Akai misshitsu (heya): Kindan no ôsama geemu

For those of you who have only seen an unsubtitled version, Daisuke Yamanouchi's "Red Room" is an entirely different film once you understand what is being said. The film changes completely from what appears to be a series of disconnected, vile, sadistic acts, to a deep, well thought out psychological horror film that packs a wallop.

It's still very strong stuff, but takes on new meaning with subtitles. Very highly recommended for fans of strong horror films, after seeing "Red Room" in its original form I am now seriously looking forward to more of Yamanouchi's work getting an official US release. Once again, Unearthed Films deserves huge credit!

Red Room (1999)

*** (out of 4)

Extremely brutal and sometimes revolting Japanese horror film, which has gained a huge cult following over the years due to countless bootlegs but it finally got an official release here this week. The film is a cruel look at reality game shows and what limits people will go to in order to win the prize. In the case here the prize is ten-million yen and the object of the game is to be the last person standing. Four people play and all four draw cards. The one who draws the King must pick two others to torture each other. The game is over when three people quit or are dead. The "torture" starts out easy with two women kissing but as the film goes on each round gets more and more violent. There are two death scenes that will go down in horror history as some of the toughest to watch. I'm usually against these Japanese horror films that go for all torture but this one here actually has a pretty interesting story mixed in with the violence and there's actually several interesting plot twists. The film is hard to watch at times but the 68-minute running time goes by quickly. Original title: Akai misshitsu (heya): Kindan no ôsama geemu.

Red Room is an interesting blend of psychological thriller and torture themed horror, revolving around a semi-underground game show. Through the use of character development, and some rather interesting plot twists, it rises above the typical "torture porn" entry to achieve a genuine sense of dread and tension.

If you thought Hostel was a sick, depraved movie, then you had better steer clear of this film. It makes anything available in mainstream cinema seem incredibly tame, particularly in its use of graphic sexual violence. Indeed, if it weren't for the good characterization, it would be basically a really sadistic soft core porn film.

One thing to remember is to make certain to obtain a version with subtitles, or watch it with someone who speaks Japanese. Without the translation, the film will seem plot less and simply grotesque.

Red Room invites people to participate in a game to win money : the "King's game". It is not excluded that this film could have influenced quite a few elements of popular culture of the 21st century. I don't want to draw any conclusions, especially since it was very underground when it came out (it still is, to a certain extent), but the similarities are sometimes surprising. If you look you might see what I mean. I think at least that it was able to contribute to the myth of the Red Rooms, as certain films contributed to that of the Snuff movies.

It's a film that I really like, without being my favorite of Daisuke Yamanouchi. I'm actually a big fan of this director, he's one of my favorite Japanese directors and even one of my favorite directors in general.

What do I like about Red Room?

First, the story: it has many twists and turns, the dialogues are very well done: the film is a psychological thriller in addition to being a splatter and torture-porn. Without being ultra-gory or extremely graphic, or even ultra-violent (one of the least brutal films of Daisuke Yamanouchi in my opinion) it still contains cruel, perverse scenes, which explore the pain of the characters in a captivating way. And there are some original things that I don't want to reveal!

I would say that another quality of the film is its accessibility: there is nothing experimental, we are in a more traditional work, with participants who compete to survive, around a card game.

I wanted everyone to survive, but as you can imagine, there were deaths. The ending was successful in my opinion.

There are quite a few other things to say, but my memories stop there and the essential is said.

If you want to discover some extreme Japanese cinema, give it a chance!

"Red Room" series is clearly inspired by the reality TV craze.Four people are locked in a large 'red room' with a jail cell like structure in one corner.They play a card game(consisting of four cards only)where it appears the winner of each game gets to choose which two players enter the cage and what they do with/to each other in the time allowed..."Red Room" has the production values of a porn film and indeed it looks to have been produced(or at least distributed)by some Adult Video company.The film is filled with scenes of extreme sadism,humiliation,gore,sexual violence and cruelty for example one guy is made to screw one of the ladies with a lightbulb and gets a little mad,shoving it too far inside her and shattering it.She passes out from the excruciating pain whilst pissing a river of blood across the floor...So if you are seeking an alternative to the "Guinea Pig" series give "Red Room" a look.The sequel is even nastier and sicker,so be prepared.