28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flower of flesh and blood, May 30, 2005
This review is from: The Guinea Pig Box Set (DVD)
This is one of those movies that, if you describe to your friends, they'll either say kick-ass, pop-it-in! Or take out their cell and dial 911. Either way, they'll most likely run away screaming. Personaly I didnt think they were as violent as people make them out to be, but one thing is certain, this sure as s*** aint gumby. In fact the only possible way you could connect these with something along the lines of gumby, is how the titles essentially tell you exactly whats going to happen, "trapped on the moon" means gumby's gonna be on the moon this episode, and "Flower of flesh and blood" means someones gonna die. These movies are all only 40-50 some minutes long, but they are basicly gaurenteed to make you cringe. These films have been frequently banned and frowned upon, and even hailed as genius over the past 15 years, some people have even been sued for owning copies of these on vhs.Here's a basic run down on the movies in the set:
"Devil Doctor Woman": by far the most comedic of the films, and also the tamest, based on a woman who heads the underground surgical movement in Japan, the whole movie is based around the various strange and humorous deseases which she must cure...for good. It begins with a family of people with the same desease, I would tell you what it is, but I wouldn't want to ruin it for you. a pretty cool movie over all, and a nice intro to the series if you dont want to go in full force with "flesh and blood" but I think the zombi part dragged on a little.
"Android of Notre Dame": the make up in this isnt quite as impressive as some of the other films, but the monolouges in the beggining and end are brilliant. The plot involves a scientist who is intent on discovering the missing link to life, and a cure for death, so that his sister may survive her deadly heart desease, he begins by experimentiing on animals, but when he recieves a mysterious phone call from a man named Kato, he is forced to use less "humane" methods.
"Mermaid in a manhole": a painter who is still grief stricken by the loss of his wife searches for inspiration in a sewer, which was once a beautiful river he played in as a child. And one day he sees a mermaid which he has met in the river when he was younger, and has since both haunted and inspired him, but he soon discovers that she is injured and diseased. Soon after, his neighbors become worried after seeing strange things outside his apartment.
"He Never Dies": Another example of the title telling all. This story follows a depressed man, fed up with pushing papers in his office, he decides to stop going to work. After running low on ideas on what to do, he begins fiddling with a pocketknife and eventually slits his wrist[this is where one of my favorite movie lines comes in"oh my god I just slit my wrist!" he quickly notices the blood stop flowing, confused, he decides to cut deeper,and deep, and deeper. he soon recognizes that he is "the man who cannot die" and decides to have a little fun with that fact. the sitcom-esque ending is brilliantly erreverent.
"Devil's Experiment": I'm pretty sure this is the one Charlie Sheen called the feds after seeing. also I heard of a man in Japan who re-enacted some of the scenes in this, only on real people. I think they could have given it a more realistic feel by not useing so many different camera angles. This film was marketed as being an actual home recorded film which was supposedly intended to test the breaking points of one woman as three men hit her, kicked her, and from there on, I don't want to ruin anything for you. The real haunting features in this film are
1.)the fact that every sequence continues longer and longer until you just want to scream for the poor woman.
and 2.) the shot of the woman unconcious hanging in the net in the forest is probably the most disturbing image in the whole series.
"Flower of Flesh and Blood": This is it. This is the one You've heard so much about. A Japanese Manga writer[I think his name was Hideshi Hino] recieved a unmarked parcel in the mail, the contents? 1 8mm film, 54 still photos, and a 19 page letter of explanation saying that a horrible crime had been commited in a very secret place. The man watched the film and saw a woman being tortured in a horrible and violent way. he quickly handed the contents of the letter to the police and, haunted by what he saw, he decided to make a semi-documentary/re-make of what was on the film he recieved. Hailed world wide as the most horrendous movie ever made, "Flower" is one of the most intense shock-cinema films of all time.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Holy Grail for Gorehounds- Others Beware!!!, February 3, 2005
This review is from: The Guinea Pig Box Set (DVD)
Listen up, people: DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING THIS UNLESS YOU ARE HIGHLY TOLERANT OF GORE AND REVOLTING IMAGERY. IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR CHILDREN OR THE EASILY OFFENDED, AND EVEN THOSE WHO THINK THEY LIKE THIS SORT OF THING MAY HAVE TROUBLE WATCHING IT. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I submit for your approval the notorious series of Japanese splatter films that is so far beyond the pale that it was actually investigated by several governments. The GUINEA PIG films are, at their best, both disturbing and humorous, and a unique cinematic (videomatic?) experience for those who are game. If this means you, my advice is to hurry up and buy the GUINEA PIG box before some Congressman decides that it should be banned!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is only one Guinea Pig Box Set...and No Other "Similar Items", February 20, 2006
This review is from: The Guinea Pig Box Set (DVD)
I bought this New from Amazon for $80.00 and felt it was worth every penny. There are no other DVDs like these 4. Each DVD is very different. I could not watch more than one at a time...too intense. You are NOT a True fan of Horror/Cult films unless you see the Guinea Pig Set. This would never have been made in the USA. I read some of the other reviews. There are also Zombies, Talking Heads, Weird Genitals, talking Poop, etc. The makeup and special effects are far better than any of the "Living Dead" George Romero films. The Japanese element is a definite plus and gives it some comic relief and the Extras and behind the scenes footage shows that the actors/actresses had alot of fun doing these Films. Plotwise these are at least as good as 3/4 of the Masters of Horrors Showtime Series. Buy it before it becomes unavailiable or the USA Bans these DVDs!
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