American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore

Guinea Pig is one of my favorite underground horror franchises. So, naturally I was excited to watch Bouquet of Guts and Gore. And, I couldn't help but be disappointed. It offers not much more than shock value and gore

Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood (the film out of the franchise this tries to recreate) had an artistic beauty to it thanks to horror manga legend Hideshi Hino. It showed the beauty of human life while also showing the horrors one is capable of. It's a gut wrenching, spine tingling, beautiful yet sickening art piece. This one, on the other hand, loses all of that artistic value. And boils it down to nothing more than mindless, over the top, unbelievable gore.

The "dialogue" of which there is not much of, is just characters shouting "out of tape!" and "oh yeah that's it" over and over. And even then the actors still manage to make it feel weird. Making it feel just cringeworthy and annoying.

This film is nothing more than a shock piece that, if you are in the mood for, can be good. But if you are expecting a good art piece à la Guinea Pig, you have been warned.

In 1985 a film was produced that depicted the graphic torture and murder of a young women by a group of men in a warehouse. Their intent? To study the human body's threshold for pain. Originally titled Unabridged Agony, but better known as The Devil's Experiment, this film was the first in a series of what would later become the most controversial films to come out of all of Japan; the Guinea Pig films.

It wasn't until the release of the series second film, Flower of Flesh and Blood, that these films started to gain notoriety. Directed by Hideshi Hino, Flower of Flesh and Blood begins with a message from the director detailing that his inspiration to make the film came from a genuine snuff film he received in the mail. Expressing that what we are about to see is a reimagining of the true horrors that he witnessed on screen. The film then proceeds into a world of debauchery as a man dressed as a samurai systematically begins to dismantle a drugged woman tied to a table, limb by limb. The film's depictions of graphic violence were so realistic that many thought the film to be real snuff. Probably most infamously, in 1991 actor Charlie Sheen watched a segment of the film, and convinced that what he just watched was the filming of an actual homicide, decided to contact the FBI. The Bureau implemented an investigation but dropped it after Hino was able to demonstrate that what was shown was all done through special effects.

The series further gained infamous reputation when the sixth film in the series, Devil Doctor Woman, was found in the videotape collection of child murder Tsutomu Miyazaki. This prompted a wide debate on graphic violence in film and its perceived association with real life implications of violence. In the end, six films came out of the Guinea Pig series before going out of production over such significant controversy. Even with the series death, the films had garnered a cult following, and the series was bootlegged and shared throughout the world within the underground horror collecting community.

In 2005 Stephan Biro had bought the rights to the Guinea Pig series and launched his distribution company, Unearthed Films, with the first official U.S. release of the series. This is where the American Guinea Pig series begins. It was now illegal to make any films with the Guinea Pig name in Japan, ultimately leaving the series dead in the water. That did not mean the series could not continue in the United States, and so in 2014 Biro wrote and directed the first film in what would become America's adaptation and homage of Japan's controversial legacy.

Bouquet of Guts and Gore is the first film to come out of the American Guinea Pig franchise, and it is the film that bridges the Japanese and American series together. Where Flower and Flesh and Blood presents itself as the reimagining of a snuff film that Hino received in the mail, Bouquet of Guts and Gore presents itself to be the very film that Hino watched. Except instead of it being a lone depraved mad man dismembering a woman on a table for his own enjoyment, it is an underground production company that produces snuff films for the black market; where we observe two women in similar circumstances, except their deaths are much more drawn out, much more mean spirited, and much more viscerally depicted.

For those seeking plot, character development, and story, this film is not for you. In its truest sense, this film is an exhibition of how much depraved realism can be created with practical effects on screen. It is a love letter to extreme cinema. It is a test of endurance and moral character. It is devoid of plot because plot is not why this film is watched. There is no important narrative arch because this film is simply intended to show life end. This film has taken the primary elements of extreme horror and stripped it down to its most basic components: graphically displayed violence and gore. This film is a gorehounds wet dream.

That does not mean this film does not come with its set of drawbacks. For one, the film's opening sequence in which our two female victims are captured is nonsensical and does not help develop a sense of realism. This film is shot in a found-footage fashion, which is necessary in providing the feeling that what we are watching is a genuine snuff film. But what the film opens with is our two female characters walking to their car in a suburban neighborhood, observed from the vowaristic perspective of their soon to be abductors filming them. Yet many of the shots chosen in this sequence would place the camera man directly infront, or in eyes view, of the two women. Secondly, how the women are abducted is silly. The women pile into an impressive muscle car with the windows already rolled down. As they sit and begin to start the car a hidden figure in the back seat is seen wearing a gas mask, and ignites a noxious gas. This gas is seen billowing out of the car windows past the two women, yet both of them collapse in their seats into unconsciousness. Our gas masked figure then takes the role in the driver's seat and then speeds away. The whole segment feels forced, as if the whole scene was wrote so that they could use the car the car in the film.

That said, once the scene is set and our victims are captured, the film dramatically improves from there. In fact, though I found the first few moments of the film to be counterproductive to its intended tone and theme, I am quickly able to dismiss it, understanding that this is Biro's first film, ever, and how quickly the film recovers once the action begins.

Regarding what follows, I have no interest in providing any spoilers. I will say however, that the film's practical effects are top notch. Marcus Koch is the special fx artist on this project, and he did a phenomenal job. The violence looks real, and the violence looks vicious. When compared to Flower of Flesh and Blood, which has dated quite a bit since its initial release, Bouquet pics up the pieces and presents something that looks very much like the real thing. For fans of the original Japanese films, the American Guinea Pig series starts off with a promising first feature film. Bouquet of Guts and Gore is a must watch for any fan or collector of extreme cinema. It is grueling, raw, and does not seem to know or care if it has crossed the line. The film ends with a sequence that will shock and disturb likely even the most seasoned of extreme cinophiles.

Graphic? Sure, yep, it is. Not one for the family that is for sure, unless you want to freak your in laws out around Thanksgiving.

I give it a low score for the below average special effects, the disguising of the effects by it being shot in low quality (to give it the genuine feel I suppose, however in this day and age everyone has access to high quality recording, and it is actually a distraction, not to mention a cheap way to hide terrible effects.) and the ATROCIOUS acting.

Pro tip guys! I am not a medical professional, but I highly doubt any part of the human body with bones near by can be cut straight through like they are made of hot dogs. YouTube most likely has plenty of autopsy type videos, of which you should have watched first. This was like a kindergartners take on how easily a saw would cut through bones.

I can see what they were trying to do. It has some ok gore effects in places but some do look cheap and take you right out of the vibe.....also the guy with long hair is the worst actor I've suffered in a long time, terrible dialogue....which was totally unnecessary. He ruins most of the scenes with his pathetic pointless lines.

The opening scene was beyond amateurishly filmed, the girls can't even act 'walking'. I 5hought it was a joke at first....then the part in the car!? Hilariously bad and again ruins the atmosphere they were desperately trying to create.

It's not a patch on the original for style and the most disappointing part is that even with all the nastiness it still felt as if it was holding back, it could have been far dark kn feel and nastier. Then they totally pussy out right at the end when they bring out the baby and young boy....which turns out to be nothing.......what a let down. Now that would have been something to see. But chickens out.

An ok effort and fun watch only for a couple of nice gore effects but far from as great as the filmmakers seem to think it is in the low budget amateurish interview included as an extra...... self congratulatory back slapping nonsense.

The title of this review says it all. Never in my life have I ever dealt with a person quite as unbearable as Stephen Biro and his less than poor quality film is a clear and direct reflection of that. Literally unwatchable.