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Ginî piggu: Zansatsu supesharu (1988) (V)





(Review originally written at 9 May 2009)

As far as making of's go, this isn't among the best. This movies gives us a behind the screens look of the Ginî piggu-movies, with some small interviews includes as well, with some of its crew.

Making of's obviously weren't a big thing yet in the '80's and obviously little time and money got spend on it. This movie looks like it got shot with a $10 camera at times and it also just isn't too well put together. It's often more of the same, showing the same effects all over and over again and it also doesn't spend an equal amount of time on all of the movies. Part 1 gets hardly ever featured or mentioned and it also doesn't give a great amount of insight depth of the purpose of the Ginî piggu movies, or anything of that sort.

If it got made this present day, with interviews with the cast and crew members looking back at these movies, with some behind the screen footage included, I'll bet it would be a far better and way more interesting one to watch. Who knows, perhaps this is an idea for the 25 year anniversary of the Za ginipiggu-series next year. It would be a good excuse the re-release the entire series as well again.

Perhaps it's better to watch if you haven't actually already seen the actual movies, fore it provides little new and therefore also adds very little to the series. As a first introduction to the series this movie might work.

5/10

Ginî piggu 4: Pîtâ no akuma no joi-san (1986) (V) Directed by Hajime Tabe





(Review originally written at 8 May 2009)

All of the Guinea Pig movies are quite pointless ones but this one is a bit extreme in that sense perhaps. It really lacks a purpose and instead is an odd pile of different strange and humorous sequences, mostly involving death and gore. It sometimes work out as entertaining but more often as just plain odd and truly pointless.

It's a movie that mostly leans on its devil woman doctor, a man a drag pretending to be a doctor, who is also the binding factor of the entire movie. Within him the movie would had been a totally disjointed one. The drag queen still brings some joy to the entire movie but it's simply not quite good enough to truly uplift the movie and to make it a fully successful movie.

Because of its more comical and far less serious approach, this movie is also less extreme with its gore. It also simply goes far too over-the-top for it to let its gore work out as anything shocking or realistic. Also when you compare its effects to any of the other previous entries out of the series, this movie is surely the least.

Even though its far more comical, I just couldn't enjoy watching this movie as much as I did some of the other entries within the Japanese Guinea Pig-series.

4/10

Ginî piggu 3: Senritsu! Shinanai otoko (1986) (V) Directed by Masayuki Kusumi





(Review originally written at 4 April 2009)

This movie is so very effective and just overall excellent due to its minimalism. Little is explained, little is ever shown and the story also isn't the most complex written one. Out of all the horror movies I've seen I can honestly say that this is one of the genuinely scary ones. It still is the best 'haunted house' movie ever made.

It's a movie that puts its emphasis more on its atmosphere than anything else really. The movie knows to create an uneasy atmosphere with its slow but steady build up. It really knows to pick its moments to put in a scary moment. But even then the movie shows very little. It's a movie filled with scary sounds, which adds to the mystery and tension of the movie.

It's really a movie that works out due to its talents behind the camera's. I was surprised by the movie its camera-handling and fast editing work at times. They did a really great job with this and it really helped the movie to work out with its moments. It's a technically really well made movie, that of course also is being helped by the fact that it was shot in black & white. It gives the movie a more eerie and unpleasant atmosphere. It also really helps to bring the house to life, from both the outside as well as the inside.

Horror wasn't really the most glamorous genre to work in during the '60's but just like Robert Wise did with "The Day the Earth Stood Still" he takes a genre to a totally different and far classier level, when compared to other genre movies from the same time period. This is what I always mostly admire about Robert Wise. He takes on a genre with his own touch and vision, with as a result an unique, as well as highly effective movie.

The movie has some really effective genre moments, that will shock and will leave you with an unpleasant feeling afterward, without ever having to feature any blood or gore or anything of that sort. One moment especially really caught me off guard and in my book is one of the most scary shock moments in movie history. It's more of a slow and subtle version, that might not be for everyone but for those who are able to sit through a more of a slow and old fashioned genre movie, the movie will be a real rewarding one.

9/10

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