This Is GWAR

Scott Barber's 2021 documentary is about a metal band that has continued for more than thirty years. They wear costumes on stage, use fake blood and operate as much as an art collective as an act. The subject is how that structure has survived. The founders came from art school and make the costumes, sets and sculptures themselves; it is an arrangement almost impossible to sustain economically and the film shows the cost. The narrative gives wide space to the death of a founding member, and the argument over whether the group should continue afterwards is its emotional centre. Former and current members speak and their disagreements are not cut. Who it's for: those curious about metal music and performance art. Who it's not for: viewers uncomfortable with stage blood and grotesque imagery; the documentary shows plenty of both.