with this tripe.

Chicago Rot is a gory masterpiece with all the earmarks of an indy cult horrific thriller. From the guy in the background jerking off while wearing a blue leisure suit, down to the significance of the license plate on a green Cadillac, there's enough in the cracks of this film to dissect and discuss for years.Unfortunately, the story of "The Ghoul" is lost in the show stealing barrage of blood. It's a hard to follow sea of death where a voice on the radio detailing the back story is the only time you're sure to have it right.The characters don't command emotional attachments leaving the audience feeling apathetic toward who lives and who dies. However, the fight, murder and death by dildo scenes are so well shot and assembled, competently revealing brutal moments with striking detail, that you are compelled to wish for everyone in the film to die, simply to take pleasure in the carnage.The special effects are incredible. The sound effects are fantastic. The music is great albeit at times ponderous to the point I was eager to hear a voice without music beneath it. An amazing job from start to finish on the visual candy and the construction of the scenes were the enabling forces that allowed me to finish watching this movie even when not completely in tune with the narrative.I look forward to their next film, where perhaps I'll find myself being emotionally involved with the characters.But, what do I know? I enjoy Adam Sandler movies.

CHICAGO ROT is a gritty horror film made on a micro budget. It's a revenge story about a former convict hunting for a sicko murderer responsible for the death of his family. As a film it's fairly well shot, so it's just a shame that the subject matter is equal parts distasteful and equal parts predictable. The end result offers plenty of gloomy atmosphere and some unpalatable moments of extreme bad taste gore.