Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment (1985 Video) User Reviews

Not one to watch on a first date...

[DVD_Connoisseur · 5/10 · 12 September 2006]

Before slipping this film into my DVD player, I must admit I had a few reservations. Having heard about the "Guinea Pig" movies many years ago, I had been warned that they were "strong stuff" and best viewed on fast-forward due to the over-the-top graphic violence (or pornographic gore, as I believe Chas Balun referred to it in one of his articles). As my finger paused on the "Play" button, I had to wonder, "Would the films be just too much to view or another case of over-hyped horror product?" The first "Guinea Pig" production was "Devil's Experiment" (1985), otherwise known as "Unabridged Agony". This 1986 straight-to-video release in Japan is a deliberately low budget production, resembling a snuff movie with just a touch of Japanese artistic content to make the viewing experience more bearable. Interestingly, the original Japanese video release had no credits and so bore more resemblance to an under the counter, real snuff flick! My own feelings are that this original version, presented on a VHS tape, would have really appeared seedier and more, ahem, authentic.

The "plot" as such is that a gang of men systematically abuse and torture a young woman, climaxing in her final demise. Their various methods of pain affliction involve the use of white noise, constant rotation, forced to drink alcohol, being burnt, cut, etc. One of the most bizarre moments of the ordeal is when the unconscious victim is being pelted with animal guts. Although it could be argued that there isn't really a storyline as such, the film does succeed in a slightly sordid, voyeuristic and uncomfortable manner in making the viewer an unwilling viewer of the unfolding events.

The film definitely isn't easy going but the episodic nature of the production allows you to draw breath before being plunged into the next atrocity. In terms of raw energy, this production does pack a punch.

This One Sucks...

[EVOL666 · 3/10 · 12 September 2005]

Ah, the infamous "Guinea Pig" series...I honestly have to say that I've been disappointed as a whole by this entire series ("He Never Dies","Mermaid in a Manhole", and "Flower of Flesh and Blood" being the exceptions...and even those aren't great by any means...), but "Devil's Experiment" just plain blows. There is nothing realistic-looking going on here, other than the climactic (or perhaps anti-climactic, depending on how you view it) eyeball piercing scene. The victim appears to not really care what is going on and barely whines or whimpers while being subjected to "hideous" (more often sometimes "hilarious") tortures. "Flower of Flesh and Blood" is a more violent and gory depiction of fake "snuff" material, but that film also falls flat on the realism level. I applaud the Japanese for pushing the boundaries, and they've really come a long way over the past 2 decades to wear the crown in "extreme" film-making, but "Devil's Experiment" just doesn't hold up. Worth a look if you are a die-hard, if for no other reason than to see what the fuss is about, but I can only give this film an extremely generous 3/10 and that's only for the needle-through-the-eye scene...

poor short, not scary at all

[suisera · 3/10 · 2 November 2004]

A found tape about 3? guys having fun torturing a woman in several inhuman ways.

Yeah, spoiler.

First of all, the acting made this short not scary at all, the woman seemed to have orgasms, not suffering. Some of the punishments were so ridiculous! what's shocking about throwing some meat or spin her in a chair? If you are shooting a nonsense tape, at least make it good. The only part to remark is the end: the hammered hand and the pierced eye, the rest of the film is really poor. To end the boredom, the supposed story about the tape being investigated, extra bullshit.

A Snuff Movie... SNUFF did you say?!

[rustyangel13 · 2 March 2002]

