Hello all. I recently stumbled across this film the other day and besides coming across as pretty stupid I kept asking myself one question...
Why?
Why did the filmmakers make a film like this?
It isn't interesting, it doesnt explore the dark side, it just seems like an excuse to shock and disgust audiences.
I read somewhere some people get aroused by stuff like this, what a bunch of sickos.
Personally it made me feel sick and i thought it was stupid.
I suggest you around on this board a bit to find out why the movie was made and why people like it. I'll gladly sum things up for you, though. Guinea Pig, the series, was originally conceived because creator Satoru Ogura felt that the horror market at that point of time (mid 80s) was stuck and that nothing good was produced. He tried to go back to making horror movies in their purest form - purely horrifying pieces of cinema that only served to disgust the viewer. It resulted in the back-to-back shooting of Devil's Experiment and Flower Of Flesh And Blood. Devil's Experiment was an exercise in pure torture and cruelty and, admittedly, has not much cinematic or moral value. However, it is horrifying enough, and, as such, a very effective movie. Flower Of Flesh And Blood is, as you may know, slightly more plot-driven and focusses much more on special effects. Moreover, it's based both on an allegedly real snuff movie ánd a manga by director Hideshi Hino. As such, I think there's certainly some justice to its existence - it does a great job at exploiting urban legends, has excellent special effects, and actually manages to horrify the viewer - that's horror alright. The fact that the movies aren't very 'interesting' as you say is probably a result of their lack of plot and slow pacing - however, in a fake snuff movie, these are essential ingredients. With these missing, the movie would fall through immediately.
As for people getting aroused by stuff like this, well, they're sickos, I'll admit. However, the fact that sickos like these movies doesn't say anything about the movies. There's people that get aroused by children, animals, you name it - and it's these people to blame, not the subjects of their fantasies. Lastly, the Guinea Pig series are hardly the sickest thing around. While I can understand it comes off as incredibly disgusting initially, note that the Japanese movie scene is generally much more demented - especially porn is simply horrible. Vomit sex, extreme bondage, scat, you name it - I think this is much more disturbing than any Guinea Pig movie.
And then just an interesting and slightly worrying fact: the Guinea Pig movies were originally only available in underground porn shops in Japan. Kind of makes you wonder about the buyers...
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I might say that REAL vomit and REAL scat is more disturbing than faked gore and mutilation. Just look at tubgirl. :)
shareExactly, I wasn't talking about real gore. If we're talking about authentic gore in the sense of Traces of Death, Death Women etcetera, well, yes, I find that much more disturbing than scat or whatever. But a movie that is essentially fiction - I can't see how that could be more disturbing than anything genuinely gross (imo) as scat porn or extreme bondage.
shareWhat I get disturbed by is the fact that when I see a woman (or man, whatever) REALLY eat feces or drink urine or cut herself and bleed all over someone or vomit on someone or anything of the sort, when I see that for REAL, I think "There is someone's kid all grown up. Schooling, TV dinners, birthday parties, shoe shopping, picnics...a whole life. And here they are drinking piss for probably a louse $200 bucks and some strange idea of fame". THAT disturbs me.
shareYou hit the nail right on the head there. It's what puzzles me as well. When you realise that everything (or rather: everyone) has a story to it (or rather: him or her), anything 'real' gets immediately twice disturbing and baffling. It's strange how perfectly innocent creatures can turn out to be so immensily deluded, so immensily depraved. It's also what makes authentic mondo/death footage impossible to watch for me: it's not smashed faces and ripped up bodies spread over the concrete, it's sons and daughters, moms and dads, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters.
"Why did the filmmakers make a film like this?
It isn't interesting, it doesnt explore the dark side, it just seems like an excuse to shock and disgust audiences..."
You answered your own question.
Don't expect deep and meaningful elements from all films and you'll be alright.
I had a theory, after watching both The Devil's Experiment and Flowers Of Flesh and Blood, that the reason they call them Guinea Pig movies was because of the fact that Guinea Pigs are used in experiments, and that the director is experimenting (using the audience as Guinea Pigs)with how the audience reacts to the images put in front of them.
It may be a stupidly obvious observation, but I just thought I'd say that.
The movies are 'special effect' guinea pigs for future plans with movies that actually DO have plots, and the sort.
They are toying around with horrid effects for later on movies.
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.