Guinea Pig 2

For many years I had been hearing countless tales of the legend that is Hideshi Hino's 'Flowers of Flesh and Blood' - the horror/manga cartoonists low budget interpretation of the so-called snuff movie genre. Over the years countless tales have been told, including the infamous (and unfounded) story of hollywierd ex-brat packer Charlie Sheen's misguided belief that the film truly was real snuff footage and subsequently reported the film to the FBI for investigation (for more info on the subject check out Jay Slater's excellent interview in The Dark Side magazine issue no.90). So I was pleasantly looking forward to checking this much discussed film out myself and jumped on it when it became available on DVD for the first time from the somewhat dubious bootleg MBH label.

Hino's 'Guinea Pig 2 - Flowers of Flesh and Blood' has the most basic of scenarios. There's this mentally unstable madman who stalks this girl, kidnaps and drugs her so she remains semi concious (and oblivious to pain) whilst the aforementioned nutter (now adorned with make up and samurai hat) slices her limbs off one by one! Virtually vacant of plot and as bloody as hell 'Guinea Pig 2' is an exercise in visceral terror that attempts to push the boundaries of taste and stamina as it pushes the viewer to the limits challenging you to keep watching and not flinching away from the brutality on screen. Does it work? Well, yes and no. Nobuaki Koga's special effects are at times stunning, you'll continually be scratching your head in bewilderment wondering how the heel they carried some of the more stomach churning scenes off (one scene where the psycho is slicing through the victims shoulder is particularly impressive) But on the other hand you do have to wonder what is the point? With the film running time coming in at around 40 odd minutes I did almost feel the urge to reach for the fast forward button at times. Sure, as a showcase of gory eye candy it does really well but as movie entertainment it falls flat on its face. 'Flowers' doesn't really know what it wants to be, with the inclusion of directed intro/outro settings it gives the impression it wants to be a movie which then belies it's central snuff spoof core. (Hino's follow up 'Mermaid in a Manhole' is actually a far more satisfying experience)

But that said, the film and its reputation will no doubt make sure that it always will be in demand in the genre fan scene and the excellent effects work is great reason alone to check this one out. And this DVD incarnation does a great job to openly debunk the snuff stigma that follows the film reputation with the inclusion of the entertaining 'Making of' documentary movie, which interestingly runs for as long as the film itself (around 40 odd minutes). The documentary takes us through some key moments from all the initial Guinea Pig series, showing exactly how the effects team do such a stunning job! Although neither films presented here include English (or any language for that matter) subtitles, you really aren't missing out on much aurally as it's all eye candy anyway!

The presentation here on this particular DVD release is a real mixed bag also, as on one hand I was actually pleased to get the opportunity to eventually get to see this much discussed movie but the quality at times leaves something to desire. The image quality on 'Guinea Pig 2' is reasonable, but very much on par with a well-watched videotape. The 'Making Of' documentary though is at times quite annoying with obvious image distortion showing from the master (a VHS tape) which was obviously in need for some tracking cleaning up to be done (and mastering was obviously not at the top of the list here!)

That said though, I'm still happy to have this one in my collection. It's a nice double bill of gory mayhem that is fascinating (if somewhat un-nerving) entertainment. The disc quality isn't the greatest but those of you who need to see this will want to get it anyway! Feeling tough enough...then check it out!

Review by Alan Simpson