Guinea Pig 3: He Never Dies

For the most part I've been disappointed with the "infamous" GUINEA PIG series. HE NEVER DIES is one of the exceptions. Basic storyline- guy loves girl, girl leaves guy, guy attempts suicide in sick and twisted ways, all to no avail. This entry in the series is definitely more light-hearted than the previous offerings. As many reviewers have rightly noted, think of a Japanese Peter Jackson short-film. Gory, funny, all around entertaining - one of the best in the GUINEA PIG series. Also check out FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD, and MERMAID IN A MANHOLE - in my opinion the only other GUINEA PIG films worth even bothering with. 8/10 for HE NEVER DIES

3rd part in the series of Japanese sickness. Like all the others, this is just plain vile but very funny at the same time.

This is in Japanese so all I can gather of the story is a guy likes a chick, she doesn't like him, so he becomes depressed and tries to kill himself. The only thing is he can't die (hence the title). See him mutilate himself while he has a smirk on his face. The best bit would have to be when he tries to slit his wrists, the blood stops and he just plays with his wound. All this with gut wrenching sound effects.

One of the best in the series!

After the first two Guinea Pig movies, which could never really be described as 'fun', it comes as something of a surprise to find that the third in the series, He Never Dies, is actually quite lighthearted in comparison. It's still very gory, with some highly convincing and gruesome effects, but a juvenile sense of humour stops this one from being as grim as its predecessors.

Part three is introduced by a serious looking American guy who tells us that what we are about to see is a true story. Call me suspicious, but I don't think he's telling the truth...

An office worker who hates his job, and who has just lost his girlfriend, decides to end his life. However, after slicing open his wrist, he realises that killing himself will be a lot harder than he at first thought: he never dies! Having hacked at his wrists, sliced at his neck, and unsuccessfully tried to strangle himself, the obviously immortal fellow gives up trying to top himself. Instead, he decides to freak out his friend (who is currently banging his ex) by calling him up, inviting him round and then mutilating and dismembering himself in front of the terrified sap (he even guts himself and flings his entrails at the poor bloke).

By the time he has finished, he has reduced himself to nothing more than a talking severed head on a table.

I have noticed that several people on IMDb have compared this film to the early works of Peter Jackson, but even though there are the common denominators of comedy and outrageous gore, I don't think He Never Dies is either as funny or as wholly entertaining as the gore classics from the Kiwi wunderkind.

It is, however, a very peculiar film, and worth seeing, I guess, if you're a fan of silly splatter or truly bizarre cinema. And it's only 39 minutes long!

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

I thought this film's obvious brutal violence was lifted by two things:

1) the fact that unlike most other Ginipiggu films, the gore was all self-inflicted by the lead character, Hideshi, and 2) it really is a funny film. Seriously! I think the weird experiment of trying to make what is after all an incredibly manic and extreme film into a laff riot actually paid off. Not only does it lessen the nastiness to a tolerable excess, but it forces you to have sympathy with Hideshi and giggle along with him at his daft predicament. By the end credits, everyone involved is unable to keep a straight face. Easily my favourite of the series.

A lot of people on a lot of boards talk about the GP series as a good introduction to serious gore.

The series of films in question, are video movies trying (by mid 1980's standards) to be as graphic as possible. Some are filmed to be serious snuff films (and more then a few people believed that they were!) and some, like HE NEVER DIES, are meant to be more humorous.

I sought out a few titles from this series and this was the first one I watched. At 40 minutes, it was an easy watch and I at no point felt queasy. The gore itself was all self inflicted and done with a humorous bent. It's about a worker who felt unappreciated at work, and wanted to end his life, and what happens to him when he tries to end it.

I wasn't truly disappointed but I suppose I just expected more.