ANDROID OF NOTRE DAME / MERMAID IN A MANHOLE (Double Feature)

There cannot be many horror film fans who have never heard of the 'Guinea Pig' series of films from Japan ('Za Ginipiggu' series in Japanese). The series contains some short films which are almost certainly amongst the most unpleasant films of all time, and could never have been made anywhere else but Japan. There are eight 'official' episodes in the series and the exact order of the titles is somewhat open to debate. Most enthusiasts agree on the following as the likely order:

Episode 1: Devil's Experiment (1988, ?, 'Za Ginipiggu: Akuma no Jikken')
Episode 2: Flowers of Flesh and Blood (also referred to as 'Flower of Bloody Flesh', 1989, Hideshi Hino, 'Za Ginipiggu 2: Chiniku no Hana')
Episode 3: Android of Notre Dame (1990, Kazuhito Kuramoto, 'Za Ginipiggu 3: Notorudamu no Andoroido')
Episode 4: Mermaid in a Manhole (1991, Hideshi Hino, 'Za Ginipiggu 4: Manhoru no Naka no Ningyo')
Episode 5: Devil Woman Doctor (1992, Hajime Ejiki, 'Za Ginipiggu 5: Akuma no Joi-san')
Episode 6: Slaughter Special (1992, Satoru Ogura/Hideshi Hino, 'Za Ginipiggu 6: Zansatsu Supeshyaru')
Episode 7: The Making of Guinea Pig (1992, Satoru Ogura, 'Meikingu Obu Za Ginipiggu')
Episode 8: He Never Dies (1992, Masayuki Hisazumi, 'Za Ginipiggu 8: Senritsu! Shinanai Otoko')

Things are slightly complicated by the fact that Thomas Weisser lists episode 3 as episode 2 in his 'Encyclopaedia of Japanese Film'. Episode 3 is also known as 'Guinea Pig 2' in Japan, and this is probably what led to the confusion. Episodes 1 and 2 were released by Midnight Video in Japan, with the rest of the series (from ANDROID onwards) being released by Japan Home Video (JHV). Weisser also refers to episode 5 as 'Peter's Devil Woman Doctor'. Regardless, the above list is as close as you'll get to a definitive breakdown of the series at present. It should be noted that the exact chronological order of the last few films in the series is not really known - the above is a good guide, however. Episode 6 uses footage from episodes 1 and 2, whilst episode 8 takes footage from episodes 2 and 6 and episode 7 concerns the making of episodes 1, 2, 3 and 5.

To complicate matters further, several other cheaply shot, extreme short films are often included under the moniker of the 'Guinea Pig' series, most notably Izo Evil Dead Trap II Hashimoto's BLOODY FRAGMENTS ON WHITE WALLS (aka 'LSD' or 'Lucky Sky Diamond'), and also CYCLOPS and GUZOO. As a final complication, many people talk about 'Guinea Pig' as a single film, usually referring to episode 2 (or sometimes 1). Episode 2 is the most notorious of the series, largely thanks to Charlie Sheen, who famously mistook it for a genuine 'snuff' film and reported it to the FBI. It has also been implicated in the case of Japanese 'vampire' murderer Tsutomu Miyazaki who was said to be obsessed with the film. Episode 1 is the closest anyone would ever want to get to the 'real deal' snuff film, and comes complete with no credits (to this day no-one has taken responsibility for directing episode 1, though the producer is known - Satoru Ogura). Episode 2 is the one where the samurai slowly chops up a woman over the course of the running time. This brings us to episode 3, which is one of the two featured on this 'Double Feature' DVD from Japan Shock Video; episode 4 is the other.

Both of these films are very different in tone to the very serious and very sick episodes 1 and 2. ANDROID is generally regarded as the worst of the series, whilst MERMAID is often considered a stand alone film, since its deranged splatterpunk aesthete sets it above the other films in terms of artistic worth. ANDROID is a bizarre Japanisation of the Frankenstein story, in which a demented midget kidnaps women and tortures them in an attempt to find a cure for his dying girlfriend. It is lighter in tone, with some (admittedly sick) humour thrown in. It is a cheap looking film (in fact it has a very similar look to BLOODY FRAGMENTS… which helps explain that film often being classed as a Guinea Pig episode), and was very obviously shot on video. ANDROID director Kuramoto was also responsible for some of the SEX BEAST TEACHER (aka 'Obscene Beast Teacher') 'tentacle' films.

