Tenshi no harawata: Akai kyôshitsu

Second in the series and the second by Mr Sone and what an achievement it is. The rawness of the first is gone but this is not to say there is any less passion or vigour. Beginning with a shock sequence, this ends with an even more shocking one and for a centrepiece has a prolonged scene set in a love hotel in which the central female character, Nami, seems to turn into one of Edvard Munch's vampire women before our very eyes. This tour de force, encompassing love, marriage, passion and sentimentality concentrates more upon sexual violence and the aggression and greed of the participants. Whatever the type of relationship depicted, we are shown the same tendency towards abuse and to increase our anxiety all this is intercut with scary/sexy scenes of the making of porno movies and photo sex magazines. A challenging film that does not stop asking us questions whilst showering us with titillation, violence, abuse and fierce erotica.

Apparently this was the second film in the well beloved gritty crime drama Angel Guts franchise. This follow up only one year after the original. Titled Red Classroom does have a different feel. The acting is on par, if not better. The camera work looks better as does the scenery (perhaps the budget was bigger- many scenes showcases brighter colors).

Seemingly the lead character of Nami is played by a different actress here (she looks more polished and authentic than the actress in the original). Apparently each film in the series has the same character of "Nami Tsuchiya" but is played by a different actress.

Red Classroom begins with a group of men watching some sort of video showing a young woman being raped by three other students in a classroom. One of the men watching the video (an editor of an adult magazine company) seemed to be interested in the actress in the video and thus demanded in finding out more info on this actress. Later on he eventually finds her and soon she reveals that the video was perhaps real.

Aside from that brief rape scene this film is a lot more tame but includes several explicit scenes showing skin. One notable is Nami picking up a random man at a bar and the scene last roughly over ten minutes (around 44:45 - 55:50). Quite graphic with different angles and several brief pauses.

This film seemed to have more of a story but felt slightly more boring and more like a typical romance love story. Within the final 30 minutes there seemed to be an insert showing "3 years later". We then see Nami working at a bar and the editor from the beginning seeing her for the first time since then in shock (saying how he tried finding her all these years despite him being married and having a young child).

Overall this film does spark some initial interest but falls flat towards the end. Somewhat repetitive in the end.

In this Nikkatsu pink film, a man who shoots erotic photography becomes obsessed with a woman he sees in a porn movie, in which she, very innocent looking and young, is raped in a classroom. He tries to convince her to work with him, and finds out that she is a prostitute and a nymphomaniac, not the pure innocent he wanted. This movie turns Japanese sexual roles on their heads. The woman, named Nami, as are all the main female characters in the Angel Guts series, saps men of their virility. In the film's most memorable sequence, she sleeps with a man once, then works hard to get him going again. After the second time, she basically rapes the guy. Still, overabundant sex ultimately proves soulless.

A year after the release of "High School Co Ed" saw the second movie in the series "Red Classroom" get released. Wheras the first film showed the ghastly acts of rape themselves, this one is more interested in the devastating aftermath and psychological effects it can produce, as well as how easily one can blur reality with the celluloid world. Tetsuro Muraki, a pornographer, becomes obsessed with Nami Tsuchiya, when he sees her on a video in a school girl themed rape scene, only to find out that she's very far from the innocent that he made her to be in his mind, leading to a powerful and devastating ending. While the film lacks the raw edge of "High School Co Ed, I found this film to be endlessly more fascinating and a much deeper experience.

My Grade: B

DVD Extras: Commentary by Jasper Sharp; Bio/Filmographies; Separate Interviews with Takashi Ishii (17 minutes) and Takashi Ishii on Chusei Sone (10 minutes); Original Sleeve art; and Trailers for this and 4 other Angel Guts Films (High School Co Ed, Nami, Red Vertigo, & Red Porno) all available in Artsmagik's Box-set, but for some reason the 6th film "Angel Guts: Red Flash" is not in the set

After watching a blue movie in which a schoolgirl is brutally gang-raped, publisher of erotica magazines Tetsuro Muraki (Keizô Kani'e) sets out to find the star of the film, hoping to hire her for a photo-shoot. When he finally meets her, Muraki discovers that the incident in the film was for real and that the experience has left its 'star' Nami (Yûki Mizuhara) with serious psychological issues that have turned her into a sexual doormat.

In an effort to restore Nami's self esteem, Muraki turns down her inevitable offer of nookie, promising to take her out for dinner the following evening instead. Unfortunately, Muraki is mistakenly arrested by the police and fails to make the date, leaving a despondent Nami alone in the rain, any hope completely dashed...

Three years later, Muraki bumps into Nami working as a prostitute in a bar and attempts to make amends for not keeping his promise...

My enjoyment of the Angel Guts films thus far has been largely dependent on two factors: how attractive the lead actress is, and how freaky and messed up the film gets. Red Classroom's Yûki Mizuhara is certainly very sexy as Nami, but the film lacks the jaw dropping deviancy that makes for a truly entertaining Pinku. Even the film's most memorable scene, in which Nami attempts to sexually dominate a man she picks up in a bar, pales in comparison to the outrageous scenes to be found in many other films of the same genre.

Director Chûsei Sone's consistently nihilistic tone and frequent lapses into tedium only go further to make this one Pinku I'm unlikely to revisit in a hurry.

5.5 out of 10, very generously rounded up to 6 for IMDb.