American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore Review from Unearthed Films
|
|
Directed by: Stephen Biro
Written by: Stephen Biro
Produced by: Stephen Biro
Cinematography by: Jim Van Bebber
Editing by: Stephen Biro
Music by: Jimmy ScreamerClauz, Kristian Day
Special Effects by: Marcus Koch
Cast: Jim Van Bebber, Eight The Chosen One, Ashley Lynn Caputo, Caitlyn Dailey, Scott Gabbey
Year: 2014
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Runtime: 1h 13min
Studio: Unearthed Films
|
Easily the most notorious horror series to arise from Japan is the Guinea Pig (ギニーピッグ) series. It spawned six parts, plus Slaughter Special, a compilation of gruesome footage from the series. The first two, The Devil’s Experiment and Flower of Flesh & Blood are without a doubt the most nefarious of the group. Flower of Flesh & Blood has long been one of the most, if not the most convincing pseudo-snuff films in the history of subversive underground horror cinema… that is until now.
The first part of the new underground American series is upon us with American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore, from none-other-than Stephen Biro of Unearthed Films, who takes his premiere role as director. How appropriate, considering Unearthed Films were the first and only North American distributor to unleash the entire Guinea Pig series to a new audience on DVD. Along for this vicious excursion are Director of Photography Jim Van Bebber (Deadbeat at Dawn, Gator Green) and Special Effects man Marcus Koch (100 Tears). If you think you’ve seen it all from the trailer, then well, you haven’t!
Bouquet of Guts and Gore opens with two dopey girls as they saunter up to a muscle car and get in. “What the fuck is that guy doing?” asks the girl in the driver’s seat as she inquisitively looks back and forth as the car fills up with smoke. A gas-masked man can be seen in the back seat as the girls begin to cough. Once incapacitated our hero drives away with the girls (which I found to be a somewhat strange way to abduct them, but who really cares as long as they meet their destiny). Cut to red and our title card, American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore.
A bountiful assortment of serial killer toys are displayed on tables. We see our filmmakers each select their mask of choice. Cameras are locked and loaded (8MM and VHS). The girls lay peacefully on separate beds. Lighting is in place and our three masked assailants are ready for production. The Actor (Eight the Chosen One), adorned in a phenomenal Baphomet mask rips off his shirt in anticipation. “You always start on the left, never on the right.” states The Director, a perfectionist played by Scott Gabbey, wearing a papier-mâché style mask of words or phrases. This is when the prelude begins.
The Actor takes his time with a hunting knife, caressing the girls all over. He moves onto a pair of sheers, undressing the victims down to nothing more than their underwear and socks. The Director directs him precisely along the way. A guy in a creepy broken and re-stitched doll style mask lurks around like a creep with another camera. The girls are given drops of acid and injected, continuing their unconsciousness. With the guidance of The Director, The Actor explains what has happened to them and that their “…sacrifice will not be in vein.” He continues, “You are to be systematically tortured to death, while being filmed for our benefactors.” This, ladies and gentleman, is exactly what their future holds, leaving them demoralised, dehumanized and dissected.
Without giving away too much detail of the atrocities committed upon the victims in Bouquet of Guts and Gore, there are a ton of depraved highlights that need to be witnessed and not merely transcribed. In giving faithful admiration to Hideshi Hino’s Flower of Flesh & Blood, hands are removed, limbs are dissected. Bones are snapped, skin is flayed. Guts are exhumed, orifices are violated, meat is tenderized, heads bisected and hearts are broken. Need a chainsaw? Well that’s in there too. And if the eyeball spoon scooping scene from The Devil’s Experiment wasn’t enough for gorehounds, then there is a scene in this involving ocular trauma which is a real eye-opener!
Obviously blood and the color red is a major thematic element here, so the stylistic choice of editing with cut- to reds in between certain sequences lends nicely to this theme. In addition to this stylistic element, what aids drastically to the authenticity of this as a pseudo-snuff film from a bygone era is the blend of video and 8MM film footage. The look of this thing has a filthy forbidden vibe to it that makes you feel like you shouldn’t be watching it — like the first time you received a 10th generation VHS boot of Flower of Flesh & Blood in the mail. Another film might work, all prettied up in high definition, but this thing feels old and true.
Biro’s ultimate intention to commence a series worthy of its Japanese predecessors is without a doubt expertly executed. Even the most jaded of extreme cinephiles should find this to be the forging of a great gore-soaked series. After all, why does one watch something called Guinea Pig in the first place? Well, if the extreme gore here isn’t enough, then there is even a scenario at the end of the film, thrown in for good measure, that is sure to shock (or outrage) some of the more wholesome viewers.
In a ridiculous world of seven second attention spans and the need for instant gratification, some attention deficit gorehounds might find themselves a little antsy waiting for the festivities to kickoff. Which seems to be the norm these days. I however, appreciate the film’s gradual buildup to nonstop bodily devastation. The purposefully measured buildup lets you soak in all the grime. Sit tight through the foreplay because American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore disgraces the screen with a powerful climax.