SNUFF, you say?! Well, we'd all like to think that these "films" are merely Urban Legends, but who's really to say for sure whether or not they actually exist in our world. And for purchase no less. Enter GUINEA PIG: THE DEVIL'S EXPERIMENT. This "movie", straight from Land of the Rising Sun, is a real eye-opener and gut-buster for sure. Plot, simple... kidnap a young Japanese girl, beat her, burn her, and mutilate the poor thing for over an hour. Now, before you start to call the authorities, let just say that the Special Edition of this film has a "Making Of" feature and we'll leave it at that. But this thing, most definitely, is for jaded HARDCORE viewers only. It weighs really heavy on you and with the small nuances of the film, like the fact that there's no opening or ending credits and that the "actors" in the film have their eyes blacked out with bars for the sake of authenticity, really lends a hand to the entire experience of this shocker for sure. After finishing this frightfully offensive movie, I remember thinking to myself... "What the HELL have I just seen here? I think I just saw something that I shouldn't!" Now I just know that sock full of nuts and bolts sure looked real when they smacked her across the face with it. Not to mention, the gutteral scream that she bellowed out when that scalding hot water hit her elbow with that fleshy exposed wound. Ehmmm... makes my knees go weak just thinking about it. Be careful. I'm warning you, BE CAREFUL with this one! I swear it! I've tried to warn you! DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM!!!

The sickest Guinea Pig but not the bloodiest

[Bogey Man · 1/10 · 31 May 2002]

This is the first Guinea Pig film from Japan and this is the sickest, in my opinion. A bunch of guys torture a girl for several days before finally killing her. And at this point, I will say that these films are NOT real! They are faked horror films which try to be as realistic as possible.

The scenes are sickening but also unrealistic in many cases. For example, when they kick the girl in the floor, we can clearly see how they kick and stump the floor near the girl! And how stupid this looks! The sound effects are also unrealistic and don't make sense. Other scenes include animal intestines thrown on the girl, the girl exposed to loud noises for many hours, the ripping off of fingernails, worms placed on the wounds in the girl's body, the eye pierced and mutilated in horrific detail and stuff like that. Very sick and mean spirited film and has absolutely nothing valuable or cinematically significant. This first entry is the sickest and most amateurish Guinea Pig, although it is not as bloody as the next part, Flowers of Flesh and Blood, which tries to be as shocking as possible.

Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment is perhaps the sickest thing I've seen and the closest thing to snuff there is. This is still (of course) faked s(n/t)uff, the only difference to genuine "snuff film" is that no one dies or hurts for real in this film. I cannot recommend this to anyone since thi s is so s****y and repulsive. They who consider this is a great horror film understand nothing about cinema and the real meaning of it. I watched this as a curiosity (as the other parts in the series) and now I know how insignificant trash these are. They work only in shock level and that's not too valuable cinematic achievement. Devil's Experiment is perhaps the sickest film I've seen and Mermaid in a Manhole (Guinea Pig 4) is perhaps the most disgusting film I've seen. So these are pretty extreme in my book, but that's all they are.

No! Not the Comfy Chair

[juliankennedy23 · 1/10 · 8 April 2005]

Devil's Experiment: 1/10: Hardcore porn films fall into two categories those with a semblance of plot (Gee that is one lucky pizza boy) and those without (Anal Amateurs 36). Devil's Experiment falls solidly into the latter category.

It is of course the horror version of hardcore porn. An almost completely plot less 43-minute wait for the money shot. Shot on video in 1985 it consists of three relatively non-descript Japanese boys torturing one fairly unattractive Japanese girl. The tortures range from the banal (slapping her 50 times, kicking her a hundred), the silly (tying her to an office chair and spinning her around), the fear factor (a bath of maggots and sheep guts) and finally the money shot. (A well executed eyeball piercing).

That's it, no plot, no motive, just Blair Witch tree shots and torture. The girl looks bored and with the exception of yelling, "no one expects the Spanish Inquisition" during the office chair scene I was bored silly. Staring dumbfounded at the screen, waiting for the money shot. Just like hardcore porn.

Nothing more than some students' sick joke

[donald2-1 · 1/10 · 15 February 2008]

C'mon people, you can't be serious, another case of advertising snuff when it totally isn't! This isn't even remotely scary nor is it terrifying or depraved - it is just utterly terrible amateurish videowork, made for the next party to get the girls laid.

The gore is incredibly bad, even the eye-scene is far from making me want to puke but just making me want to take the camera and hit those guys over the head. The girl is just laying there rubber-faced, not moving at all. It would have been funnier to use a real doll instead.

