Red Secret Room

Red Room has the production values and ambience of a snuff film. Admittedly this may be due to the un-subbed umpteenth generation bootleg i saw it on. The plot however is easy to comprehend, a bunch of strangers sit in a queasy looking industrial type space and draw cards. The loser then has to endure something horrible. Thats it for plot. In reality Red Room is a series of grotesque torture sequences, punctuated with (what i guess are) scenes of exposition and card drawing. The most memorable torture 'bit' being a lady taped to a swivel office chair and spun round and round FOR AGES. At first its funny, then its sickening before going back to being funny again. Also we have the old 'stick a hair dryer in someones mouth and let em have it' bit, as well as rape, watersports and sundry other delights.

As you may guess 'Red Room' is a freak show of a film, something to show a jaded friend who thinks he's seen it all.

Oh those wacky Japanese!

"Red Room" is a low-budget, shot-on-video movie that is a "Guinea Pig" for the late-nineties. Despite a slow start, the film soon enters familiar territory as we see four players of the ultimate reality game show carry out acts of depravity, physical humiliation, violence and rape on one another in an attempt to win 10 million Japanese Yen (around $85,000).

While most of the unpleasantness will be nothing new to regular viewers of J-Horror, it's the plot of this straight-to-video production that makes the difference. A psychological exercise as well as a graphic one, "Red Room" actually manages to deliver a well-aimed punch to the viewer's senses.

Some people will hate this film due to its slow pace and lack of gore. The film has a slow-burn delivery of its content and it rewards the patient viewer.

Somehow, this politically incorrect film manages to titillate and appall at the same time. It's not to all tastes but is a tentative recommendation to fans of the "Guinea Pig" films and transgressive horror in general.

Curiously, while the unsavoury delights unfold on the screen, an up-beat, porn soundtrack is used. On top of this, the audio during scenes of intimacy is superbly vile, with over-the-top slurping noises used to great effect.

On the strength of this little film, I'll be checking out further Daisuke Yamanouchi movies in the future.

7 out of 10.

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.

Over here in Europe Japanese or eastern gore flicks are hard to get. Mostly we have to order them from the US or straight from Tokyo. So for us it's sometimes a bit of gossip to try to catch a much acclaimed flick. This here, Red Room is one of them. I've got it straight from Unearthed so that means full uncut but what a disappointment that was. The storyline is very simple but didn't work, four people being locked up in a red room have to play the King Game. The one with the King card has to say what the others have to do. Of course things start of easily but slowly they are trying to get revenge onto each other. That fact starts with a hair dryer put into a mouth for 3 minutes while blowing hot air until hitting each other just to the fact that they have to make love to each other. It never is explicit, I mean, you see a light bulb going into a vagina and of course it breaks but you never see it going in. Does it? No, put with the reputation of eastern flicks you guess they would show it. And the most annoying part is the sound the added. If a girls underparts would make that sound or when see gives head and it makes that noise surely it would be a turn off. There isn't that much blood in it, no gore, but a lot of boobies. The cover of the DVD is rougher than the movie. Just to say, on the DVD there are trailers for other flicks, one of them you lust try to catch. I guess you never will but I have it, that's the real stuff, I'm talking about Mu Zan E.

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!