EVIL DEAD TRAP
PLOT-A news anchorwoman investigates the origin of a snuff video she receives in the mail.
VIOLENCE-This is a very gory movie indeed. People are gutted, stabbed, chopped, shot with arrows, eyeballs are poked out, a couple rapes end in murder, a neck is broken, and weird creatures erupt out of people's bodies. Lots of blood.
SEX/NUDITY-There are a couple graphic sex scenes with ample nudity, but a couple are rapes. I found all of it to be pretty off-putting and perverse in nature, as is the case with most Japanese sex stuff.
WHY I LIKED IT-No one can deny that the scariest films of the last few years have all come from Japan. For some reason, these guys keep churning out insanely frightening horror films. Titles like RING, TELL ME SOMETHING, and AUDITION aren't quite mainstream, but for genre fans, we're quickly learning what country is best at scaring our pants off. I enjoyed EVIL DEAD TRAP because it's creepy as hell, and suspenseful. Plus, it's pretty damn violent, and that's always neat. The killings are inventive, and the ending is pretty off-the-wall and surprising. Perhaps I'm just bored with the usual stalker or serial killer film, or the vampire crap we always see. I like originality, and I respect it when a film can really shock and jar me. EVIL DEAD TRAP did both, and I recommend it.
DOWNSIDE-Sometimes things got a bit slow, which sucked. Maybe that was their idea of suspense.
MEMORABLE SCENES-Without giving too much away, I'll just say that the scene where you THINK the girl is gonna be shot with the harpoon gun is completely gut-wrenching. If the suspense of the situation alone wasn't enough, the climax will floor you.
NOTES-The DVD contains a commentary track by director Toshihiru Ikeda.