One season of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" is more frightening than this one. Don't waste your time or your money.

Pathetic

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 1/10 · 16 November 2009]

I am an avid fan of violent exploitation cinema, who would never attack a film for being violent or disturbing. I consider "Cannibal Holocaust" a masterpiece and will always defend controversial films like "Day Of The Woman" or "Last House on the Left" as genuine classics. Anyone who browses through my other user comments will notice that I am actually very pro-violence/gore when it comes to films. However, I do think that there should be at least some point to the violence. This piece of crap doesn't have any point whatsoever. The first film in the notorious "Guinea Pig" series, "The Devil's Experiment" (1985) is widely controversial, but, as opposed to many other controversial films, this stinker has nothing at all to be recommended for. I must say that, before seeing any of the Guniea-Pig films, I already had a feeling that I would hate this one, knowing what it was about. Due to its status as one of the most controversial films around, however, I decided I had to see it. I am very glad I didn't waste any money on this pile of crap, and I sure wish I hadn't wasted my time with it either.

This thing's story (I don't even want to call it a 'film'): It doesn't have one. Three scumbags torture a woman to death for some excruciating 40 minutes. That's it. There is no artistic value, no 'shocking' story, no suspense; nothing. Simply the disbelief that a film that shows NOTHING except for a woman being tortured for no reason enjoys an enormous cult-following. It IS disturbing, I give it that. Of course it is disturbing to watch a torture video for 40 minutes. What is more disturbing, however, is the fact that many people actually seem to regard this pile of garbage as some kind of masterpiece. I really cannot figure why. The fact that the gore effects look realistic cannot be the reason, I hope. The girl who plays the victim isn't a very good actor, and reacts very calm to all the torture. That makes the film look less realistic, which is, in this single case, a good thing. This is a film that is sickening; not for its gore, but for its redundancy, its existence for the sole purpose of showing 40 minutes of torture.

I strongly oppose any form of censorship. Since this is 100 per cent fake and nobody got hurt during its production, it is, of course, legitimate to make such a film. However, I cannot think of a single reason why anyone would like this, other than the morbid desire to watch suffering and the enjoyment of torture. This film's sequel "Flowers of Flesh and Blood" gained notoriety when actor Charlie Sheen mistook it for an actual snuff film and informed the FBI. Fortuneately, the film turned out to be fake. Overall, "The Devil's Experiment" is a fake torture/snuff film that seems to have the sole purpose of looking as close to a real snuff film as possible.

"The Devil's Experiment" is one of the worst films I have ever had the misfortune of sitting through. Don't torture yourself by giving this piece of crap a try for its controversial status. Do yourself a favor and avoid it.

Vile, vile, vile

[Argus · 1/10 · 1 September 1998]

Quite possible the sickest and most vile movie ever put to celluloid (and one of the few times even people like myself start thinking wether it's a snuff movie or not - which it isn't)

Totally 100% fake horror that documents various tortures on a woman.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 10 August 2005]

