Heavy Metal Horror Film 'Deathgasm' Coming To U.S. Theaters

"Deathgasm", the New Zealand horror comedy film written and directed by Jason Lei Howden, will hit U.S. cinemas on October 2 from Dark Sky Films.

Howden's hilarious, action-filled, bloodsoaked ode to heavy metal horror has struck an epic chord around the world, playing to sold-out film festival audiences and taking home numerous awards for its irreverent, loving take on heavy metal horror culture.

Synopsis: High school can be Hell. Metal-thrashing Brodie is an outcast in a small town until he meets a kindred spirit in metalhead Zakk. After starting their own band, Brodie and Zakk's resentment of the suburban wasteland leads them to a mysterious piece of sheet music said to grant Ultimate Power to whoever plays it. But the music also summons an ancient evil entity known as Aeloth The Blind One, who threatens to tear apart existence itself. It's up to Brodie, Zakk and their mates to stop a force of pure evil from devouring mankind.

Howden, whose previous work includes digital artistry on "The Hobbit" trilogy, "The Avengers" and "The Great Gatsby", told The Wireless that he wanted the film to be more reflective of authentic metalhead culture, not just a caricature.

"Metalheads can be misrepresented a lot, sometimes as bullies, or just generic stoners, so we wanted to have something a bit more there that metalheads could relate to, and [that] the general public maybe get a bit of an insight into metal culture," he said.

The "Deathgasm" soundtrack contains 31 tracks by different heavy metal artists, including New Zealand bands BULLETBELT, BEASTWARS, RAZORWIRE and 8 FOOT SATIVA.

"We've got some really hardcore heavy metal on there, all genres of metal," Howden said.

"When I started out I thought, 'I want to show the world our film, but I also want to show the world some Kiwi bands. I think that was really important."