American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore (2014)

*Get the film on Amazon here*

Taking their cue from the Japanese "Guinea Pig" gory film series, Stephen Biro has created a penultimate gore film with little plot but some stunning practical special effects.

Two women (Cayt Feinics, Ashley Lynn Caputo) are kidnapped off the street in the opening scenes. They are drugged, rendered immobile, and tied to a couple of tables. Then a group of masked men sport various film and video cameras and record another man who must torture them to death as part of a snuff film production (but also to save his children, who are being held captive). The majority of the film is the slow, systematic, literal butchering of the two women, with a stomach churning final scene that thankfully isn't followed through with.

While other critics have complained about the skimpy plot, I appreciated that this wasn't just another serial killer/"snuff" film. No one bursts in the door at the last minute to save the victims, Jodie Foster or Denzel Washington don't study minute clues and gather suspects; the film is a record of the murders of these two women. One thing serial killer culture often ignores is the murders from the victims' points of views- something we are rarely privy to, and something I doubt is just like the movies or television.

Biro's film is claustrophobic, taking place in one setting after the initial kidnapping. The mix of media capturing the torture is inspired, and Biro's editing is fantastic. The "snuff" film isn't a slick production, it's grimy and disgusting, getting the job done. The cast is good across the board, as is the understated and creepy musical score. The pacing lags here and there, especially on Caputo as the second victim. The makeup and gore special effects are outstanding. I've seen a lot of mondo and gore films in my time, and the special effects here rate at the top of the scale- they are very realistic and effective, and put the viewer in a state of unease right away.

Obviously, extreme gore horror films aren't for everyone, but "American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore" is a pinnacle creation in the genre.

Stats:
(2014) 73 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Stephen Biro
-Cast: Eight the Chosen One, Scott Gabbey, Jim Van Bebber, Rogan Russell Marshall, Cayt Feinics, Ashley Lynn Caputo, Curse Mackey, David Hood, Lucio Giovannelli, Lilly Dickenson
(Unrated)- contains very strong extreme physical violence, some sexual violence, very strong extreme gore, profanity, some sexual content, female nudity, sexual references, very strong adult situations, drug abuse