In "Black Metal Veins", Lucifer Valentine has harnessed his no-holes-barred approach to film making and turned it in a solid direction. A genuinely harrowing documentation of hopeless addiction, this film nevertheless achieves an elusive goal of opening a candid window into the lives of some radically different people.
I can say with certainty that this movie has kept me away from drugs of any kind. If you're queasy about watching people shoot up, do not watch this film. Additionally, the film tracks its subjects over 6 months and documents their declines, so it's not exactly uplifting. After watching this I had to go brush my teeth.
As the film progresses, the story becomes increasingly scripted. It's pretty clear that most of what happens is real, but some of it is contrived to help give the film a resolution. If it weren't for this aspect, I'd give it full marks.
Having said that, the rest of the film is well done. Extra points for music too, I agree with other reviewers' opinions that the black metal isn't the typical darkthrone/burzum stuff, it's very dark and very good. Give this film a shot if you love black metal and want to see how morbid addicts live (or don't live, as the case may be).