Za Ginipiggu: Akuma no Jikken, or Guinea Pig: Devils Experiment as it's more commonly known amongst Western audiences, starts with a brief Japanese text introduction that translated into English supposedly reads 'Several years ago, I obtained a private video under the title Guinea Pig. It's commentary said "This is a report of an experiment in the breaking point of bearable pain and the corrosion of people's senses" but it was, in fact, an exhibition of devilish cruelty as 3 perpetrators severely abused a woman. Note: "Guines Pig" is defined as any experimental material.' Once that's out the way Za Ginipiggu: Akuma no Jikken starts proper & the fun begins... Another caption informs us that it is 'Summer 198X', the film is split up into various sections that are preceded by a title card & the first one reads 'HIT' in which three men slap & punch a woman named Yegg around her face & eventually start whacking her with a small cloth bag full of coins, a counter in the bottom right hand corner of the screen indicates 100 before the second section 'KICK' begins which is self explanatory. The third is 'CLAW' in which the skin on Yegg's arm & hand is pinched with a metal tool of some sort. Then it's 'UNCONCIOUS' in which the men spin Yegg around on a chair, a lot. Next up is 'A SOUND' in which Yegg is subjected to a horrible high pitched noise through headphones which are tied & taped to her head, as the counter reads 20h Yegg starts to drool. In 'BURN' the men pour boiling hot water over Yegg's arms. 'WORM' sees a load of maggots poured over Yegg's face, body & wounds. 'GUTS' shows the men throwing presumably animal intestines all over poor Yegg & finally Za Ginipiggu: Akuma no Jikken finishes with 'NEEDLE' which is the showstopper where Yegg is put out of her misery... The first of 7 Guinea Pig films produced in Japan Za Ginipiggu: Akuma no Jikken is sick, offencive, twisted, depraved, senseless, brutal & has no redeeming values whatsoever which means it's just about the perfect exploitation film! I can't say I loved it but at the same time I found it quite watchable for what it was. There is no story, no characters & it really is just scene after scene of Yegg being beaten & abused. I should also point out that Za Ginipiggu: Akuma no Jikken is totally fake & that's an absolute certainty. While the special make-up effects are very good they don't convince 100%, having said that the needle inserted into Yegg's eye is a brutal scene & I can see how many would be grossed out by it but it's definitely just an effect albeit an impressive one. The production is extremely basic being filmed on what looks like a camcorder, there are no sets to speak of, no music & it contains virtually no dialogue except abuse the men hurl at Yegg. There isn't really much else to say about Za Ginipiggu: Akuma no Jikken except that if it sounds offencive to you then it will be, otherwise if you like extreme cinema & looking for something unique then this may fit the bill for you. I found it strangely watchable, I don't know what that says about me, but it certainly isn't for everyone. Think carefully before you give this one a go, difficult to recommend & my score is based on my own personal liking of it.

This is not a horror movie, it is a disturbing piece of trash!

[silent_watchman · 1/10 · 31 January 2003]

Who in their right mind would make something this disgusting and disturbing. This isn't even close to art. I know these guys were trying to push buttons, but this was way over the line. Horror movies are supposed to be "scary fun", not "scary disturbing fun for sickos fun"! Jeez, I don't know how anyone in Japan or otherwise could find this movie interesting and watchable.

It got what it was going for... My lunch...And Breakast...And-

[zorasguitar · 8/10 · 15 July 2006]

First off, this is not supposed to be a brilliant and thought provoking film like so many other reviewers seem to compare it to. the first review says something along the lines of anyone who likes this knows nothing about horror cinema, apparently its the other way around. If one were to look back after the film it really wasn't meant to be convincing, it was a low budget ipecac. But really thats all it was aiming for, it was meant to blow viewers away with sheer shock value (and all the flaws it its visuals were much less noticeable back in the original VHS versions).

I gave this one a high score because it reached its goal and even though it was not downright horrific (in non-shock sense) it did make me slightly sick and thoroughly paranoid/pessimistic(i didn't trust anyone for about a week because i didn't want to wake up strung up and tortured)

A Sick Experience

[CMRKeyboadist · 7/10 · 28 June 2006]

I first heard of this movie after purchasing the 1976 flick "Snuff". I was told that Devil's Experiment was much better so naturally I went ahead and ordered the Guinea Pig box set. I was really interested to hear that Charlie Sheen had come out trying to ban either this movie or the second one, so my interest was peaked.

Devil's Experiment is a short film with no story, no character development. Just 3 men torturing a woman for about 45 minutes. They torture her in various ways like beating her, spinning her in circles over and over again then forcing her to drink alcohol, forcing her to listen to hi-pitched noise for 24 hours, smash her hand with a mallet, burning and putting maggots on the burns, throwing guts at her, and ultimately shoving a sharp needle through her eye.