MERMAID is directed by famed manga illustrator Hideshi Hino, who was also responsible for the excesses of episode 2 (it has been suggested, but not proven, that Hino was behind episode 1 also). It is about an artist who finds a dying mermaid in the sewer (the title should strictly speaking be translated as 'Mermaid in the Sewer'). He takes her home and puts her in the bath, where she decays horribly. The film has definite echoes of the body horror often found in Japanese underground cinema (films by directors like Shinya Tsukamoto, Hisayasu Sato, Shozin Fukui or Kei Fujiwara) and does at least feel like the director has some point aside from simply disgusting his audience to the extreme (though the film does that too!) Where the first two episodes of the series appal the viewer with their horrendous depictions of torture of women, this episode is essentially a doomed love story at heart. The artist is a reasonably sympathetic character (at least compared to the protagonists of the earlier episodes) and the mermaid's suffering is inflicted not by him, but by an unexplained earlier incident (he finds the mermaid wounded in the sewer, but what happened to her before this is never touched upon). The effects are absolutely horrible, and very convincing. Lots of sores and puss and worms and maggots! Ugh! I know some people who found this even harder to watch than the first episodes in the series because of the tone of the film - the first two feel like what they are; nasty imitation snuff films meant to sicken the viewer but not to make them think. This film makes the viewer wonder about the mermaid and empathise with the artist's helplessness. The dialogue is fairly bizarre, as with Hino's previous entry FLOWERS (in which the samurai mumbles all sorts of weird dialogue throughout his dissection of the poor woman) - for example, when the artist enters the sewer (he paints things that he finds there) he proclaims "Here rest all of the beautiful things that I have lost" and when the mermaid wants him to paint her before her death she says "My whole body is full of puss in seven colours" and asks him "to paint her agony"! It certainly isn't one of those films that you'll want to watch again and again, and it will definitely stay with you long after you watch it. However, if you're interested in extreme cinema then this is a more worthwhile investment than the first two episodes, which will primarily leave you feeling shell-shocked!

It seems strange that JSV have chosen these two episodes to release first - effectively they have released the worst and best of the series on the same DVD, but surely the real money maker would have been a double feature of episodes 1 and 2. Rumour has it that this is coming in the not-too-distant future. If true (I'm not certain that JSV hold the rights to those episodes), then this would surely be the most sought after and most controversial DVD release to date. The GUINEA PIG films have been very difficult to get on VHS with subtitles, so this disc is welcome from that respect.

The Guinea Pig series is a typically Japanese series - a film is released and is successful (or infamous), so other directors come along and make films that are completely unrelated, but hide under the banner of the series name. There are many examples of this, but even 'mainstream' films like EVIL DEAD TRAP are not immune (Part II ('Hideki') is totally unrelated to Part I and is by a different director. Part III ('Broken Love Killer') is also unrelated to the other two, but is at least by the same director as Part I (the great Toshiharu Ikeda)). The Guinea Pig films are so notorious that even in Japan they are a somewhat taboo subject. They are primarily of interest as an example of how far cinema can be pushed by a country that knows no bounds when it comes to celluloid dementia (so long as pubic hair isn't involved - even FLOWERS OF FLESH AND BLOOD didn't dare break that taboo!!!), and the thought that some people might watch them for pleasure really is worrying. One can only imagine what would happen if the Daily Mail got hold of a copy of FLOWERS!!!

If you're curious about this most feared of series, then this is probably as good a place to start as any. However, you have been warned…

DVD Specification
Original year of release - 1990/1991
Approximate running time - 52m08s / 57m44s
Aspect ratio - Standard (4:3)
System - PAL (colour)
Rating - 16 (!!!)
Sound - Dolby Digital Stereo
DVD release - Japan Shock Video
Region Coding - Region 0 (code free)

DVD Extras
Picture galleries

ANDROID OF NOTRE DAME

MERMAID IN A MANHOLE

DVD Ratings (out of 5)
Picture - 3
Well, since both films were quite probably shot on video we can't really expect all that much. Also when you're talking about films as rare as these (they have only ever been officially released in Japan and Holland) it's fairly amazing that they've come to DVD at all. Certainly if you'd told me a year ago that the GUINEA PIG films would start to turn up on DVD I would never have believed it (the same could be said of NEKROMANTIK). Quality is OK, both films presented in what is (presumably) their correct ratio of 4:3. Colours all look about right and there's very little grain.
Sound - 3
Dolby Digital Stereo. Neither film exactly makes stunning use of their soundtracks, and the stereo sound is really not very noticeable.
Extras - 1
I have to point out that there probably exists no additional material that could have been included here. An interview with Hino would have been fantastic, but is really a bit much to expect. At least we get two episodes on the one disc. There are probably no trailers for the films since they were never released theatrically, but the picture galleries included aren't very impressive. An informative essay on the series would have been welcome, as would highlights from other films in the series.
Overall Rating - 3
If you're considering buying this disc there are two things that you should probably consider. Firstly, whether or not it will play on your hardware (I know for a fact that our US cousins have also had a lot of trouble with it since it won't play on the great APEX player). Secondly, why do you want to see these films?!? If you just want to be grossed out you should probably just get a bootleg first, or a proper gore film like NAKED BLOOD. However, if you really must see these films on DVD (they gain nothing for being on this format - if anything watching grainy bootlegs of this type of film is much more effective anyway) then go ahead - do bear in mind that you are highly unlikely to ever watch them again, though…

AKA
Android of Notre Dame - 'Za Ginipiggu 3: Notorudamu no Andoroido' or 'Za Ginipiggu 2: Notorudamu no Andoroido'
Mermaid in a Manhole - 'Za Ginipiggu 4: Manhoru no Naka no Ningyo', 'Manhoru no Naka no Ningyo' or 'Mermaid in a Sewer' (direct translation)

Alternative versions
The films were released on VHS in Japan by Japan Home Video (JHV). They were also released (on separate tapes) by Japan Shock Video in Holland on VHS prior to this DVD.
They have never been, and never will be, available in this country.