The Horror Show
American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice
by Poison Rouge
Ah, the Guinea Pig series. I love those films. I’ve written about them, talked about them, most likely drunkenly screamed at innocent people on the subway about them back in my NY days. Those Japanese masterpieces run the gamut from brutal to playful, haunting to silly, melancholy to slapstick. When I heard there was to be an American counterpart series a few years back, I was beyond excited. I devoured the first two the second they were available. I loved them both, with the first, Bouquet of Guts & Gore, narrowly edging the second one, Bloodshock, out as my favorite of the blossoming series. Then I became broke and that put the kibosh on buying specialty movies for a while. By the time I was back at it financially, two new APG films were already loosed upon the cinematic world: Sacrifice and Song of Solomon. I had seen more promotional material on the APG page for Solomon but wound up coming across Sacrifice more easily so decided that since I wanted to see/own them both, I’d give that one a go first.
American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice is a simple premise, or at least appears to be one at first. The story follows Daniel (Roberto Scorza), a young man who has been shook by his rough upbringing at the hands of his father. Daniel returns to his childhood home and heads into the bathroom. He strips down to his tighty whiteys, lights some candles, and pulls out a bag of various tools. These tools are to “open gateways” through blood and pain. Put simply, he sets out to mutilate himself in a variety of ways with the ultimate goal being more than the face value of his self-harm. He’s going for something grander, something bigger than himself. His real intentions are dealt with in a somewhat artsy way, but the bulk of the flick is Daniel performing an array of atrocities upon himself. Slicing into his forehead, drilling into his leg, and taking a screwdriver to places a screwdriver should never ever go, he keeps upping the ante until he’s passed the point of no return.
I won’t go into every little thing Daniel does on his bloody journey of self exploration, but I will say that the film does a good job of finding ways to crank up the wince factor more and more as it goes along. None of the self-torture are mind blowing or completely unheard-of concepts, but it’s definitely enough to fall comfortably into the category of an APG extreme fun-fest. The film is narrated by Daniel and over time the V.O. becomes essentially his thoughts. I felt this was a nice touch and gives just the right amount of insight into what he is trying to accomplish.
The film does its best to give it a flair so it isn’t simply a straightforward showcase of a dude carving himself up, but ultimately this is what it all amounts to. I do not say this to put the film down in any way, as I think it’s how a Guinea Pig film should be. As with the original lineup of films, as the series progressed there should be a little more of a plot structure, but in the end it’s about an excuse to treat the audience to torture and carnage. If I were to compare this film to any of the Japanese series, as I tend to with these APG reviews, the obvious one would be He Never Dies. But this is only because of the element of self-mutilation and me liking to feel like a nerd on the subject. In the end, it stands an entry all its own. It doesn’t have the touch of humor that the original GP series started to inject later on (with the exception of the amazing Mermaid in a Manhole, which was mainly depressing as fuck despite being a later entry). Its got its own tone and feels more claustrophobic and introspective than previous films and I appreciate it standing apart, allowing itself to be its own deal.
All in all, I liked Sacrifice. It bites off a little more than it can chew at times and doesn’t completely follow through with certain elements, but it leaves the viewer with the desired effect and in the end, is a good deal of fun. The effects are fantastic and there’s enough to keep the audience engaged and guessing throughout the film’s short but appropriate running time. If you’re already a fan of either series, or just a fan of gore and torture, I say check it out. Not everyone will consider it the most memorable entry, but it’s definitely a respectable one, deserving of being linked to the others.
P.J. Griffin, HMS
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