I must say that a lot of this movie was fake, like the beating scenes. But then, some of it was actually well done as far as grossing you out. The scenes in which the woman is being spun around in circles was making me dizzy watching it. Or the scene in which she is forced to listen to sharp noise for 24 hours is painful to think about. The worst is the eye scene. I didn't shutter when watching it but simply thought "Damn, that looks pretty good for such a low budget movie". I did enjoy the flick but I don't know if I can really recommend this unless you have seen most of what the horror genre has to offer. 7/10

this film sucks...

[Leatherface911 · 1/10 · 29 August 2007]

Not that I tinkle myself with glee at the sight of realistic blood shed, but when I put a DVD in expecting a bloodbath, and what I get is one bloody scene (the eyeball) at the tail end of asinine fake slapping, and spinning in a desk chair, I end up thinking "well that's 43 minutes of my life gone forever." I wouldn't considers this or Flower of Flesh and Blood "movies" so much as an exercise of will; to see if you can sit through them. Flower of Flesh and Blood had a few tough spots to watch. The Devil's Experiment did not. It was at best, stupid, and at worst...well...really stupid. Perhaps my expectation were too high. I put the DVD thinking "oh man, this is gonna be sick." After watching them fake slap the girl about a thousand times, I was watching it in fast forward.

Two kinds of people would be interested in this film. 1) People who seek out F'd up films just to see how F'd up it really is, or 2) horror completest. I sought this and the other Guinea Pig films for the latter reason, but even if I fell into the category of the former, this film wouldn't float my boat. As a matter of fact, I could imagine this film increasing one's blood lust...as in "WOULD YOU JUST KILL THE B*TCH ALREADY!!" So in conclusion, the only reason to own this film is for collection purposes. If you want carnage that traditional horror doesn't provide, get Traces of Death. Sure, that sucks too, but at least you'll get the blood and guts you expect.

The only reason I can see for anyone praising this crap is because they feel they're supposed to. No artistic merit that I can comprehend, no reason for it's notoriety, no nothing. Just a lame attempt to be shocking.

An honest look at Guinea Pig

[cyndrix · 23 June 2002]

I felt compelled to write this review because I read so many negative things about the film before I saw it. I wondered if the film was really that bad or if people were just so disgusted by what they saw they felt the need to trash it. That's why I decided to provide an honest look at Guinea Pig.

The first important thing to know about Guinea Pig is that it is quite obviously fake. I won't go into details as to why, but the reasons are many and widespread throughout the entire film. From the first frame of video alone, text that explains where the film came from...are we to believe that this was actually released? A much more effective start would have been to just dive right into the video. That way we might have some sense that perhaps we are viewing something illegal that somehow slipped through the cracks.

The question is, why is it so important that Guinea Pig is obviously fake? Unlike other films, Guinea Pig doesn't have any character development. Without empathy for the film's characters, the only thing that we have to rely on for fear is the thought that maybe, just maybe, what we are seeing is real. Contrast that with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We know that's just a film, but it is much more effective because we care what happens to the characters. Also, TCM is able to show some scenes of violence from the victim's point of view allowing the viewer to put himself in the victim's shoes. Guinea Pig can't do those things, so the only thing it has to frighten us with is realism.

Guinea Pig fails in the realism department, so does that mean the film is a total failure? Not exactly. I think Guinea Pig succeeds on two levels.

Human beings have a natural instinct towards self-preservation. It's that very instinct that causes the thought of true snuff to illicit such horror as well as curiosity. When viewing questionable material, this instinct also causes us to search for explanations as to why what we are watching is not real. In one scene, the victim has hot oil poured on her arm. This is obviously not really happening as she makes no reasonable attempt to move her arm out of the path of the spilling oil. But hold on....how do I know that? The film made me consider it. The mere fact that viewing Guinea Pig made me have to think about how a person might react to hot oil being spilled on them means that it has succeeded on some level. Whether this success of the film is something that the viewer actually wants is another question entirely.

Secondly, I think Guinea Pig succeeds in forcing us to think about what we are willing to see. Though quite fake, the famous climactic needle scene is indescribably difficult to watch. This forces the viewer to consider how much more he is willing to see. Many people seek shocking video, but then wish they could unsee what they have seen. Perhaps Guinea Pig can provide some answers as to what we are willing to see. If nothing else, maybe after seeing Guinea Pig we will really think about viewing something before wishing we could unsee it.

