The Hardcore Collection (1984-1993)

Directed by: Richard Kern | 170 minutes | drama, short film

Richard Kern is a filmmaker and photographer from New York. ‘The Hardcore Collection’ is a collection of his short films. His work belongs to the so-called Cinema of Transgression. In this film style, the boundaries of the prevailing norms and values ​​are sought and exceeded, and they contain a lot of sex and violence. Kern does not use real actors in his films, the lead roles are mainly played by artists and musicians who work in the same genre as himself.
Kern’s short films are experimental and therefore certainly not made for a large audience. These films are mainly about crossing borders and the films are generally not very pleasant to watch. The story does not play a major role, it is more about the effect that the filmed has on the viewer.

The DVD ‘The Hardcore Collection’ contains ten short films. One of these is the clip from ‘Death Valley ’69’ (1986) by Sonic Youth. Sonic Youth also used a still from one of the other films on this DVD, ‘You Killed Me First’ (1985) for the cover of their album EVOL. In this film, a girl rebels against the rest of her family, who do not accept her because she is different. Another film from Kern’s oeuvre is ‘The Right Side of my Brain’ (1985). It revolves around an unstable young woman who has perverted sexual fantasies. This sexual perversity and being different from other people also plays a major role in the other short films such as ‘Fingered’ (1986), in which a sex line operator/prostitute makes up with one of her clients. Then they leave together by car to enter into a number of violent encounters. Also in the other films on this DVD ‘X is Y’ (1990), ‘The Bitches’ (1992), ‘My Nightmare’ (1993), ‘Submit to me Now’ (1987), ‘Sewing Circle’ (1992) and ‘Horoscope’ (1992) largely revolve around bizarre sexual whims of people in which violence plays a major role.

It is difficult to pass judgment on Richard Kern’s films, because these are not “normal” films, but short art films. In addition, this is also about experimental art and the films are not made to be considered beautiful or to entertain, but to paint a picture or to shock. The films were not shot with professional cameras (or at least don’t look like they are). In addition, Kern does not use professional actors and his films generally do not contain a clear storyline. Because sexuality plays such a big role in Kern’s work, a majority of the films are very much like porn.

‘The Hardcore Collection’ paints an interesting picture of the underground scene of transgression art in New York in the eighties and nineties and is therefore certainly interesting for people interested in this subculture. Lovers of the work of Richard Kern or similar artists will certainly appreciate this collection. But it will probably all go too far for the average movie viewer.