Customer Reviews

Guinea Pig Devils Experiment /Andriod of Notre Dame Double Feature

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

What I don't understand about these armchair film critics that are trying to rip this film apart is... WHat do they expect? A cool story line, character development and maybe some kung fu? No, no no! The GUinea Pig films have non of this. They are brutal to the extreme. Nasty, vile and borderline atrocities that are for the true gorehounds and something to add to the library of gore.

Want a story? Find Cannibal Holo or Nekromantic. Want gore comedy, get He Never Dies, BrainDead or Bad Taste. If you want to make your friends leave the house or freak em out then buy this. Want to support an indie company taking a chance on releasing these things, then buy this. You want [stuff] like Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm St. then wait until the sequel and leave. These films are for the gorehound who has seen everything and are looking for that revolting scene that makes you wonder? Why do you enjoy violence. Cause baby, these are violent to the extreme.

Devil's Experiment is the first part of the infamous series of shock/exploitation gore films from Japan known as Guinea Pig. In reality, the first two Guinea Pig films contain absolutely zero plot; they are just cinematic examinations of torture, dismemberment, and abuse. The series has an infamous and controversial history, similar to Italy's Cannibal Holocaust. And, of course, we have all heard the so-called legend. That is the very reason why we are here in the first place, right? If it wasn't for this hearsay and this long endured rumor these films would have faded into obscurity a long time ago. The legend is that actor Charlie Sheen stumbled upon an old, unmarked VHS copy of Devil's Experiment/Flowers of Flesh and Blood and actually thought that it was "real." He ended up contacting the FBI about the tape where, of course, they came to the conclusion that it was a fake. And that is ultimately what the first two Guinea Pig films are - pseudo-snuff films. They are nothing more and nothing less.

Now you may ask, is there a point to these films other than putting them on your shelf in order to look "hardcore" in front of all of your friends? I don't know. From a certain perspective, these are some of the most fatalistic and utterly hopeless films ever made. They depict certain harsh realities that even most horror films will not touch upon.

There is no semblance of a plot, or even a deeper meaning behind these films. When it all comes down to it, you get what you get. It doesn't pull any punches. So when it comes down to actually reviewing this film, it is hard to come up with an actual objective rating. Giving it a five would be an insult because, quite frankly, this is a horribly unbalanced film. There is no story, no character development, no nothing. However, Devil's Experiment does succeed in what it sets out to do - it creates a shocking pseudo-snuff film. Granted, it may not be shocking to fans of extreme cinema, but it is still a shocking film to some extents. Just think about finding this film on an unmarked VHS tape, not knowing where it came from or who made it. That would be shocking and frightening. Of course, it looks fake because it is fake, but the subject matter of this film is still an examination of the darker side of our own nature. It calls out to us, intrigues us... whether we like it or not. Usually, we watch movies in order to escape the painful realities of death, but Devil's Experiment reminds us of how vulnerable we truly are and how short life is... And, as you can very well imagine, the good guys do not win in the end... Not at all.

I don't know what your expecting when you buy this disc. Just torture and pure evil maliscious fun. No story, just good old fashioned horror. Android of Notre Dame is anothern gore film entirely. Story, plot, gore what else can you ask for.... This Guinea Pig dvd is an anamoly. Exploitive, Yeah I can say that. No story. Well not actually. Kidnap a woman and torture her to death. Sorry that's a headline and it's a story all rolled into one.

I picked up this dvd and I didn't kno wwhat to expect. I figured from all of the hoopla on the web it would be nastier then I can think but then the web said Blair Witch Project was real so I didn't pay any mind. Well I got the dvd in the mail and watched it. The Devils Experiment is twisted. Even though a couple of the scenes looked fake the rest didn't and that messed with my head. Ive seen a lot of gore films and have seen a lot of special effects but the skin they used was to real and the blood just acted to real for my tastes. I mean i'm glad I have it in my collection with all of the Dario Argento and Fulci flicks because it's just wacked and if I ever want to freak friends out this is the dvd. I'm really looking forward to the next dvd Mermaid in a Manhole and He Never Dies Double Feature and the the notorious Flower of Flesh and Blood disc. The Flower is supposed to be the worst in the series so I don't know. Unearthed Films is really going for the throat and it seems like they are going to release only real horror films unlike some companies I can speak of. Check this dvd out it's better then a lot of stuff being shoved down our throat from Hollywood

Well, just like everyone else i've seen the [bad] bootlegs that have been around and to think somebody put these movies on DVD in the US is nuts. I guess I'll be getting mine before some government or stay-home mom group decides to ban these blood-soaked gems. I'm glad some decided to put there balls on chopping block for the rest of us. Flower of Flesh and Blood is my personal favorite out of all of Guinea Pigs- the dismemberment is so sick and real looking I had keep telling myself that there fake. I'll be on the lookout for what other titles Unearthed Films is going to be putting out.