In summation, I can't recommend Guinea Pig because of its shortcomings. I expect its recent domestic release on DVD will create wide interest in the film, but I would certainly wait until it's in the $10 bin before considering it. I even found Jeepers Creepers to be a scarier experience because at least the story was told well. With the lack of any story and the lack of realism, what does Guinea Pig really have to offer? Not much.

Worst film ever

[ensignramsey · 1/10 · 10 December 2019]

No story, no dialogue, just a girl being abducted and tortured by a group of young men. I give this one star because zero isn't a valid rating. That star remains wholly undeserved. The "Oscar" is NOT in the post. Watch for morbid curiosity only.

Dated, phony, way over-hyped. A true disappointment

[Mike_T-Little_Mtn_Sound_Archive · 2/10 · 22 September 2019]

I'm not sure how I've made it to age 50 (almost) after a lifelong love affair with exploitation, art cinema, trash, gore, etc and not seen the GP films - and I will watch them all - but this first entry is absolutely garbage. There is a long list of films from yesterday that still hold up today, but this is not one or them. I tempered my excitement going in to this, as I knew it could never live up to the cult status it has attained. Every aspect of this film is fake and non-committal - ie there is nothing realistic about any of the individual terrors the lady faces. Slapping...come on...every single slap is seen NOT hitting her face, but the slapper's own hand; kicking...seriously...I've seem more realistic kicking at an 8u soccer game. Each point of the story is faced with this same level of phoniness. Had I seen it when it came originally out (I was 15), MAYBE I would have thought differently, but even then, having seen countless Italo-horror masterpieces, and even some of the American ones (eg Evil Dead etc), this would have likely disappointed me then as well.

I hear that the next couple films In the series are better, and for crying out loud...I hope so. There is no way I would recommend anyone watch this. Not because it's too hard core, but because it lacks ANY core.

Not particularly disturbing

[SteveLakerLondon · 3/10 · 9 February 2006]

I recently watched the first Guinea Pig film, The Devil's Experiment, and I must admit to being disappointed.

This film is invariably included in any list of the "nastiest" films and maybe I was expecting more because of the hype. The truth is though, I don't rate it.

If I'd been watching it believing the opening text to be true ("I found this tape..."), I might have been a bit disturbed by it, thinking it was real. Even without the benefit of knowing it not to be real though, I think I'd have worked out that it indeed wasn't.

Throughout the film, the girl's reactions to what is being done to her just aren't what they should be. She should be screaming like a banshee in pain. The fact that she isn't means that it's obviously not real. I wouldn't want to watch it if it were real but if she were to be more convincing in her acting, the film would be more disturbing.

And then there are the notorious scenes: nothing affected me at all up until the scalpel in the hand. The hot oil, maggots and innards just didn't bother me. I'm not saying I'm "hard"; just that I wasn't able to suspend my disbelief, partly because of the girl's inaction.

The scalpel made me wince a little but the hammer to the hand just made the hand look rubber. And the final scene with the eye was again a little wincing but nothing more. I didn't want to look away and neither did I feel nauseous.

Perhaps it's because the film is twenty-odd years old, or perhaps I'm just jaded. The truth is, I didn't find this film at all disturbing.

It's the kind of thing you might expect to see playing on a loop as a modern art installation and as an exercise in stripping away characters, story etc. and just leaving the torture, it works on some levels. As a disturbing piece of film though, it didn't work for me at least.

I watched Guinea Pig with my wife, who is of the "it's just a film" bent and she wondered what all the fuss was about. We got to discussing why I watch these films and my reasons are many but include a desire to be affected by a film. She said that she didn't think any film could be so convincing as to disturb her and challenged me to do exactly that. I played her the fire extinguisher scene from Irreversible and she was indeed disturbed.

