Ginî piggu 2: Chiniku no hana

Guinea Pig II: The Flower of Flesh and Blood (Hideshi Hino, 1985)

Hideshi Hino is, simply, one of Japan's finest exports. Writer, graphic artist, rabid media critic, all-around fun guy, but for as long as civilization exists he will be best remember as the guy who drove Charlie Sheen to the FBI.

Sheen saw _Guinea Pig II: The Flower of Flesh and Blood_ in 1990 at a party he was attending, and he was convinced that it was a true snuff film, so he took the copy and gave it to the local branch of the FBI. Large-scale investigations in both American and Japan followed, culminating ultimately in (a) the finding that GP2, like all other supposed snuff films, isn't real, and (b) Hino exploding in popularity in the United States (it's not a coincidence that an American graphic arts publisher started releasing Hino books in America in 1992, all of which I recommend very highly as a fantastic glimpse into the collective subconscious of post-WW2 Japan). The darker underbelly of the investigation resulted in the banning of Guinea Pig in Japan. To date, no distributor has picked up and reprinted the films officially (though the ban has not stopped new ones from leaking out, and the series now stands at nine), and so when one finds copies of Guinea Pig films, they are often fourth- and fifth-generation dubs of questionable quality at best. I have my doubts as to whether even owning them in the United States is legal, but one assumes that if it weren't, the sellers on ebay would be arrested pretty quick... but I'm relying on supposition here. (If I disappear quickly, you know why.)

Yesterday I received a third-generation copy of II and III (see below). GP2 is the most infamous of the series. It is also the shortest, clocking in at a scant forty-two minutes. It has no plot to speak of. A woman is abducted by a man dressed as a fourteenth-century Samurai warrior and systematically dismembered. And while, if you know the basics of film composition and realize that the cut shots could not have been done in the ways they are if this were actually being filmed in real-time, there are a few points where the best thing one can do is to sit and repeat to oneself "this is not real." The effects are, quite simply, spectacular (within the framework of what's going on), and I was pleasantly-- if anything about this can possibly be said to be pleasant-- surprised by the fact that other than the differing genders of the two players in this twisted, brutal sturm und drang (and much more drang than sturm, if you translate it literally), any sexuality involved is read into it by the viewer.

Guinea Pig 2 is not something to be enjoyed; it is something to test the boundaries of one's endurance. How is it possible to rate such an experience? And do you really want something like this in your home? In my case the answer is an unqualified "yes," but then, I'm depraved. Going strictly on the quality of my copy and the shattering effectiveness of the film at what it sets out to do, I'm forced to give it *** 1/2.

I began hearing about the infamous "Guinea Pig" series several years ago, but admittedly only got my hands on them recently. I really didn't want to spend $20 for a 2nd generation VHS copy, so... I waited and picked up the Unearthed box-set release. Luckily, I found it for pretty cheap, anyway... Quick synopsis: Freaky samurai dude abducts and dismembers a chick, the end. "Flower of Flesh and Blood" is definitely gory and the lack of any real storyline may be what makes this film so "shocking". It's pretty much the torture/murder of a girl with no apparent reason behind it. The problem is that even though the effects are pretty good for something shot in 1985 with a probably non-existent budget, it still looks fake. Anyone who would actually mistake this for real "snuff" is a retard (sorry, Charlie ;) The other problem that I have with this film as well as "The Devil's Experiment" (another "Guinea Pig" fake snuff film) is that the victims don't respond appropriately to what is happening to them. They whimper and whine a little bit, but I think someone who was having their extremities removed violently would react a little more spiritedly. Another thing that makes these films look fake is the quality of the transfer to DVD. Unearthed did such a good job with the transfer that you can clearly see how fake everything is. I think if this film had a little more grainy look to it, it may have actually enhanced the realism factor - Not that Unearthed should have made a crappy transfer, I just think that some films actually come off better looking kind of old and grainy, this film being one of them. Overall, definitely worth a look for "extreme" horror fans, if nothing else than to quench your curiosity about what all the fuss is about. Definitely not for the mainstream horror movie goer. A generous 7/10

I'm going to say something that I've seen very few reviews anywhere say: Guinea Pig: Flowers of Flesh and Blood really, simply is NOT that gory. Do not misunderstand me. I'm not one of the countless reviewers who are complaining this movie didn't look realistic. Some of those people wouldn't think a real body being cut up looked realistic if they didn't know it was real. What I'm saying is, the actual events depicted on screen simply weren't all that gory or sick. Not by today's standards.

It's a sad little world when you read the internet nerds who hide behind a cheesy screen name and trash modern torture movies because they're not gory enough for their supposed juggernaut balls. Most of them speak with elegance, spouting off the names of obscure Japanese movies that are "So sick!" and "Make Hostel look like a family movie!" Put simply: They're almost always wrong. What's sadder than that is that most people don't realize their wrong, even after they watch oh-so-sick obscure movie and shyly realize they've seen worse on the Saw promo posters, but would never admit it because it would mean going against the self-proclaimed film buffs.

