(1960)
Dir - Nobuo Nakagawa
Overall: GOOD
One of the most intensely harrowing depictions of the abyss probably ever brought to the screen, Nobuo Nakagawa's Jigoku, (Hell, The Sinners of Hell), is an off-beat, near masterpiece, purposely unwelcome in any proper sub-genre. It was the last film produced by the Shintoho studio, one which specialized in low-budget, exploitative B-movies that usually depicting more extreme gore than was commonly acceptable. On that note, Jigoku predates the splatter works of Herschell Gordon Lewis by a few years, making its overt violence even more shocking for its time. Before the long, utterly fabulous set piece in hell emerges, (which takes up the entire third act), the story is often awkwardly structured. There is a barrage of characters to keep track of, the editing is disruptive, and the main protagonist is curiously unsympathetic as he needlessly sleeps or falls in love with virtually every last woman he encounters, all the while playing the role of a pitiful, spineless pawn in the diabolical manipulation at play. That said, there is a relentless theme of atoning for ones sins and that no human anywhere gets off unscathed when it comes to their just desserts. In any event, Nakagawa and his crew concocted a visual representation of the Japanese Buddhist concept of hell that is absolutely to be reckoned with and the final thirty-eight odd minutes alone represent indisputable, essential horror filmmaking.
(1968)
Dir - Hiroshi Matsuno
Overall: GOOD
This contemporary-set, kaidan horror outing from the prolific Shochiku production company was only the second and last directorial effort from Hiroshi Matsuno, who had been an assistant director on other projects for the studio. On the one hand, The Living Skeleton, (Kyūketsu Dokurosen), seems to splice together different concepts rather erratically. Vengeful ghosts, skeletons chained together on the ocean's floor, bats, a disfigured priest, a mad scientist playing a tape recording of a moaning woman for no reason, and machine gun-wielding pirates all regularly intermingle. Even the soundtrack which incorporates sexy saxophone and harmonica is unique in this regard. Some of these incidental details connect better than others, but at worst, the more silly ones do not derail the movie as much as they perhaps should. The flimsy, almost scatter-brained story in fact ends up being sort of freakishly charming. This is mostly do to the accomplishment of Matsuno, who maintains a serious enough mood throughout, even when some of the set pieces, effects, and props fail to be all that convincing.
(1969)
Dir - Teruo Ishii
Overall: GOOD
Beginning at an insane asylum where a (rubber) cell brimful of naked women writhe around a lone man trapped inside, Eru guro/pink eiga filmmaker Teruo Ishii's Horrors of Malformed Men, (Edogawa Rampo Zenshū: Kyoufu Kikei Ningen), stays the baffling, curiously disturbing course throughout. The plot (which fuses several Edogawa Ranpo stories together into one), cruises along in a manner as to leave as many areas open as possible. Though once the film switches locations midway through and goes full Island of Dr. Moreau, the gloves are off. Naked women attached to goats from their vaginas, naked women painted either gold or silver, (dancing erotically and/or serving as human boat decor), naked, different sex Siamese twins where the male has a deformed monster face, naked spider-web covered human pets eating grass and drinking blood from each other via tubes, etc. The story-line does eventually wrap itself up in a silly, "I've secretly been a detective all along so now I'll explain everything" way, but it only gets more odd from there, including one of the most insane fireworks displays ever included in a movie. As an example of visually bonkers, exploitative cinema played straight enough to be even more disturbing, it is a vital experience.
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