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47%
Overall Rating
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Ranked #5,109
...out of 20,698 movies
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An unnamed doctor has always had everything he's ever wanted, but that has only made him develop more extreme and depraved needs. He kidnaps a young couple in the prime of their life together and forces them into a game of torment that slowly extinguishes their hopes for survival.
--IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: May 11, 2015
So, I had a big date night last night, part of which involved sitting around and watching movies. Grotesque is one of the ones that my little lady picked out for us to watch, as she said that it had a romantic side to it, in addition to gallons of gore and plenty of dismemberments. That sounded like a winner in my book, so in it went. I had never heard of this movie before, so I went into it completely blind and not knowing what to expect aside from "Weird Japanese shit", "Romance angle", and "Lots of gore", so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was actually really good.
The storyline for it is pretty minimal, truth be told. An unnamed doctor (Shigeo Ôsako) kidnaps a young couple, Aki (Kotoha Hiroyama) and Kazuo (Hiroaki Kawatsure), and chains them up in his dungeon of depravity. There, he wants to experience the excitement of watching how far they will go to live, and also to see how much they love one another. For example, in one scene, he has Kazuo tied down to a table, and in a very nonchalant voice, tells him that he is going to first drive a bunch of nails through his balls, and then he is going to cut off his penis. However, there is a catch to this little game: at any point, including right now before it even begins, he can say "Stop" and the good doctor will do just that... except, he will then turn his attention to Aki. So, does he take this pain and dismemberment in order to save his lover, or does he say "Screw it" and let his girlfriend take some punishment? This is just one scene in a movie that features chainsaws, eye-gougings, sexual violations, intestines being ripped out, and necklaces made up of fingers and nipples. Yeah, it's a little extreme.
As mentioned, there's not much to the storyline, but it's not exactly torture porn shot purely for the sake of shock, either. There's a legitimate story here, bare as it may be, and I agreed with my own girlfriend's assessment of it: it's actually kind of romantic. How far would you go to spare the one that you love, especially when you know what is coming to your own body if you choose to save them? When you're being hacked to pieces, and you know that you could make it all stop simply by saying a word and having the doctor turn his attention to her, would you do it? Make no mistake about it, this doctor is pretty fucking brutal in his methods, and being a doctor, he is able to keep these people alive for a very long time. They may be missing a couple of body parts, and they may be in agony, but they are very much alive. Think about your own love lives: would you be willing to let a stranger chop off your fingers with a chainsaw in order to spare them some agony? It makes you think, and I enjoyed that aspect of it.
The film is shot on a low budget, but on a positive note, the entirety of that budget seemed to go towards the gore effects. There are only the three actors in the entire movie, the vast majority of it takes place in the one setting, and the two locations (the dungeon and the other one that briefly pops up midway through) seem pretty sparse. However, the gore effects is where the money went, and gorehounds will be pleased to know that the movie does not disappoint. It may not be the most realistic gore you will ever see, but it is very good and there are parts thrown in there that will definitely have you squirming... especially the nails through the balls scene. Guys, if that doesn't send a shiver up your spine, I don't know what will. It's all capped off with one final, epic scene of depravity in which the guy has to save his girlfriend in a very unique situation, and while I won't spoil it, I will definitely say that it was very memorable. There's a bit of silliness thrown in at the end of this part, because hey, Japan and all, but I thought that it worked well and capped the movie off nicely.
I also enjoyed the actors involved, and felt that they made their roles work. Shigeo Ôsako in particular was very good in his role, as he was able to pull off the sadistic asshole role to perfection. From the moment that he starts playing his games, one simply can not wait to see him get what is coming to him. The two lovers are also very good, with Hiroaki Kawatsure being the highlight of the two... maybe because he was the one who was targeted more by the doctor. His expressions of pain and screams of anguish are very convincing, and it's very easy to believe that his suffering is legitimate and not just a scene in a horror flick. This definitely adds a nice layer to an already good movie, and it makes it all the more engrossing as a result.
Grotesque may not be for everyone, but those who love the over-the-top "torture porn" movies that were all the rage for a while, especially the Japanese ones that take it all a step further, would definitely be doing themselves a favor by adding this to their collection. It may not have the strongest storyline out there, and it might not have any dolls on bicycles, but it more than makes up for that with some incredibly disturbing scenes that will stick with the most jaded of horror fans. On a personal note, I thought that it was a perfect date movie, but hey, your mileage may vary. Check it out. 8/10.
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