How far is too far? Richard Kern, legendary New York photographer and underground filmmaker doesn't seem to know, or care for that matter, and this collection of 13 short films illustrates this fact with explicit glee.

This collection of black and white and color shorts can best be described as "punk" art-house cinema that strays off into the graphically violent and pornographically sexual, like a bastard child of David Cronenberg and John Waters as seen through the peep hole of a back alley porn arcade. This is definitely not stuff for the kiddies.

Of the 13 films presented here, running at over 180 minutes, stand-outs include the notorious "The Sewing Circle" featuring The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black singer Kembra Pfahler, in which the punk diva has her labia sewn shut for Kern's voyeuristic lens, as well as the film featuring Kern's muse, Lydia Lunch, who makes several appearances here, "Fingered" in which she plays a phone sex operator/prostitute who meets up with a redneck psychopath and culminates with her being screwed on the hood of a car accentuating each orgasmic shudder with the squeeze of a trigger.

Hardcore is exactly that, and should not be viewed by anyone with a weak stomach or high moral fortitude, because this is not meant for you. These films are art projects run through a blender, splattered with blood and body fluids and put out there to shock, and they do, quite effectively. If you are a film student, you will find a lot to love here, especially since all of these films were done on absolutely no budget and with no consideration for the "rules". The black and white shorts are especially effective in that they convey a desperation that Kern was experiencing during this "dark period".

The weakest elements of this collection are the segments where Kern abandons his dark-erotica and goes for social commentary. It's hit or miss, and shorts like "You Killed Me First" are rather pointless experiments.

The DVD from Music Video Distributors is a loaded to the max, giving us a full hour of never released shorts, as well as the Kern photo gallery, and animated menus that show cast and crew information, camera and filmstock, and date and location for each short. The music for each short is provided by the likes of Cop Shoot Cop, Thurston Moore, and other underground alt-rock luminaries, and add a visceral element to each piece, oftentimes being conducted around the edited film, serving as more score than typical rock song accompaniement.

Sometimes erotic, oftentimes psychotic, but never, ever boring, The Hardcore Collection is a fascinating peek into a world many of us only imagine in our darkest fantasies, and one of the most unique DVD's I have ever had the pleasure to come across. Be forewarned, this film contains graphic hardcore sex, violence, torture, simulated rape, necrophilia, and just about every taboo subject known to man, so consider yourself duly warned!