Celluloid Nightmares (1999)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

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.

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.

Going into Muzan E I was well aware that it's a nasty flick and that my copy had no subtitles. Well both are incredibly true. It's actually one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. During the first 15 minutes of so I was dying for subtitles. Nothing of great importance was happening visually, but there was a soft-spoken reporter talking pretty much nonstop. It definitely would have been nice to hear what she was saying. Anyways, it's not a difficult movie to follow and the story goes something like this: Female reporter investigating really nasty sex tapes. She eventually gets her hands on a big scoop, meaning a really, really nasty tape. Reporter and crew decide to delve deeper into the scene and nasty things follow. I was actually pleasantly surprised where they went with this film.Muzan E is a sick film, that only people with weird tastes should watch. I'd describe the movie as pretty gory, but the weird thing is almost all the shots are blurred so you can't see much detail....thinking back on this it was probably a good thing. Anyways, the movie starts off slow, but steadily builds up speed and your attention. If you're looking for a f'ed up film, just check out Muzan E. 7.5 outta 10

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!