I'm not sure I have a point, other than that both of us were more disturbed by a scene in a non-horror genre film than any film thus far which sets out to disturb.

notorious for being called a real snuff

[trashgang · 4/10 · 26 November 2013]

The Guinea Pig box, so much is said about it. When the first entry came out it was immediately a hot thing, some popular Hollywood thespians called the cops by telling them they just watched a real snuff movie and in those days it was to be believed that this was a real snuff flick. Today we do know better as with the Faces Of Death we all know that it was mostly faked.

The way this flick was made do add towards the feeling that you are watching a snuff movie. No opening or ending credits, no professional editing and no real directing to notice. Not only that, shot with a grainy look and no extra lighting gave people back then the creeps. To be honest, people nowadays not aware of the horror genre and seeing this flick will indeed be shocked. It's strange because there's no real horror (except at the end) or gore or even blood to spot but it's the way the torturing takes place and is done that makes it not watchable for the faint- hearted.

But for today standards it all looks a bit low on everything. The kicking and slabbing may look cruel but it's toward the end that you will ask yourself, which girl is crazy enough to do such things. Animal intestines being thrown over your face? Maggots all over your body?

But at the end some will be really shocked but having seen Tampon Tango Genki-Genki and MASD-004 this flick is laughable but again, people not used in the Japanese extreme genre still avoid this at all costs.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 1/5 Comedy 0/5

Guts to the face!

[MovieManiac42 · 7/10 · 25 February 2008]

This is the first out of the Guinea Pig series, and is one of the more infamous films out of the collection.

It took me a long time to finally man up and get my hands on a copy of this notorious group of films. I bought the Guinea Pig Box Set and decided to watch the collection in order by release date. So I popped this sucker in and sat down.

From what I had read on the internet, and realizing the content involved in this film, I was expecting to test my nerves in full force. This ended up not being the case.

The film focuses on a group of men who kidnap a woman and begin torturing her with the hopes of discovering the human breaking point, and how long a human can tolerate pain.

Sounds like one sick flick right? Wrong. The film fails to shock. This may be because I have become desensitized over the years do to my obsession with horror, but I think it is safe to say that any true gorehound could sit through this with ease.

On the other hand an individual who does not have a well knowledge of this type of film will most likely be overwhelmed and disgusted by the images they see on the screen. Though it failed to shock me the film contains some pretty mean spirited and graphic scenes of violence. Including the ripping out of fingernails, intestines thrown at an unconscious woman, and a needle through the eye.

Overall I think for majority of the gorehounds on this board that you should just get your hands on a copy of this film for the novelty of it, but I suggest that for any new comers to these type of films that you should work your way up to this one.

Infamous pseudo-snuff from Japan.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 19 May 2007]

The first in the series of ultra-gory movies from Japan, Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment is a nasty little pseudo-snuff film that lovingly documents the torture of a woman.

Each of the steps in her ordeal are titled: Hit (she is slapped repeatedly, and then hit across the face with a bag full of coins); Kick (she is pushed to the ground and kicked); Claw (pliers are used to pinch her skin); Unconscious (the woman is spun in a chair and forced to drink whisky until she is sick); A sound (she is made to listen to a terrible noise for hours on end until she is a dribbling wreck); Skin (fingernail removal via pliers); Burn (hot oil is poured onto the victim's arm); Worm (maggots are applied to the wounds).

Then, in a section which lacked an English translation on my copy, the torturers chuck offal at the girl, slice open her hand with a scalpel before smashing it with a hammer, and finish off with the old 'needle through the eye' gag.

To be honest, Hit through to Worm is fairly lame stuff. Sure, it is nasty in tone, but it could've been thrown together by any group of morally retarded film students (myself included). 'Unconscious' looks like your average teenage drinking game (I'm sure I played that one during my college days), whilst 'A Sound' is nothing shocking: I've had to listen to my workmate Phil's ipod for 9 hours solid—now that is torture!

For fans of gore, it is only the final few minutes that will be of interest. The hand slicing and smashing is VERY realistic, as is the puncturing of the eyeball. It's easy to see how, in this film's early days of being circulated on VHS, it was often mistaken for the real thing.

