Entrails of a Virgin
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Movie Reviews of Entrails of a Virgin
Movie Review: Enter the Mud Man
Summary: 4 Stars
So, if I told you that this movie had a scene with a woman sucking off a monster while simultaneously masturbating herself with a disembodied hand, would that make you pop the DVD into the player, or throw it across the room? Because that is the kind of question you have to ask yourself before buying "Entrails of a Virgin" ("Shojo no harawata").
Firmly in the Erotic/Grotesque genre of Japanese film, this is the directorial debut of Kazuo 'Gaira' Komizu (writer of Go, Go Second Time Virgin). Everything about this flick screams "the 80's", from the cheesy hairdos to the cheesier synthesizer music reminiscent of every sex/slasher film popular at the time. This film once had an infamous reputation amongst Japanese horror fans, both for it's rarity as well as for pushing the boundaries in gore and sex far beyond previous levels. However, since then the boundaries have been pushed so far that much of "Entrails of a Virgin" comes off as tame.
The story is the basic "cabin in the woods" motif. Three guys, three girls, it's a foggy and dangerous drive and they all decide to stop by a deserted house in the woods to pass the night. Everyone pairs off and the pants come off. Enter the monster.
For a Japanese pink film, "Entrails of a Virgin" does push some serious boundaries on sex and nudity. Far more than the occasional glimpse of T&A, all the gals here get very, very naked and look good doing so. Kizuki Saeko (Angel Guts), Hagio Naomi ("Wife Collector") and Kawashima Megumi (Onimusha 3 of all things...) all manage to lose everything they have, get raped by man and monster alike, and squeak as only Japanese actresses can in a pink film. There were a few shocking shots, stuff that I haven't seen in any other pink film, and the director clearly wanted to walk that fine line between soft and hardcore.
The gore scenes where a little more disappointing. The director obviously didn't have the budget or skills to make a genuinely sticky mess of things, but he gave it a good try. There are a lot of intercut shots of slabs of meat getting pounded that work effectively but are still somewhat of a cop-out. The giant mud-man monster elicits a giggle rather than a scare, but I think they did their best with what they had to work with.
Personally, cheese aside I enjoyed this flick a lot. It is about on the same level as Bloodsucking Freaks, an oddity with a few over-the-top scenes that deserves its cult status. Japanese films got gorier, starting with later flicks like Evil Dead Trap, but they rarely hit the sex boundaries like this again unless they went full hardcore. It would be easy to find a lot of flaws with this flick, but just as easy to have a good time.
The DVD is really well done, with fantastic audio and visual cleanness. There is an interview with the director, which is continued on the sequel Entrails of a Beautiful Woman. Also included is an essay on why Japanese films "fog" the genitals of actors, even when it is obviously a sex film. Very cool and informative for first timers into the pink film genre.
Movie Review: This Japanese "pink" Horror could have used MORE Gore than sex...
Summary: 3 Stars
...I can't believe I just complained about that?
Once in awhile, you would encounter a film that you definitely will have the reaction not to like, but for some unexplainable reason, you see the film for what it's supposed to be and you end up being bewildered as to why a film would seem quite enjoyable. Such is the case with ENTRAILS OF A VIRGIN (1986, aka. Shojo no harawata), I know it's the type of flick that most people would deem as garbage but then again, one man's garbage is another's treasure. For me, the film had a lot of guts; this film does have a lot of "intestinal fortitude" to pull this off.
Three alluring models; Kei (Megumi Kawashima), Rei (Saeko Kizuki) and Kazuyo (Naomi Hagio) have just completed a photo session with photographer, Asaoka (Daiki Kato). They are accompanied by the producer, Itomura (Osamu Tsuruoka) and Asaoka's assistant Tachikawa (Hideki Takahashi). They get lost in the woods during a very dense fog and decide to spend the night in a deserted cabin (or is it a house?). A killer mud monster decides to stalk the group and make the women his sex slaves.
I really cannot say if Kazuo "Gaira" Komizu's gory thriller intended to explore the mythologies of "things that go bump in the night" or if he wanted to make a truly exploitive film. I have a hard time classifying this film as a piece of Japanese "pink" horror. I know that films such as this are meant to have a simple storyline, as an excuse for Japanese women to show their stuff. The film is definitely exploitive, there is a lot of graphic sex and nudity on display but it just didn't provide the necessary scares to really provide the viewer with pure mindless fun. As with most Japanese films during this time, the naked crotch areas have been fogged so the viewer cannot have a clear view, but the actors treat themselves to some very excessive spooning. This is a film made in the 80's so expect the 80's hairdos and outfits.
The film definitely follows all the formulas of people stuck in the woods, while the men take advantage of the women, they force themselves on them and despite the women's protestations, they get degraded anyway. Male superiority over women in show business is explored and director Gaira pulled all the stops to get his point across. There really is nothing original here, Gaira just seemed to revel in the fact that he is displaying a lot of sleazy and exploitive sex onscreen. Yes, the sex scenes are more graphic than the ones on late night cable and walks the thin line between softcore and hardcore porn.
