Too much of everything

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Blistering performances.

With an interest in both extreme Japanese horror and the theme of snuff films in general, I simply had to see Muzan-e, which by all accounts was pretty messed up. As I expected, I found myself quite sickened by this film, although surprisingly it wasn't the brutal violence that upset me the most, but rather the taboo-busting and rather stomach-churning scenes that centred on the bizarre world of fetish porn, all of which only go to reaffirm my idea of Japan as a Mecca for the truly twisted!Muzan-e seems fairly routine at first: shot in faux documentary form, it sees a female reporter investigating the disappearance of an AV starlet famed for her 'specialist' work. After unearthing some background information on the missing girl and conducting several interviews with those who worked with her (during which we snippets of her 'performing'), the reporter gets her hands on a video tape that purportedly shows the woman being tortured and killed on-camera by two brothers, fans who abduct their idol only to decide that they have the wrong person. Although it's strong stuff, after what had gone before, I wan't too phased by the realism of the tape or the gore effects, which is par for the course for this kind of thing.However, in an unexpected twist (that I have to admit doesn't completely make sense to me), the reporter eventually becomes a victim of the brothers herself, but while she too is subjected to torture and mutilation, it is revealed that… well, I won't spoil it for you, but don't be surprised if you are left a tad confused by what you have seen. Overall, though, this is a bold, bloody and disturbing film and a must-see for fans of the rough stuff.

I checked this movie out for the same reasons as most others, I would presume. I wanted to see what has been hyped as "some of the nastiest sh*t out there." But sadly I was once again disappointed, as I have been many times before when that line has been used to describe a horror/gore/splatter film. The storyline is nothing more than a reporter following up a tape with snuff on it and gets too close to the people involved for her own good. I was expecting a lot of gore, blood and guts in this one, but there was definitely not as much as the hype had led me to believe. As most Japanese produced films of this kind, this one has gone through pixel censorship, meaning it doesn't show all the really nasty stuff which is really why you'd like to see this film in the first place. (If you're one of the very few people who would like to see it simply because of the storyline, I'd suggest you save your money for something better.) If you're not used to this type of extreme film, I bet this could be "the nastiest sh*t". But if you, like me, have seen quite a lot in the genre, this film really isn't any special in terms of "extremeness". For the fans of this type of films, I'd highly recommend Men Behind The Sun, Audition and/or Ichi the Killer instead!

At the forty-two minute mark, this gets really interesting. Easily Daisuke Yamanouchi's best and most mature production. I didn't care at all for his "Red Room" films or "Blood Sisters", so I wasn't too enthused about this, either. A female reporter investigates the existence of "snuff" movies (visual records or people being actually murdered) and ends up being in one. Before that, she visits a porn shoot where a man eats a bloody tampon from a woman's vagina and drinks her blood. She interviews the actors as they break for lunch, establishing the fact that for performers in movies of this type, acts considered obscene by some are mundane jobs for others. The actress in this scene is clearly in it because she's an attention whore. After our intrepid reporter meets a shady character in a park, things begin to darken and she finds herself in possession of a videotape in which an attractive woman is kidnapped and abused. Just as a TV crew investigated the source of a snuff movie in Toshahiro Ikeda's "Evil Dead Trap" by identifying on-screen landmarks, so does this film's protagonist hit the road to pursue the source of her tape. She finds herself in a poor, rural area where she is attacked and captured. "Muzan-E" owes a great debt to "Guinea Pig", which owes a debt to "Videodrome", which owes a debt to the German "Pain" and "Violence" loops, which owe a debt to "Last House on Dead End Street", and so on, and so on. In other words, it's nothing original, but it is a toxic mix of extreme influences, and manages to create a disturbing mood, especially in its final section. The scene in which the reporter has her nipple ripped off is a keeper, as is the scene that follows. Yamanouchi's usually undisciplined style works to this film's advantage, and he shows restraint in the direction of the performers. The female lead is credible, and her ultimate state of insanity has a chilly edge.It is unfortunate that only this director's much more inferior work is available in English subtitled, US editions. His mixing of hardcore porn and grotesque horror works well in this effort. 'Tis a shame he has never made anything else that comes close to this blood-drenched, nasty piece of horror. It's heartily recommended.

Daisuke Yamanouchi's "Mu Zan E" is about a young journalist,who is searching for snuff movies.The film shows us a snuff/porn making underground industry ala "Last House on Dead End Street" or "Tesis".It's extremely grim and gory and it pulls no punches with its sheer nastiness.There are some incredibly revolting scenes of gore and sexual violence,so fans of Japanese pinku eiga sickies won't be disappointed.It seems to me that Japanese culture is loaded with sadism and bloodletting and this carries over into the realms of cinema and literature.Anyway,if you're a fan of the "Guinea Pig" series or "Cannibal Holocaust" you can't miss this one.However if you're squeamish don't watch it!