Devil's Experiment is certainly an interesting film if you're studying the history of the underground horror scene, but as far as entertainment goes, it's actually quite dull. I rate this film as average, giving it a 'middling' score of 5/10.

Where have they found that girl ?

[yamaelle · 9/10 · 17 June 2000]

After having watched "Guinea Pig", two questions come in mind ( besides 'Am I really a psychopath to watch that ?' ) : 'Is it a snuff ?' The answer is no ; although it's the closest thing to a snuff movie I've ever seen. And then : 'Where the hell have they found that girl ?'. Because she gets tortured for '45 min, without any reasons given ( in fact, there is nothing else in this movie !) : Fingernails teared off, beaten with hands, feet, tools, infested by maggots, ... and many more until the final scene ( I'm still not sure how they did that ). Because it belongs to the 'japonese underground scene', it's obvious she didn't get a lot of money. So what were her ( their ) motivations ?

I saw it in japonese without subtitles, but it's not a problem ( no real dialogues, the boys are just insulting her in a few scenes ). I haven't seen yet all the serial, but the first "Guinea Pig" is not known for being the best one. Still I've rated 8, because if the purpose was making people believe this a snuff, the issue is quite good ( ask Charlie Sheen, the actor ). But I think they could have gone further, which they did in the following ones.

Another movie I'm hiding from my parents.

8/10

Nihilism in its purest form

[Kaare Jensen · 3/10 · 31 May 2001]

This is an installment in the notorious Guinea Pig series. A short lived japanese TV-show, that got cancelled after a psychopath admitted to being inspired in the killing of a young schoolgirl by the show. This short in the series is, like all the other films in the series, practically without any story. A group of guys have captured a young woman. They tie her down and proceeds to torturing her to death while videofilming her. They beat her, pour boiling oil over her, use pliers on her and finally, in "loving" closeup, push a needle through her eye. This is the most straightforward of all the Guinea Pig movies, and one of the first. It was probably this film, more than any of the others, that gave Guinea Pig the rumour of being snuff. They certainly gave inspiration to Nicolas Cage's movie "8 mm.". These movies have gotten quite popular in horror circles. They have progressed to more polished, but equally graphic movies like "Naked Blood". They probably fill the void left by the Mondo movies, that got slightly cleaned up and became reality TV. Not recommended, but will probably allure those who will see anything once, and wonder why afterwards, I know I did.

A hard one

[Gorbiz · 27 January 2005]

I believe it's impossible to SPOIL this film, if you think different: don't read this comment!

Well, think of three men systematically torturing a women using many different methods (and both physical and psychical), their intention is all along to go on until she's dead, they what to see how long she lasts and what it takes. There is no (further) plot what so ever. Everything looks totally real and homemade. All this plus a subtle background sound creates a terrible atmosphere in addition to the horrific footage. (As I see there is about 0.5 seconds of questionable material, it involves a sledge hammer and a hand; I think the response from the hand might be unrealistic)

I thought I somewhat used to disturbing films since I watch Cannibal Holocaust, Scrapbook, Aftermath and alike with hardly no problems.

It's hard to rate this film, one should probably first ask oneself the question (like yamaelle does in a comment): am I already a psychopath to watch this? The important things about this film can probably be fully assimilated without watching it; the only thing you will miss is the (eventual) chock. This film will or have already gone to the history of film creation as the creators probably intended.

Is this art? Well, it's hard to tell.

an insult

[ausmitra · 5/10 · 6 February 2006]

this kind of horrific film could not be an outcome of a sound mind. it is the insult of civilization till now. how can one think so horrible, i wonder. and still many viewers are wishing to see it. i just had some DVDs from my friend, and i was shocked to watch this stuff. it can make instable our mentality. it simplifies how terrific the scenes actually were. i suggest the movie makers not to shoot and think so barbarically. ..............................................it was the most horrific movie i have ever seen. It shows what the dirtiest thing we can imagine and how infernal are we far dirtier than the animals.............