killing for culture: From Edison to ISIS: A New History of Death on Film by David Kerekes

Author:David Kerekes [Kerekes, David]
Language: eng
Format: azw
ISBN: 9781909394353
Publisher: Headpress
Published: 2016-07-22T04:00:00+00:00

THE GUINEA PIG SERIES

The black market distribution of films in this manner was common before YouTube and bittorrent downloads. Obscure and desirable films could be purchased mail order, or traded freely on videocassette among friends and collectors. Favoured content comprised cult films, sleaze and horror. Quality was invariably poor, no small thanks to a master tape several generations removed. But two bleached and blurry movies would often sit comfortably on a three-hour videocassette, leaving room for a little ‘filler,’ which might consist of random fan compiled film clips, trailers, or something suitably esoteric. One such proto mixtape, containing a bootleg of a short film called Flower of Flesh and Blood, became the celebrity epicentre of an international investigation into snuff films.

In the early months of 1991, actor Charlie Sheen and friend found themselves in possession of a film of Asian origin rumoured to contain actual snuff footage. Sceptical, the two men played the videocassette expecting to dash the rumour but instead were horrified by the material it contained: A murder, which they felt unable to dismiss as acting or special effects. They contacted the MPAA and the videocassette was then handed to the FBI. Agent Dan Codling informed the men the film was already being investigated by both FBI and the Japanese police. The case was eventually dropped.

Flower of Flesh and Blood, the film in question, hails from Japan and is part of a series of short films known collectively as Guinea Pig. The film opens with the pursuit of a girl through a modern Japanese city at night. Upon her capture, the location switches to a small room, where, tied to a bed, the girl is drugged and systematically mutilated by a man wearing the garb of a samurai warrior. He waxes lyrical as he goes about his bloody task. When the girl is dead, the cycle appears to start over again with the pursuit of another potential victim.

The violence is brutal and shocking. The dazed and delirious victim is first stabbed, then one hand is removed (a hammer and chisel are utilized when knife proves ineffective) and a leg sawn off before finally she is disembowelled and has her head hacked off.

Commenting in Dreadful Pleasures (no 1), Mike Accomando says of Flower of Flesh and Blood: ‘The special effects are really good. Almost too good… A few scenes left my stomach feeling like a broken Slinky.’ In Britain, a copy seized by customs made national headlines when it was considered a genuine snuff film.78

The Guinea Pig series totals six, seven or perhaps eight films of varying length. Some contention has arisen as to the actual episodes that make up the series and the order in which they run. The English titles are literal, often conflicting, translations, while films are handled by different directors and the series itself more than one production company. The following filmography is thought to be accurate:

Devil’s Experiment (1985)

Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985)

He Never Dies (1986)

Making of Guinea Pig (1986; the making of episodes

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