Guinea Pig (film series)

Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment (ギニーピッグ 悪魔の実験, Ginī Piggu: Akuma no Jikken, a.k.a. "Unabridged Agony") is a 1985 film directed by Satoru Ogura, and the first entry in the series.[1][2] The film depicts a group of men who kidnap and graphically torture a young woman in a variety of ways—these include hitting her, kicking her, pinching her with pliers, forcing her to endure sound torture, burning her with hot oil, pouring maggots on her, and poking a needle through one of her eyes.[2]

Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood (ギニーピッグ2 血肉の華, Ginī Piggu 2: Chiniku no Hana) is a 1985 film written and directed by Hideshi Hino, based on his horror manga works, and is the second entry in the series. The plot revolves around a man dressed as a samurai who drugs and abducts a woman, takes her to his home, dismembers her, and adds her body parts to a collection.

This entry in the series has been called "notorious".[3][4] It garnered controversy for its graphic content and was reportedly withdrawn from the market after being examined by a number of Japanese boards of education.[5] It was also suspected to have influenced serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki—also known as the Otaku Murderer—who abducted and murdered four young girls in the Saitama and Tokyo prefectures.[6][7][8] Miyazaki had an extensive collection of videotapes, many of which were horror films;[8][9] one of the Guinea Pig films was reported to have been found in Miyazaki's collection, though writer-director Hino has asserted that it was not Flower of Flesh and Blood.[5]

In the early 1990s, American actor Charlie Sheen is said to have obtained a copy of the film, watched it, and became convinced that it was a snuff film that depicted the actual dismemberment and killing of a real woman.[1][5][10] He reported it to authorities, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation purportedly opened an inquiry into those involved in the film's production and distribution, but any official investigations were dropped after it was demonstrated that special effects were used to simulate the violence in the film.[11][12] This incident, and the frequency with which it has been recounted by "hard core" fans of horror films, has been compared to an urban legend.[1][13]

Guinea Pig 3: Shudder! The Man Who Never Dies (ギニーピッグ3 戦慄! 死なない男, Ginī Piggu 3: Senritsu! Shinanai Otoko), also known as Guinea Pig 3: He Never Dies, is a 1986 film directed by Masayuki Hisazumi[14] (or Masayuki Kusumi).[15] The plot centers around an unlucky salaryman named Hideshi who attempts to slit his wrists, and finds that he cannot feel pain.[16] He then realizes that he cannot die, and invites a co-worker to his home, asking that he bring sharp gardening utensils with him. When his co-worker arrives, Hideshi plays a practical joke on him by using the tools to mutilate himself,[17] then ends up decapitating himself with a set of gardening shears, terrifying the co-worker to the point of fainting during the ordeal. Eventually, the co-worker’s girlfriend enters Hideshi’s apartment to see why her fiancé was taking so long, only to find Hideshi’s still-living head on a blood-spattered coffee table. More confused than scared, she goes to wake the co-worker, then the two begin to clean the apartment so Hideshi doesn’t get in trouble with his landlord. As the others get to work cleaning, Hideshi announces that he has become more confident, and would like to return to his job the next day.

Though He Never Dies features graphic imagery, it is more darkly comedic in tone than its predecessors and its successors except Devil Woman Doctor.[15][17]

Guinea Pig: Mermaid in a Manhole (ギニーピッグ マンホールの中の人魚, Ginī Piggu: Manhōru no Naka no Ningyo) is a 1988[1][17][18] film written and directed by Hideshi Hino, based again on his horror manga works.[16][19] Sources differ on whether it is the fourth or sixth film in the series.[1][14][19] In a 2009 interview with Vice, Hino said that he had "nothing to do with" the fourth Guinea Pig film,[5] implying that he does not consider Mermaid in a Manhole to be the fourth entry in the series. However, Stephen Biro, co-founder of the home video distribution company Unearthed Films, listed Mermaid in a Manhole as the fourth film in the series.[1] In his book The Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Films, Salvador Jimenez Murguía claims that it was "the sixth Guinea Pig film to be produced, although it was released fourth."[18]

The plot of Mermaid in a Manhole follows an artist who has become estranged from his wife. One day while visiting the sewers beneath the streets of Okinawa, he encounters a mermaid that he had once met as a child.[19] After noticing that she has boils growing on her body, the artist takes her back to his home, and after a brief period of time, the mermaid develops lacerations and begins to bleed. The artist uses the blood and pus from the wounds to paint her portrait, but as he does so her condition worsens, and she eventually dies.[18]

Guinea Pig: Android of Notre Dame (ギニーピッグ ノートルダムのアンドロイド, Ginī Piggu: Nōtorudamu no Andoroido) is a 1988[1][20] film directed by Kazuhito Kuramoto.[2][16] It revolves around a scientist who tries to find a cure for his sister's grave illness. The scientist needs a "guinea pig" to perform experiments on. A stranger approaches the scientist, offering of a body for the experiments, for which the scientist will pay. When the experiments do not go well, the scientist becomes enraged and hacks the body to pieces. The stranger approaches the scientist again and supplies another body so the experiments can continue.

Guinea Pig: Devil Woman Doctor (ギニーピッグ ピーターの悪魔の女医さん, Ginī Piggu: Pītā no Akuma no Joi-san) is a 1990[1][14][15] film directed by Hajime Tabe.[15] Much like Mermaid in a Manhole, sources differ on whether Devil Woman Doctor is the fourth or sixth entry in the series.[10][14] The front cover art for the VHS release of the film by Sai Enterprise describes it as the fourth film in the series.[21] According to Salvador Jimenez Murguía: "despite being chronologically labeled as the fourth in the series, [Devil Woman Doctor] is often referred to as the final [Guinea Pig] film."[22]

Devil Woman Doctor tells the story of a female doctor played by Japanese drag actor Peter.[16][22][23] The film takes the form of several vignettes in which she "treats" her patients by mutilating them, eating them, or, in the case of a dysfunctional family, causing them to explode.[24][25] Rather than horror, the tone of this installment is more akin to extremely violent slapstick comedy.[26][25]

In 1986, Making of Guinea Pig (Meikingu obu Za Ginipiggu), a making-of documentary about the production of the first three Guinea Pig films, was released.[1][27] The existence of behind-the-scenes footage demonstrating special effects used in the Guinea Pig series is thought to have assuaged fears about the Guinea Pig films being snuff films.[3][12]

Making of Devil Woman Doctor (Bangaihen: Akumano Joi-san Meikingu), a behind-the-scenes look at the production of Devil Woman Doctor, was released in 1990.[1][27]

In 1991, Guinea Pig: Slaughter Special (ギニーピッグ 惨殺スペシャル, Ginī Piggu: Zansatsu Supessharu), a "best-of" special which showcases highlights from the series, was released.[1][27]

• Harper, Jim (2009). Flowers from Hell: The Modern Japanese Horror Film. Noir Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-0953656479.
• McRoy, Jay (2007). Nightmare Japan: Contemporary Japanese Horror Cinema. Rodopi. ISBN 978-9042023314.
• Murguía, Salvador Jimenez (2016). The Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Films. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1442261662.</ref>