Shiryô no wana 2: Hideki

Aki is a reclusive film projectionist who is friends with Ami, a news reporter who is currently reporting on young women who are murdered in this in name only sequel to Evil Dead Trap. This film is very dream-like. Not for the sqruimish,I truly can not say for sure if i liked it or not. The only thing I know is it's probably the most anti-abortion film I've ever seen as both the phsyically and psychologicly detrimental affects of that procedure is acknowledged. For that reason alone, this is one of the (very) few films Hollywood would NOT make an Americanized re-make of. On a bizarre note the director also wrote the classic anime "Akira"

My Grade: C

Dvd Extras: Photo gallery; Theatrical trailer; trailers for "Junk", "Devil's Experiment", & "Flowers of Flesh & Blood"; Making of "Guinea Pig"

I gotta praise the atmosphere of this film, it's a totally unnerving experience... though it doesn't make a whole lotta sense (I watch a lot of Lucio Fulci, so I'm used to that), the gruesome nature of the film is enough to make those who aren't used to it sick to the stomach... but that's sort of the point.

6/10

For those that aren't aware, this film is not a sequel to the original Evil Dead Trap... I'm guessing the producers saw the final cut, were perplexed and decided to use the success of "Evil Dead Trap" to sell the film to distributors more easily (and perhaps to sell the audience the misleading idea of a sequel)...

It tries to tie into "Evil Dead Trap" by using a creepy child, who seems more like a ghost, appear from time to time and is named "Hideki" (an obvious nod to Evil Dead Trap) and seems to be able to possess the 3 main characters at different times in the film... at least that seems to be the case

It tries hard (and almost succeeds) to be one of those films that constantly hold you in a state of "shock and disgust" (films that succeed at this are: Andrzej Zulawski's "Possession", and Pascal Laugier's "Martyrs" (unrated of course))... however, the non-gore scenes which make up a large part of the film don't hold the viewer in that rare state of "glued to the screen watching something truly abhorrent and riveting"... and it's truly confusing at times.

Gore hounds of Fulci and others like him will find a lot to like in "Hideki"... but not for "beginners" in horror... and especially, not for the faint of heart.

A sequel in name only, this second entry in the EDT-series is easily the most satisfying one. It's as gory as one might expect from an Asian horror film -I've seen this film round eight times, but still have to look away when the breaking-the-arm-over-the-radiator bit comes along- but this one has an ingenious plot and decent acting to boot.

Far less derivative than the original, EDT 2 involves a young, timid girl who goes on a killing spree, her self-loathing fueling the fire. There's also a sub-plot of an abortion gone awry, and the re-appearance of Hideki, probably the scariest child in movie history. Dream-logic, most of it, but it works.

The photography is perversely stylish, the pacing hypnotic. Some images, like a wounded victim staggering forward against a full-neon backdrop, or the twisted ballet of protagonist and antagonist battling in a mesh of white sheets, will stay with you for a very long time. The soundtrack, a Goblin-inspired celesta-theme, is breath-taking, and extremely well used troughout the film.

EDT 2 is top-notch film-making all the way, and will have you looking under the bed for nights to come. Argento would be proud. ........

Yes, I definitely liked this one. And to think I almost didn't watch it because of a number of very negative reviews. This probably has something to do with this movie not being a typical sequel. It really does not have much to do with the plot of the original Evil Dead Trap and I'm sure that's disappointing to many. They are both fairly gory and have some thematic material in common, but that's about it.

Actually, I can think of so many reasons why people might not like this movie. The main character, Aki, is fat! She's not attractive at all. The rest of the cast is not too great to look at either. So if you agree with Dario Argento and love to watch beautiful women get mutilated in horror movies, this one ain't gonna cut it! Towards the end, this one gets pretty heavy on the surrealism and it's pretty easy to lose track of what's going on. I admit, there were a few moments where I wasn't too sure what I was supposed to be thinking about the what the hell was going on, but hey, that's surrealism and I liked it.

The surreal moments work because they are effective in being very nightmarish. The visuals are fantastic. The pacing is slow, but this was a GOOD decision on the part of the filmmakers. There's no question that it added to the frightening atmosphere of the movie.

If you liked the first, I think there's a good chance you will like this one as well as long as you don't actually expect a continuation. This movie can stand alone and I recommend it even if you haven't seen the first. Many people seem to really dislike this one, but it's worth your time and is much more well-done than you might expect. I was certainly surprised.

One last thing: the kid in this movie is one of the most frightening ever! Usually a "scary" kid in a horror movie makes me laugh and turns out pretty embarrassing, but this kid... creepy!

The best part of this movie is the choice of the protagonist. It's not often you see a female in the role of serial killer and Aki is not a supersexy villain type either. She's a very average, plain woman in a boring job. The fact that she's also a twisted killer is that much more of a contrast than your average Hollywood production. That this all may stem from abortion trauma gives this film an unusual spin.