Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon

Ten years after the original cult hit that caused a sensation with its joyfully blasphemous cocktail of gore and heavy metal, Jason Lei Howden returns to directing with Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon, a sequel that is not only louder, but also bloodier. Funded by a fan-launched crowdfunding campaign that raised over $300,000, this new chapter rises from the grave like one of its zombified comrades, bringing with it the same chaotic humor, outrageous splatter, and endearing love of metal that made the original 2015 film such a hit. If the first film was a spontaneous mosh pit of demonic energy, this one is more like a reunion tour: messier, more laid-back, but packed with fan service and buckets of blood that prove Deathgasm hasn't lost any of its bite.

The story picks up ten years later with Brodie, still played by Milo Cawthorne, continuing to wallow in mediocrity and self-pity. Once a high school metalhead, he nearly started an apocalypse. Now he's a hopeless alcoholic, his bandmates are long dead, and his love life is in ruins. Kimberly Crossman reprises the role of Medina, now the successful singer of a rival band led by the pompous Kieran Charnock as Jesse Dead, whose heartcore soft metal style becomes the film's satirical target. Brodie's only companion is the perpetually exasperated Giles, played by Daniel Cresswell, until a desperate act of necromancy resurrects his deceased bandmates Zakk (James Joshua Blake) and Dion (Sam Berkley). Unfortunately, Brodie's attempt to reunite the boys literally brings the dead back to life, setting the stage for a symphony of blood, guts, and absurd humor as the band rushes toward the next Noisequest Battle of the Bands.

There is something inherently tragic yet hysterical about Brodie's stagnation. His world hasn't just collapsed, it has calcified. The sequel builds on this decadence, presenting Brodie's inability to move forward as both a character flaw and a source of comedy. While the first film celebrated youthful rebellion against authority, Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon explores the disillusionment of adulthood, the pain of unfulfilled dreams, and the pathetic but understandable refusal to grow up. This thematic thread gives the film a richer emotional texture than one might expect amid explosions of genitals and spurting arteries. Jason Lei Howden seems perfectly aware that Brodie's stunted development mirrors the eternal adolescence of the metal genre itself, a music that thrives on rebellion even as its listeners reach middle-manager age.

Stylistically, Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon remains a love letter to the tradition of practical special effects that gave rise to gore cinema classics such as Braindead and Evil Dead 2. Jason Lei Howden stages the carnage with joyful precision: intestines become banners, faces implode like rotten fruit, and a particularly insane sequence involving a glory hole massacre could set a Guinness World Record for on-screen genital mutilation. Despite a higher budget than the first film, Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon stays true to its DIY roots, never losing its punk energy. The gore isn't just decoration, it's part of the humor, a form of punchline. The film's kinetic energy, aided by Trivium's Matthew Kiichi Heafy, who provides both the soundtrack and a memorable cameo, propels each scene forward like a double bass pedal to the chest.

While the gore spectacle is undeniably the film's main attraction, Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon also takes a marked detour into the territory of absurd buddy comedy. Zakk's attempt to become a zomb-vegan, refusing to eat humans despite his instincts, and Dion's transformation into a Dungeons & Dragons-obsessed zombie Dungeonmaster are just two of the countless gags that highlight Jason Lei Howden's talent for mixing crude humor with clever character work. The chemistry between the actors remains infectious: Daniel Cresswell's performance as Giles, balancing exasperation and loyalty, brings a reassuring presence amid the chaos. Even when the jokes veer into the childish (which happens often), the sincerity of these performances keeps the film from descending into parody.

As expected, the soundtrack is heart-wrenching. Matthew Kiichi Heafy's compositions give an authentic rhythm to the chaos, mixing new tracks with nostalgic riffs that would make Megadeth or Iron Maiden proud. The film also uses its music as commentary: Brodie's devotion to “true metal” becomes both his salvation and his downfall, while Goremageddon humorously pokes fun at the exclusive tendencies of this subculture. The climactic musical confrontation between Brodie's resurrected band and Medina's refined band presents itself as a microcosm of the metal scene itself—raw authenticity versus commercial dilution—with enough sweat, distortion, and blood to satisfy both sides.

It should be noted that Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon does not seek to achieve the mythical scope of its predecessor. The demonic cults and cosmic horrors are gone, replaced by something more modest but more personal. This is a film about failure and camaraderie, about the kind of misfits who will always pick up the guitar, no matter how much the world tells them to grow up. Jason Lei Howden may fill the screen with guts and vomit, but behind it all lies a story of second chances and loyalty among the damned. The film doesn't just resurrect its characters, it resurrects the anarchic, DIY spirit that made the first film a cult treasure.

There are, of course, a few flaws. The humor sometimes falls into repetition, and a few gags drag on beyond their punchline. But these flaws seem almost intentional, like the offbeat timing of a live show so raw that it becomes charming. Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon thrives on its imperfections: it's punk cinema in its purest, stickiest form. And when the film's final notes ring out, steeped in both blood and irony, Jason Lei Howden makes it clear that Deathgasm is not just a franchise, but a manifesto for those who still believe that loud music and gore can raise the dead.

Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon is a noisy reminder that doesn't reinvent the genre, but shakes it up. It's raw, chaotic, and gloriously excessive, but it's also strangely sincere. Like its protagonist, it stumbles, bleeds, and laughs through the pain, because that's what real metalheads do. For fans of gore comedy and satanic riffs, Jason Lei Howden's long-awaited sequel is both a bloody reminder of the origins of this saga and a middle finger to anyone who thought metal—or independent horror—was dead.

Deathgasm Part 2: Goremageddon
Written and directed by Jason Lei Howden
Produced by Andrew Thomas Hunt, Michael Vasicek
Starring Milo Cawthorne, Kimberley Crossman, James Blake, Sam Berkley, Daniel Cresswell, Kieran Charnock, Jesse Dead, Harrison Keefe, Maggie Nicole Robertson, Adam Scherr, Willa Hefner-Hunt, Chase Gray, Landon Jorgenson, Menegbo Legbo, Dana Lesiuk, Theresa McKnight, Joshua Viola
Cinematography: Jeremy Ratzlaff
Edited by Brendon Chan
Music by Matt K. Heafy
Production companies: Raven Banner Entertainment, Fish Entertainment, Hangar 18 Media
Distributed by Raven Banner Releasing (United States)
Release dates:
Running time: 102 minutes

Seen on October 10, 2025 (Screamfest 2025 press screener)

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