Guinea Pig

Guinea Pig 1 – Devil's Experiment is one of those films I have wanted to see ever since I saw a trailer for it, and the first sequel in the early 90's. It was impossible to get back then because customs would stop any video on their banned list from entering the country, and I didn't feel like going to Japan just to see it either.

The piece is not a movie in the conventional sense though it belongs firmly in the horror genre. What you have is a horror film stripped to the bare essentials of what makes a good horror movie: atmosphere, violence, and gore. Devil's Experiment is more like a piece of funereal art than a movie. It is something you would run day and night on a large flat-screen monitor and put up on the wall next to your Hieronimus Bosche prints.

It is quite a short movie, but it belongs up there with other classics of the period like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cannibal Ferox, etc. This film however is art because the makers were making a point about extremity. These days, mainstream movies are far more extreme in terms of violence and special effects, but mainstream movies use context to justify what is on the screen. Take away plot, narrative, and meaning though and you would have a hard time justifying the rest of it. Charlie Sheen waged a personal campaign to have the Guinea Pig movies banned in the USA in the early 90's, which just made them more popular. I only mention it because I don't remember seeing Charlie Sheen in any movie of merit. While his films will be forgotten over time the Guinea Pig movies will live on – possibly being included on the curriculum at film makers school along with Metropolis, Citizen Kane and the like.

Devil's Experiment is a `have-to-see' movie for lovers of movies (not just horror movie fans either) and art. Time has taken its toll on the impact of the movie, so you must view it with a mind of when it was made. Indeed it could probably be shown on free to air TV channels in forward-thinking areas such as Europe, UK, and Japan (the UK showed an artist eating the flesh of a real dead baby at the beginning of the year on free to air TV).

It is an interesting movie, the special effects are well-done considering the miniscule budget on which it was made. Don't believe the hype about it either. It is not the most sick or horrific movie you will ever see. Chances are, if you are reading this review then you have seen a more horrific movie already.

8 out of 10, and I am now after the sequels.

I felt compelled to write this review because I read so many negative things about the film before I saw it. I wondered if the film was really that bad or if people were just so disgusted by what they saw they felt the need to trash it. That's why I decided to provide an honest look at Guinea Pig.

The first important thing to know about Guinea Pig is that it is quite obviously fake. I won't go into details as to why, but the reasons are many and widespread throughout the entire film. From the first frame of video alone, text that explains where the film came from...are we to believe that this was actually released? A much more effective start would have been to just dive right into the video. That way we might have some sense that perhaps we are viewing something illegal that somehow slipped through the cracks.

The question is, why is it so important that Guinea Pig is obviously fake? Unlike other films, Guinea Pig doesn't have any character development. Without empathy for the film's characters, the only thing that we have to rely on for fear is the thought that maybe, just maybe, what we are seeing is real. Contrast that with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We know that's just a film, but it is much more effective because we care what happens to the characters. Also, TCM is able to show some scenes of violence from the victim's point of view allowing the viewer to put himself in the victim's shoes. Guinea Pig can't do those things, so the only thing it has to frighten us with is realism.

Guinea Pig fails in the realism department, so does that mean the film is a total failure? Not exactly. I think Guinea Pig succeeds on two levels.

Human beings have a natural instinct towards self-preservation. It's that very instinct that causes the thought of true snuff to illicit such horror as well as curiosity. When viewing questionable material, this instinct also causes us to search for explanations as to why what we are watching is not real. In one scene, the victim has hot oil poured on her arm. This is obviously not really happening as she makes no reasonable attempt to move her arm out of the path of the spilling oil. But hold on....how do I know that? The film made me consider it. The mere fact that viewing Guinea Pig made me have to think about how a person might react to hot oil being spilled on them means that it has succeeded on some level. Whether this success of the film is something that the viewer actually wants is another question entirely.

Secondly, I think Guinea Pig succeeds in forcing us to think about what we are willing to see. Though quite fake, the famous climactic needle scene is indescribably difficult to watch. This forces the viewer to consider how much more he is willing to see. Many people seek shocking video, but then wish they could unsee what they have seen. Perhaps Guinea Pig can provide some answers as to what we are willing to see. If nothing else, maybe after seeing Guinea Pig we will really think about viewing something before wishing we could unsee it.

In summation, I can't recommend Guinea Pig because of its shortcomings. I expect its recent domestic release on DVD will create wide interest in the film, but I would certainly wait until it's in the $10 bin before considering it. I even found Jeepers Creepers to be a scarier experience because at least the story was told well. With the lack of any story and the lack of realism, what does Guinea Pig really have to offer? Not much.

I thought I had seen it all, CANNIBAL HOLOCOUST, SALO, MEN BEHIEND THE SUN. Then I foolishly watched this. Why anyone could possably find this entertaining is beyond me. a girl is torchered and killed, end of story. you can clearly make a case for most of the special fx. except the one where she is killed, a large pointed ojbect is stuck trough the girls head and comes out through her eye. If anyone knows how this was done PLEASE let me know, by e-mailing me and put my mind at rest. it has disturbd me since I watched it. I am praying I have not realy watched a snuff movie.

Yours Faithfully DISTURBED.

Before slipping this film into my DVD player, I must admit I had a few reservations. Having heard about the "Guinea Pig" movies many years ago, I had been warned that they were "strong stuff" and best viewed on fast-forward due to the over-the-top graphic violence (or pornographic gore, as I believe Chas Balun referred to it in one of his articles). As my finger paused on the "Play" button, I had to wonder, "Would the films be just too much to view or another case of over-hyped horror product?" The first "Guinea Pig" production was "Devil's Experiment" (1985), otherwise known as "Unabridged Agony". This 1986 straight-to-video release in Japan is a deliberately low budget production, resembling a snuff movie with just a touch of Japanese artistic content to make the viewing experience more bearable. Interestingly, the original Japanese video release had no credits and so bore more resemblance to an under the counter, real snuff flick! My own feelings are that this original version, presented on a VHS tape, would have really appeared seedier and more, ahem, authentic.

The "plot" as such is that a gang of men systematically abuse and torture a young woman, climaxing in her final demise. Their various methods of pain affliction involve the use of white noise, constant rotation, forced to drink alcohol, being burnt, cut, etc. One of the most bizarre moments of the ordeal is when the unconscious victim is being pelted with animal guts. Although it could be argued that there isn't really a storyline as such, the film does succeed in a slightly sordid, voyeuristic and uncomfortable manner in making the viewer an unwilling viewer of the unfolding events.

The film definitely isn't easy going but the episodic nature of the production allows you to draw breath before being plunged into the next atrocity. In terms of raw energy, this production does pack a punch.

I thought I had seen it all, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, SALO, MEN BEHIND THE SUN. Then I foolishly watched this. Why anyone could find this entertaining is beyond me. a girl is torcherad and killed, end of story. every one says this is faked you can clearly make a case for most of the special fx. except the one where she is killed that is , how do you explain it? a large pointed object is stuck trough the girls head and comes out through her eye. IF it is a effect it truly looks real If anyone knows how this was done PLEASE let me know, by e-mailing me on davelynch16@hotmail.com, and put my mind at rest. it has disturbed me since I watched it. Yours Faithfully DISTURBED.