That is why I'm here to stand against the crowd and say what needs to be said. Flowers of Flesh and Blood is not the goriest movie of all time. For someone who's seen modern torture movies, it's not even that gory at all, and here is why . . .

First and foremost, as has been stated by almost everyone, this movie has no plot. It's pure fake snuff from open to close. I have absolutely nothing against that at all. While it was too tame for me to fully enjoy, the lack of a plot made the film very intense and easy to sit through without getting bored. On the other hand, however, the lack of a plot made the film seem a lot more brutal than it actually was. If you were to take any of the five Saw films and cut out every minute except the pure gore, all of them would seem just as intense, if not more intense, than Flowers of Flesh and Blood. If you were to add forty more minutes of plot to Flowers of Flesh and Blood, it would seem just just as tame as all the Hollywood torture films that the self-proclaimed film buffs all call tame. Don't mistake intensity for gore.

Second, Flowers of Flesh and Blood isn't something you can just walk to the local video store and get five copies of. It's nowhere even slightly as well-known as Saw and Hostel. The obscurity is something self-proclaimed film buffs have always fed off of, and if this were something you could easily pick up, the same self-proclaimed film buffs wouldn't even consider it gory. You see, it's not about content, it's all about lack of popularity that builds a false hype. Likewise, whenever someone says, for example, that Ichi the Killer is "The sickest movie I've ever seen!", the self-proclaimed film buffs all jump on his back and say they found it tame, even if they really didn't. Then they say something like, "But, man, go watch Flowers of Flesh and Blood—now there is a sick movie!" Again, the lesser known name build the hype.

Third, the gore content is simply uncreative. Standard limbs are severed as in every other standard gore movie ever. The only difference here is that the cameraman goes into ultra close-ups every few seconds to give the illusion that this movie is actually doing something that hasn't been done thousands of times.There were at least ten spots in the movie where my own mind went into things that could have been done to make the scene four times as gory, but the director doesn't even have half that imagination or balls. He stuck to the generic, seen-it-a-thousand-times gore scenes. That alone makes this inferior to the Saw and Hostel series as far as gore goes, not to mention inferior to the countless other modern films like The Decent and Inside. Point blank: there is nothing here that is sadistic or even that gory. Sadism implies that gore has creativity, and that is a total joke here. Gore implies that something is brutal and bloody, and, as I've said, compared to modern movies, this is fairly average.

Don't believe the hype that this is oh-so-gory.

On a technical level, the acting from the main villain a joke, as I think it was meant to be. The acting from the woman was very believable. The ultra close-ups became cheesy. The gore effects are nothing compared to the French gore film Inside, but I never once thought they lacked enough realism to become laughable, as some reviewers stated. You have to remember, also, that most of the reviewers who say they laughed at this movie are most likely saying that to overlook that they have weak stomachs. It's common.

On an entertainment level, I found this movie to be very much worth a watch, and very entertaining. I give it credit for the intensity. The only plot point in the film, that the killer only kills women, is a outright cliché, but it doesn't bear anything on the actual film.

Overall, Flowers of Flesh and Blood is a fun little torture film that lacks anything truly disturbing or gory, but is worth the watch if you're a gore fan. I'm really just sick of people hyping this to be so much gorier than the Hollywood norm, because it simply is not. The first five minutes of Saw IV alone, the autopsy scene, had every single thing this movie had. When it comes to the world of gore, this is the single most overrated film of all time.

4/10

I have to admire the makers of this sleaze for their sheer balls.

It's virtually plotless and shot on tape, but it rises above its cheesy brethren by being so awfully mean-spirited.

Apparently directed by Hideshi Hino, a hero of mine for his "Hell Baby" and "Panorama Of Hell" comic books, this little ball of evil has no equivalent and is a good flick to surprise your friends with.

A samurai warrior slowly separates a woman's extremities from her body over a half hour period. The special effects, though obviously fake, are pretty amazing and the score has a surreal essence to it.

I like this more than the other Guinea Pig flicks, although Hino's MERMAID IN A MANHOLE is a different kettle of rotten fish altogether.

This was one of the most disgusting films I've ever seen. But I couldn't stop watching it. I saw a Japanese copy.

Believe it or not, here in Japan, you can find this in used video shops among the Disney flicks and Chuck Norris sequels.

The grainy filming and bad sound made it seem like a real snuff film.

Supposedly, Charlie Sheen saw this and reported it as real.

The effects were shockingly realistic. But they did have a segment where they showed how they were done. This should ease minds.

Some people (like me) enjoy finding things like this. A real sense-tester. Watch it at your own risk.