Whatever you expect of the "Guinea Pig" film series, you are probably wrong. For one thing, only the first two in the series are anything "extreme". The following films are just cheesy gore fests, almost on the same level as Basket Case and with about the same level of realism. But those first two...I don't even know if one can classify them as "horror films".

The series producer, Ogura Satoru, said that he wanted to "test the limits of human pain", but he is also testing the limits of what people are willing to watch. People liked blood-splatter flicks, so he wanted to see just how much they could take, and to find if there a limit where even the most hardened fan would close his eyes and say "enough!" Apparently not.

This DVD has the first Guinea Pig film, "Devil's Experiment" (A literal translation of the Japanese title "Akuma no Jiken") and the fifth film "Android of Notre Dame" ("Notorudamu no andoroido").

"Devil's Experiment" is probably the harshest of the series, although not the most famous. This is not a gore fest, this is just abuse. A group of men kidnap a young girl, and proceed to torture her both physically and psychologically for an hour. That is it. No story, no conclusion, just a girl in a room being beaten, covered in animal guts and worms, thrown to the floor and kicked...and that is it. It is a brutal film.

"Android of Notre Dame" could not be a further contrast. Pure blood and cheese, this one tells the story of a midget scientist trying to bring his girlfriend back to life by doing experiments on beautiful naked women. There's not much to say about this one. It is a goofy gore fest, and a nice relief after watching "Devil's Experiment".

Like most people, the reputation of the "Guinea Pig" series is what made me seek them out. For gore and horror aficionados, they fall on the must-see list along with Cannibal Holocaust and the Faces of Death films. If you haven't seen them, you don't get to join the club as a full member, so to speak.

They are not as realistic as I thought they would be, and it is hard to imagine that people once thought they were actual snuff films. Maybe we are more jaded nowadays. Just to prove the point that it is all just theatrics however, this DVD even includes a "Making of..." feature for "Devil's Experiment". Apparently, Ogura's greatest worry, finding an actress to play the part, was no worry at all. Literally hundreds of women auditioned for the chance to be tortured and murdered on film.

(I'll get around to Devil's Experiment soon. Promise.)

* * *

Guinea Pig 5: Android of Notre Dame (Kazuhito Kuramoto, 1988)

Man, someone at IMDB has been messing with the numbers of the Guinea Pig flicks. How could Android of Notre Dame (1988) be Guinea Pig 2, when Flower of Flesh and Blood (listed as GP3 at IMDB) was made in 1985? I don't know either. Besides, I've seem the tapes. This really is Guinea Pig 5. Unfortunately, it seems the series went downhill.

The plot of this one concerns a doctor (Toshihiko Hino) whose sister (Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dina's pretty young thing Mio Takaki) is dying of some unspecified heart disease. The doctor is trying to save her. Why this involves attempting to bring the dead back to life, we have no clue. It does, however, involve high finance, and thus blackmail by a computer hacking geek (Tochiro Taguchi).

There are some amusing moments, and a few that will probably trip the gore scale for most folks, but those who have seen Flower of Flesh and Blood or Mermaid in a Manhole are probably going to be saying to themselves "this is Guinea Pig?" For completists, or those who are uncomfortable with the personalized brutality of the earlier films. ** 1/2

I have viewed the bootlegs like a lot of people have, and I have also seen the PAL version. The quality in those versions, does not come even close to this one. Very crisp viewing quality with English subtitles so you can finally figure out what the heck they are saying. I am one of many very shocked people that this series is finally here in the states. I am looking forward to the next installments.

Now as far as what these are all about, if you are a horror, gore, and fanatic of gneres that relate to all out craziness, this is for you. If you haven't seen these or even heard of them, you are in for a real shock, this is definitely not for the light of heart.

Awesome, Gorehounds should buy, posers stay away. For intense people only. Get it before it's banned. One of the most intense horror series ever made.

The first installment of this notorious horror series presents a woman being kidnapped by a gang of black-clad men who torture her for several days before finally killing her. She is beaten savagely, spun around in the chair endlessly, has her fingernails pulled, animal guts are thrown at her, hot boiling water is poured on her and finally is punctured with a needle (really sick and nasty scene). The makers of this unforgettable torture show tried to make it as real as possible and for me this is the closest thing to a snuff film you can get without committing murder on tape. Of course some of the special effects are rather poor, but the idea of making a snuff is pretty gruesome. I have also seen "Flowers of Flesh and Blood" which is more gory and sadistic, but less disturbing. Anyway, this one is a must-see for horror fans!