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The El Duce Tapes

Play trailer Poster for The El Duce Tapes 2019 1h 40m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 10 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A long, hard look at Eldon "El Duce" Hoke, the front-man of the controversial '90s shock metal band The Mentors.

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The El Duce Tapes

Critics Reviews

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Anton Bitel Sight & Sound 11/25/2019
a contradictory portrait of El Duce as troubled child, skilled musician, poseur, provocateur, 'nice guy', artist and alcoholic, whose constant posturing showmanship and frequent intoxication render his own testimonies highly unreliable. Go to Full Review
Rocco T. Thompson Rue Morgue Magazine 07/03/2024
Opening with the tension of an undiscovered snuff film and slowly unfurling to reveal a portrait of a pathetic individual and the America he portended, THE EL DUCE TAPES is frightening, engrossing, and surprisingly resonant. Go to Full Review
Alan Ng Film Threat 02/23/2021
7/10
Clearly, provocativeness overshadows anything resembling good music the band may have been lucky to produce. Sexton found an underground band, whose story-good or bad-needed to be exposed. Go to Full Review
Martin Unsworth Starburst 01/13/2021
4/5
That we feel a smidge of sympathy by this point is testament to the filmmakers for taking us beyond the outrage and controversy of this troubled, shocking artist. Go to Full Review
Norman Wilner NOW Toronto 12/10/2020
4/5
A grimy, prickly found-footage project that looks at the shock-rock scene of the early 90s through the story of The Mentors... Go to Full Review
Alexander Miller Battleship Pretension 12/08/2020
There's a quality to The El Duce Tapes that feels like a found-footage horror film that's also an essay on the layered misogyny and racism... Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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06/08/2021 Where someone familiar with The Mentors will see The El Duce Tapes one way, those who aren't will most likely find it disturbing, which it is. But this film does eventually reveal Eldon Hoke, who was a sweet man that fell deeper into his alcohol addiction. There really isn't anything of value in the archival footage assembled for this documentary. Just hopelessness and despair. If that was the ultimate goal, then it was achieved. See more 11/27/2020 A telling of a few years of our lord & saviors life. All hail. EL DUCE & The Mentors. See more Read all reviews
The El Duce Tapes

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis A long, hard look at Eldon "El Duce" Hoke, the front-man of the controversial '90s shock metal band The Mentors.
Director
Rodney Ascher, David Lawrence, Ryan Sexton
Producer
Tim Kirk
Production Co
Highland Park Classics, New City Road
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 3, 2020
Runtime
1h 40m
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