Faust: Love Of The Damned just might be the bloodiest comic book adaptation of all-time. Faust: Love Of The Damned is based off the comic of the same name, which debuted in 1987. The comic follows a man named John who sold his soul to demon dubbed M and is forced to become a demonic assassin equipped with wrist blades from time to time. The film version arrived in 2000 from director Brian Yuzna, starring Mark Frost and Jeffrey Combs (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).
Brian Yuzna has produced and directed a number of popular cult horror movies. He was the producer behind H.P. Lovecraft adaptations Re-Animator and From Beyond, both of which featured Jeffrey Combs in the lead role. Yuzna’s most popular movie as a director is the twisted satire Society, where a teenager begins to suspect his rich, adopted family might not be human. The gooey effects featured in the film’s unforgettable finale tested the stomachs of even hardened horror fans. On the flipside, Yuzna also co-wrote kids movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
While there have been plenty of bloody comic book movies over the years, including Super and Kick-Ass, Faust: Love Of The Damned turns the dial right to the top. It’s almost impossible to count the number of beheadings and dismemberments, and the film revels in disturbing body horror and gross special effects. The bloodiness is in keeping with the source material, and if anything it greatly tones down the comic’s more extreme impulses. Faust: Love Of The Damned also features more than its fair share of nudity and sex - much of which is intended to disturb.
An issue with Faust: Love Of The Damned is that it seemingly wants to sell the main character John as a tragic hero, but when he’s in his demonic form he has no issue hacking up innocent police officers. If anything, he’s closer to A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger and is definitely not a superhero. While b-movie fans should have fun with Faust’s commitment to demented trashiness, it has some big faults. Lead Mark Frost is distractingly hammy and his suit looks cheap, horrible heavy metal blares throughout and the film’s attitude to sex can be downright unpleasant.
For those willing to overlook Faust: Love Of The Damned’s flaws, it’s certainly never boring and offers up lots of blood and disturbing visuals. It lacked the budget of 1997’s Spawn - another “superhero” who sold his soul - but whereas that film tried to funnel the source material into a PG-13, Faust: Love Of The Damned proudly embraced its gory roots.
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