For all you sick puppies out there who feel that movies like "Saw" or "Hatchet" are not quite gory enough yet, there exist a couple of over-the-top extreme alternatives. Since 2016, we have Art the Clown and his shenanigans in "Terrifier", and in the period 2009-2012 there was "Laid to Rest" and its sequel "Chromeskull". I can think of several terms to describe what's going in this film, but they largely have the same meaning: disgusting, nauseating, odious, vile, putrid... If these terms sound like a recommendation to you, be my guest.
"Chromeskull" picks up immediately where "Laid to Rest" left off. I didn't have any recollection of what the plot was about, but - surprise - it doesn't matter. Writer/director (but primarily make-up/special effects wizard) Robert Hall doesn't show any interest in plotting; - it's exclusively about depicting the most mean-spirited and cruelly sadistic kills. After his escapades of the first film, the nearly dead killer-creep's body is recovered by members of a sort of secret organization (?) and taken back to a lair where's operated upon. Who are these people? Who knows! Why are they doing this? Who cares! The most over-ambitious sicko of the organization (Brian Austin Green, no less) slaughters the final survivor of the first film, and apparently loves it so much that he intends to take Chromeskull's place. Bad idea. Where are the police, I hear you ask? Oh, they are involved, but it's the most incompetent and pitiable bunch of amateurs you'll ever see. They even allow for someone to be unsubtly kidnapped at the coffee machine in their police station!
There's no denying the outrageous gore and the explicitly nasty murders are very impressive and depicted to the slightest anatomic detail. Hall, and his team, knows his profession and clearly finds joy in hacking up bodies as realistically and shockingly as possible. There certainly is a demand for this, but personally I draw the line when completely innocent and random supportive characters get butchered. In flicks like "Terrifier" and "Chromeskull", insignificant people - like roommates or best friends - walk onto the set to be promptly and savagely massacred straight away. I love horror and gratuitous gore, but for some reason I have objections to that. If "all gore and no mercy" is not an issue to you, then "Chromeskull" is guaranteed to be one of the greatest slashers you'll ever watch.
The movie ends with the clear intention to have at least one more sequel. I wasn't going to watch it, anyway, but apparently it didn't come. And, most likely it'll never come anymore, because I learned Robert Hall passed away in 2021 at the (too young) age of 47. I may strongly dislike his film, but the horror industry definitely lost a talented make-up/special effects artist.