Guinea pig

Before slipping this film into my DVD player, I must admit I had a few reservations. Having heard about the "Guinea Pig" movies many years ago, I had been warned that they were "strong stuff" and best viewed on fast-forward due to the over-the-top graphic violence (or pornographic gore, as I believe Chas Balun referred to it in one of his articles). As my finger paused on the "Play" button, I had to wonder, "Would the films be just too much to view or another case of over-hyped horror product?" The first "Guinea Pig" production was "Devil's Experiment" (1985), otherwise known as "Unabridged Agony". This 1986 straight-to-video release in Japan is a deliberately low budget production, resembling a snuff movie with just a touch of Japanese artistic content to make the viewing experience more bearable. Interestingly, the original Japanese video release had no credits and so bore more resemblance to an under the counter, real snuff flick! My own feelings are that this original version, presented on a VHS tape, would have really appeared seedier and more, ahem, authentic.

The "plot" as such is that a gang of men systematically abuse and torture a young woman, climaxing in her final demise. Their various methods of pain affliction involve the use of white noise, constant rotation, forced to drink alcohol, being burnt, cut, etc. One of the most bizarre moments of the ordeal is when the unconscious victim is being pelted with animal guts. Although it could be argued that there isn't really a storyline as such, the film does succeed in a slightly sordid, voyeuristic and uncomfortable manner in making the viewer an unwilling viewer of the unfolding events.

The film definitely isn't easy going but the episodic nature of the production allows you to draw breath before being plunged into the next atrocity. In terms of raw energy, this production does pack a punch.

SNUFF, you say?! Well, we'd all like to think that these "films" are merely Urban Legends, but who's really to say for sure whether or not they actually exist in our world. And for purchase no less. Enter GUINEA PIG: THE DEVIL'S EXPERIMENT. This "movie", straight from Land of the Rising Sun, is a real eye-opener and gut-buster for sure. Plot, simple... kidnap a young Japanese girl, beat her, burn her, and mutilate the poor thing for over an hour. Now, before you start to call the authorities, let just say that the Special Edition of this film has a "Making Of" feature and we'll leave it at that. But this thing, most definitely, is for jaded HARDCORE viewers only. It weighs really heavy on you and with the small nuances of the film, like the fact that there's no opening or ending credits and that the "actors" in the film have their eyes blacked out with bars for the sake of authenticity, really lends a hand to the entire experience of this shocker for sure. After finishing this frightfully offensive movie, I remember thinking to myself... "What the HELL have I just seen here? I think I just saw something that I shouldn't!" Now I just know that sock full of nuts and bolts sure looked real when they smacked her across the face with it. Not to mention, the gutteral scream that she bellowed out when that scalding hot water hit her elbow with that fleshy exposed wound. Ehmmm... makes my knees go weak just thinking about it. Be careful. I'm warning you, BE CAREFUL with this one! I swear it! I've tried to warn you! DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM!!!

C'mon people, you can't be serious, another case of advertising snuff when it totally isn't! This isn't even remotely scary nor is it terrifying or depraved - it is just utterly terrible amateurish videowork, made for the next party to get the girls laid.

The gore is incredibly bad, even the eye-scene is far from making me want to puke but just making me want to take the camera and hit those guys over the head. The girl is just laying there rubber-faced, not moving at all. It would have been funnier to use a real doll instead.

One season of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" is more frightening than this one. Don't waste your time or your money.

I felt compelled to write this review because I read so many negative things about the film before I saw it. I wondered if the film was really that bad or if people were just so disgusted by what they saw they felt the need to trash it. That's why I decided to provide an honest look at Guinea Pig.

The first important thing to know about Guinea Pig is that it is quite obviously fake. I won't go into details as to why, but the reasons are many and widespread throughout the entire film. From the first frame of video alone, text that explains where the film came from...are we to believe that this was actually released? A much more effective start would have been to just dive right into the video. That way we might have some sense that perhaps we are viewing something illegal that somehow slipped through the cracks.

The question is, why is it so important that Guinea Pig is obviously fake? Unlike other films, Guinea Pig doesn't have any character development. Without empathy for the film's characters, the only thing that we have to rely on for fear is the thought that maybe, just maybe, what we are seeing is real. Contrast that with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We know that's just a film, but it is much more effective because we care what happens to the characters. Also, TCM is able to show some scenes of violence from the victim's point of view allowing the viewer to put himself in the victim's shoes. Guinea Pig can't do those things, so the only thing it has to frighten us with is realism.

Guinea Pig fails in the realism department, so does that mean the film is a total failure? Not exactly. I think Guinea Pig succeeds on two levels.

Human beings have a natural instinct towards self-preservation. It's that very instinct that causes the thought of true snuff to illicit such horror as well as curiosity. When viewing questionable material, this instinct also causes us to search for explanations as to why what we are watching is not real. In one scene, the victim has hot oil poured on her arm. This is obviously not really happening as she makes no reasonable attempt to move her arm out of the path of the spilling oil. But hold on....how do I know that? The film made me consider it. The mere fact that viewing Guinea Pig made me have to think about how a person might react to hot oil being spilled on them means that it has succeeded on some level. Whether this success of the film is something that the viewer actually wants is another question entirely.

Secondly, I think Guinea Pig succeeds in forcing us to think about what we are willing to see. Though quite fake, the famous climactic needle scene is indescribably difficult to watch. This forces the viewer to consider how much more he is willing to see. Many people seek shocking video, but then wish they could unsee what they have seen. Perhaps Guinea Pig can provide some answers as to what we are willing to see. If nothing else, maybe after seeing Guinea Pig we will really think about viewing something before wishing we could unsee it.

In summation, I can't recommend Guinea Pig because of its shortcomings. I expect its recent domestic release on DVD will create wide interest in the film, but I would certainly wait until it's in the $10 bin before considering it. I even found Jeepers Creepers to be a scarier experience because at least the story was told well. With the lack of any story and the lack of realism, what does Guinea Pig really have to offer? Not much.

I believe it's impossible to SPOIL this film, if you think different: don't read this comment!

Well, think of three men systematically torturing a women using many different methods (and both physical and psychical), their intention is all along to go on until she's dead, they what to see how long she lasts and what it takes. There is no (further) plot what so ever. Everything looks totally real and homemade. All this plus a subtle background sound creates a terrible atmosphere in addition to the horrific footage. (As I see there is about 0.5 seconds of questionable material, it involves a sledge hammer and a hand; I think the response from the hand might be unrealistic)

I thought I somewhat used to disturbing films since I watch Cannibal Holocaust, Scrapbook, Aftermath and alike with hardly no problems.

It's hard to rate this film, one should probably first ask oneself the question (like yamaelle does in a comment): am I already a psychopath to watch this? The important things about this film can probably be fully assimilated without watching it; the only thing you will miss is the (eventual) chock. This film will or have already gone to the history of film creation as the creators probably intended.

Is this art? Well, it's hard to tell.