The characters themselves are unlikable. The men are manipulative beasts and the women, well, I'm not really quite certain as to why they do let these things happen to them. I couldn't really feel any sympathy because the women are really underdeveloped. "Unpleasant folks have unpleasant experiences" may well be the film's major selling point. I do think that the male characters got what they deserved.
Now, the death scenes aren't quite as inventive as I would've wished them to be. Truth be told, if there was more blood and gore than the sex and nudity, then the film would have been a lot more fun. The "Mud Man" looked like a cross between a cannibal and a sex-crazed psychopath. Gaira exaggerates some scenes as with the antagonist's manly attributes and shadows are used to give the viewer an idea as to what is going on. The director obviously wanted to add some `artistic' visuals when it came to gore, and it is quite funny in its own way.
There are quite a number of scenes that are full of audacity, and some scenes may prove pointless. The gore and blood looked quite campy but there is a certain amount of brilliance hidden in the film somewhere. I am sure U.S. filmmakers have thought about it but only the Japanese have the guts to follow through their ideas. The scene where Kazuyo (Naomi Hagio, the sexiest of the three) goes down on the mud man while she touches herself with a severed hand exhibits brilliance (?) as well as balls to the wall sleazy exploitation.
Those who are expecting an ultra-blood-soaked affair may be a little disappointed. True, if it could have used MORE GORE than sex (I can't believe I said that) but this film further cements the idea that Japanese filmmakers may know more about exploitation than anyone else. If you look at it from a viewpoint that the director almost went to the limits of exploitation then you may be impressed. I am rather curious as to how he manages to top this film with "Entrails of a Beautiful Woman", I've read that the sequel even goes further. Me, personally, I thought the live action "La Blue Girl" exhibited more discipline. (Does anyone want me to review that?)
Overall, this will definitely make a mark in the annals of Asian Cult Cinema. The film is definitely geared towards the fans of slasher/gore/sex films. The idea of a mud man walking around raping and killing women seemed a little nihilistic but it will hold your interest, in a bizarre way. The film is sleazy, sexy and gory; gorehounds have a reason to rejoice.
This is one movie I can't really say I'd recommend but it's worth a look for fans of Japanese cinema. Proceed with caution. [3- Stars]
For a real contrasting opinion, see amazon friend Zack Davisson's great review.
Movie Review: Boring!
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm a big fan of Japanese horror films--the cognoscenti are starting to refer to it as "J-horror"--so I just knew I had to check out "Entrails of the Virgin" and "Entrails of the Beautiful Woman" when the friendly folks over at Synapse Films released them to DVD. These two films, made all the way back in the 1980s by some chap named Kazuo Komizu, have a reputation most hardcore horror film producers would give their right arms to possess. I heard and read the most enthusiastic comments regarding these two movies, about the insane levels of gory mayhem coupled with sex of the variety not often seen outside an adult film theater. You certainly don't see those two themes put side by side in movies made in the United States, at least not anymore. No one over here would dare make a film like these atrocities. First of all, such a film would never pass the ratings board, let alone secure a spot in the theaters. Too, the watchdog groups would drop on the filmmakers' heads like a ton of bricks. Then there is NOW and the other feminist groups to contend with. Those bonecrushers would grind any filmmaker into powder over a movie that looked like Komizu's movies.
"Entrails of the Virgin," the first in the series, starts out by introducing us to a bunch of photographers and models out on a photo shoot somewhere in Japan. Nothing much happens as the film treats us to seemingly endless--and immensely boring--scenes of these slightly unattractive girls striking cheesecake poses. Then they all hop in a van and strike off down the road. A fog moves in, or the dry ice machine starts up, and the vehicle hits a creature in the road. Nobody finds anything, however, so they get back in and drive to a little shack out in the woods. By this time I'm looking at the DVD case to make sure I'm watching the right movie. Meanwhile, the movie grinds on. Lots of talky scenes between the girls and the photographers reveal several things. One, the guys are total sleaze balls who think nothing of luring girls out on a photo shoot in order to take advantage of them. Two, these girls are dumber than a bag of hammers. Three, wrestling with a girl isn't nearly as interesting as it sounds, or at least doesn't play onscreen as well as it sounds. At this point, I'm thinking about calling NOW to complain.
So we watch, eagerly awaiting the carnage that MUST certainly arrive soon, as these people drink themselves into a stupor and then engage in uninspiring carnal activities. Then finally, something starts to happen. Remember that creature I said they hit in the van out on the road? Well, it shows up to wreak some serious havoc on our little group. Now we're going to see some real gore! Yippee! Nope, not really. Oh, the beastie rips a few people apart, and commits some invasive violence in spots, but the effects are so cheesy that my enthusiasm rapidly dwindled. At one point, one of these people runs around a tennis court outside while someone (I assume the beastie) chucks dinner plates at them! What's up with that? Who knows? I sure as heck don't. What I do know is that the movie roars to a conclusion with a few things that will stick in your noggin. Like the girl using a human arm to...well, let's just say she's keeping herself busy. Then there's the beast itself, a mud coated creature with a very noticeable feature that he puts to good use with the ladies. Yeah, that. By the time the television screen faded to black, I headed for the shower.
