Movie review: Guts of a Virgin

The infamous Japanese ero-splatter shocker gets a new Blu-ray as part of the Guts Trilogy box set of 88 films…

Fans of the transgressive, extreme or just plain bizarre have something to celebrate with the first ever UK Blu-ray release of the Guts Trilogy by Japanese director Kazuo ‘Gaira’ Komizu, consisting of the delightfully titled Intestines of a virgin, The innards of a beauty And Rusted bodyworkall presented in their full, uncut glory. Not long after the infamous Guinea pig The three films in the series have been hanging around in the dark shadows of exploitation cult fandom since the late 80s. Although they are showing some signs of age after almost forty years, they still have the power to shock and astonish with their grotesque mix of sex, violence and more sex. A number of scenes can best be described as unique and will make even the most spoiled viewer look up.

The first is Intestines of a virginwho also passed by Entrails of a Virginrevolving around a seemingly basic and generic horror movie plot – a group of photographers and their models finish a hard day of shooting pornography in the mountains and are heading home. However, while driving through a forest they get lost in a mysterious fog and are forced to take shelter in an abandoned building. Naturally, they decide to drink it up and have a little party, including some kinky sex games, humiliation and a lot of wrestling. Unfortunately for them, some kind of swamp monster comes out of the darkness and kills them one by one, subjecting the women to horrible perversions before they die.

Intestines of a virgin is without a doubt the strangest shocker ever to draw inspiration from Descartes and Japanese candy, and which also apparently makes a point about commercialism in cinema, at least according to writer and director Gaira. Whatever its intentions, pretty much everything else in the film is drowned out by the sheer amount of sex on display, with softcore and gratuitous nudity taking up at least two-thirds of its short running time. It could be argued that the film is more Pinku than horror, something that will be disappointing to fans expecting something genre-friendly in the traditional sense, where the story is essentially woven around the sex and sleaze, generally without much in the way of context or point.

As usual for the Pinku form, although there is a lot of nudity, the actual sex is in Intestines of a virgin has a large optical fog over the offensive parts, so to speak, which makes certain sequences rather redundant and ridiculous – it should be noted that this censorship is present in the original film, and does not mean that this new version has been cut or altered. Given the title, it should come as no surprise that the film is decidedly misogynistic, and while perhaps not as disdainful of its female characters as some other Japanese pinku-horror fusions or ero-splatter, it does make for some very crude behavior in places, and is certainly not for the uninitiated.

The avalanche of sex is a bit of a shame, as the horror elements, when they do occur in the later stages, are quite effective, and Gaira manages to sneak in some eerily atmospheric scenes and gore-filled set pieces, all of which benefit greatly from the improved visuals of this new Blu-ray release. While the film doesn’t have as many stomach-turning moments as its reputation or box art might suggest, there are a few standouts, including the infamous scene where a sex-crazed woman makes interesting use of a severed arm. That said, Gaira does show a bewildering tendency to throw seemingly unrelated imagery into some of these scenes, presumably designed to heighten their impact but which actually only serves to distract. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the film’s age and low budget, most of the gore in Intestines of a virgin looks cartoonish and unconvincing, and is more likely to make viewers laugh than cringe, and it’s the scenes of sexual abuse or perversion that are particularly disturbing. It’s certainly these that mark the film out as extreme cinema, more than the gore or promised guts, and again, this means that viewers unaccustomed to the kind of content often found in Japanese Pinku horror may understandably find it off-putting or problematic.

All this aside, if you look at it with the right mindset, Intestines of a virgin actually provides some hilarious entertainment, albeit unintentionally, thanks to the terrible acting, odd dialogue, and goofy sound effects. The wrestling fetish that crops up repeatedly deserves a special mention, as it’s both funny and strange, and while it’s coupled with even more abuse of female cast members, it also comes with actors yelling about doing backflips and piledrivers. The swamp monster when it does appear further diminishes the film’s chances of being taken seriously, looking suspiciously like a hapless actor covered in mud, leaves, and a bit of white face paint, and the fol-de-role only increases when it speaks, adopting a deep, electronic voice and spouting some bizarre and incomprehensible philosophies. To be fair, while it’s hard to know what Gaira was going for, he certainly gets full marks for gonzo enthusiasm.

This welcome dash of crazy madness helps Intestines of a virgin entertainingly silly, for those who can stomach the more sordid and sleazy side of it. While the sex stifles the horror elements, Gaira still manages to pack in enough outrageous and perverse moments to make it worth a watch for fans of hardcore exploitation cinema, and it’s great to see it in this new release, especially for those who may have only seen it in bootleg quality before.

Gaira’s Guts Trilogy will be released on Blu-ray on October 7, 2024 by 88 Films.