Necromurder: A Black Metal Story (2019) by Pablo C. Vergara


Living in New York City, a musician in an underground Black Metal band continually toes the line between insane and reality when a series of issues threaten to push him beyond the edge as he struggles to hold the band afloat and deal with his personal life.

For the most part, this was a highly enjoyable short effort. The most impactful aspect of this one is the distinctly innovative mixture of the music against the technical aspects of the production. The frantic and frenzied music playing over the scenes of him snapping and attacking everyone, whether in the apartment or the studio which are all equally fast and quick sequences. The more introspective and quieter moments are accompanied by the lighter and spacey form of musical interludes that serve to alleviate the atmosphere from the raging, frostbitten sequences, especially due to the hard-hitting rooftop brawl that really brings a horrific edge to the film. The ability to connect with the lead singer here is quite easy to accomplish and would more-than-likely be even easier in a feature-length effort if we get to know him better.

There are a few minor issues to be had within here. There's very little of interest here in the relationship with the estranged wife as we're introduced into this with no buildup and just comes barreling out of nowhere. That's especially more prominent once you get the triple dose of scenes that are designed to bring the viewer onto his side with everyone blowing up at him for being a low-life into the music. Had this been stretched out somewhat in a longer format to help understand the motivations of what's going on easier, there would've been fewer issues with these scenes as the short-film format makes these somewhat redundant that a longer format wouldn't. However, this is really the only minor issue with the effort.

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