I hope I'm not making "Entrails of the Virgin" sound better than it is. Komizu's film is an exercise in extreme boredom. Endless sex scenes with the requisite fogging of certain body parts, a form of censorship all too common in Japan because of certain culture inhibitions, severely curtails any thrill a viewer on these shores would get out of the movie's numerous acrobatics. Not that any normal person would look at this movie as an exercise in erotic cinema. I certainly didn't. As for the gore, it's not anything you couldn't see in an Italian zombie flick or a current Japanese horror flick. It is over the top and occasionally taboo breaking, but the effects are so poorly carried off as to ruin the whole exercise. The most egregious sin committed in the movie is the lack of a plot. Now I'm a forgiving sort who doesn't mind a little surrealism or esotericism thrown into a movie, but I need something to hang my hat on, something to give me a little bit of a place on which to stand so I can try to figure out what's going on. We don't get that here. Character development is nonexistent, things happen for no apparent reason, and the monster is largely an enigma.
Maybe I'm trying too hard. Anyway, Synapse sure put a lot of work into the disc. The picture quality looks great, oddly enough. Extras include an essay explaining the omnipresent optical fogging, a trailer for the movie, and an interview with none other than Kazuo Komizu himself. If you're hoping for explanatory information on the film from the director, think again. This guy is a first class oddball who spends more time talking about the shape of the earth and giggling over the weird electronic noises emanating from his computer than throwing the viewer a rope. I'm not going to recommend the film to anyone--if you're into horror, you know whether you want to see this one or not. Good luck if you attempt the journey.
Movie Review: Horror fans beware...
Summary: 2 Stars
The plot, what little there is of it: Three Japanese pornographers go out into the mountains to shoot photos. Due to the fog, they stop their van and decide to spend the night in an abandoned building, where they get drunk and sexually assault the photo shoot girls. Little do they know, there is a "swamp monster" lurking with similar sexual designs and murderous intentions as well.
As a horror fan, I was disappointed. There are no scares, the direction is sloppy, and the gore is minimal with maybe two exceptions. In three cases when a violent attack occurs, the camera cuts away to a "metaphorical" shot representing the violence, for example, a hammer hitting a piece of meat. I found the whole exercise pretty tedious to sit through for a pretty half-assed payoff at the end. Specifically in the last gore scene, latex that's supposed to be human skin stretches and bends with bubble-gum elasticity. Very fake.
Then you have the swamp monster, well, not really a monster, he's actually some Japanese guy caked in mud. When they finally show a good shot of him, he's got his hair spiked up in a muddy mohawk! Pretty laughable, and to call it a real horror film would be stretching the truth somewhat. If you take out the sex, you could probably edit this 72 minute feature down to a 15 minute short. However, I would even imagine most sex film fans would be disappointed with the digitally blurred genitalia that tames it down to softcore level.
Nothing is ever explained, really. It's all a rather incoherent mishmash of sex-rape scenes with the horror aspects emerging in the last 20 minutes or so. But by that time it was too late to generate any real interest. The confusion is somewhat explained by watching the interview with director Komizu. His nonsensical ramblings while chainsmoking gave me the impression of a week-long crystal meth binge. At least he seems like he had fun filming the movie.
I would only recommend this movie to diehard fans of Japanese sex films, or perhaps the heavily drugged. I generously gave it two stars, only because of the beautiful Japanese girls, and the two brief gore parts that actually worked, one involving the use of a severed arm (!) If you're looking for disturbing Japanese horror, try Organ, Evil Dead Trap, or something from the Guinea Pig series before resorting to Entrails of a Virgin!
Movie Review: AMUSING PIECE OF TRASH
Summary: 2 Stars
This movie is pure Japanise exploitation-trash-schlock. Balancing on the edge of soft-porn it has about its 2/3 given away for sex scenes. And rather explicit ones. What's the most funny - in those scenes all possible images of genitalia are hazed with special misty spots. But in the booklet there's a history of censorship in Japan concerning nudity on screen from the very beginning of cinema in this country. So I'd advise you to read it first, then everything becomes much more clearer.
Well, apart from sex there are brutal killings, some mud-covered monster with distorted voice, stupid dialogs and some kind of a plot which apparently serves as an excuse for all this mess. I was watching "Entrails of a Virgin" with my eyes wide open because I didn't ever know such trash even exists. That's why I gave it the second star - at times this movie surprises and amuzes.
Here's a fluent retelling of one scene, so you could get an idea: one of the female characters gets extremely horny, so she finds a severed arm of another character been killed, and starts masturbating with this hand. A monster with his giant phallus appeares. Hereafter she performs a fellatio on him while still masturbating with the hand (the severed one). Then she copulates with the monster crying she can't bear this anymore - it's so good and exciting, she's gonna die. Though she doesn't die. When the intercourse is finished, the monster penetrates her vagina with his hand and tears her intestines out.
Well, that's one of the brightest scenes in the movie. If you like that kind of cinema - don't hesitate and buy it although I must warn you the other scenes are not that spectacular.
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