Every so often I watch a movie and I have to ask myself, "What the hell did I just watch?". Since I started reviewing movies here a few years ago, there have been many low budget disasters, poorly acted catastrophes, and problematic documentaries. But none, none, come close to the weirdness that is Mondo New York.
Mondo New York is in its own class of unusual.
Mondo New York is part documentary and part whimsical journey into the depths of the mid-80s New York City underground. I am a big fan of underground art, but even some of the artists or performances here were extreme for me.
The Virgil in this journey through the levels of underworld is a silent blond girl who walks from place to place, weaving in and out of each scene like a voyeuristic tourist. Sometimes she stays for the whole scene, sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes the artist or performers interact with her, sometimes they don't. But she remains the Virgil to our Dante.
Our tour guide starts at a punk rock bar, which is always fun. Then she strolls into an S&M art show, a poet exploding fireworks on his body, a rapper in a junkyard full of art, a spoken word performance that includes raw eggs and glitter, a cockfight, an Asian slave auction, and a voodoo ceremony in which the lead worshiper eats the head off a chicken.
All of this, and an array of crackheads, hookers, and other denizens of the streets.
(My late friend The Mutant is supposedly in the movie according to IMDB. Although I am not surprised he would be around those underground scenes, I couldn't find him. Perhaps he is in the background somewhere.)
As a snapshot of the strange and unusual of New York City, Mondo New York is a gem. I wouldn't recommend it to my mom or anyone's mother. Or anyone who isn't open minded. But as someone curious about alternative art and weirdness, I enjoyed it.
By the way, I would think other cities have similar scenes. Maybe not as many or as often, and some might be more hidden than others, but there is probably the potential for a Mondo everywhere. But I don't think I would want to watch more than one.
Maybe I'd watch Mondo Vegas or Mondo Miami. I would definitely watch Mondo Tampa Bay.
Grade: 5 chicken head stars out of 5.
You can watch it on SuperCultCinema's DailyMotion page here:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x944nru
Enjoy!
