Gummo, directorial debut of Harmony Korine (who previously served us the equally messed up “Kids,” which he wrote), was described to me as both bizarre masterpiece and laughable piece of art-trash (Rotten Tomatoes also points to the latter with 33% rotten rating).

For me, the movie ended right where the cat beating began — to add insult to injury, I was watching the scene with my dad and we both came to conclusion that this film is definitely not suitable for family get-togethers.

Cat violence (and all other kinds of violence — Gummo isn’t short on those, as I recall) aside, this one has a very, very, very peculiar soundtrack.Think all possible genres and sub-genres of metal mixed with classical, pop, and some really terrifying oddities (nothing as exciting as a collage of distorted child voices or loops of little children cussing and swearing like sailors).

Between smoke wizards Sleep and brutal Mexican warlords Brujeria, a huge chunk of the soundtrack is given to death, stoner, industrial and all other kinds of metal. To me, the most interesting pieces here are the oddest ones and the most fitting of the atmosphere of this freakfest — namely, Namanax’s “Medicined Man,” with its mix of children’s voices and assorted painful noises as well its little brother/sister track in the shape of “Mom and Dad’s Pussy”.

There’s also classical musician Mischa Maisky (who is reportedly not terribly fond of modern music but made a cut here anyhow), the spirit of Roy Orbison (apparently he makes an appearance in a final scene which also features a dead cat) and Madonna with “Like a Prayer” (apparently not an anti-Christian cut, even though at the time of its release it was seen by some that way).

Gummo’s soundtrack, whether unconsciously or not, is almost a mirror reflection of the movie — a huge, bizarre mess that might not attract everyone due to its devil-worshiping/weed-smoking/children-swearing angle, but if you dig deep enough you are sure to find some treasures somewhere at the bottom of it all.