Living Hell (DVD)

Made in 2000 and just now making its way onto DVD for the North American market, Living Hell is a low-budget Japanese horror flick billed as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre without the chainsaws!" (Meaning: the family that slays together, stays together… no matter what the weaponry.)

The spooky story follows Chiyo (Yoshiko Shiraishi), a creepy old woman and her creepier granddaughter, Yuki (Naoko Mori), who are the sole survivors of a horrendous slaughter which wipes out an entire family -- including the dog who gets gruesomely eaten in the massacre. The women find refuge under the roof of far-removed relatives, who welcome them not with open arms, but with hesitant suspicion (and who can blame them? This is a weird pair: Neither one of them speaks, and they each have a catatonic-like demeanor when they're not jumping out unexpectedly from the shadows). The family's son Ken (Kazuo Yashiro), is confined to a wheelchair and he has the strongest misgivings of all about the dour duo. His fears bear out when his sister and father go work every day and he is made the helpless target of the pair's sadistic games. The home is soundproof and Ken is left completely at the cruel womens' mercy (of which they have none). Ken's life spirals into a living hell as his teeth and testes are zapped with jolts of agonizing electricity (I kid you not… It's like John Holmes does The Marathon Man) and… worse!

Living Hell is a pretty good idea and Yashiro plays the terrified victim with vigor, but the plot is too complicated for writer/director Shugo Fujii to properly and professionally execute. There are two major sub-plots, neither of which effectively add to the story because they are too loose. Fujii's inability is obvious, but you can definitely see some potential in him (he's got one twisted imagination). A proficient, ruthless editor and a talented cinematographer would have helped a lot, but you get what you pay for (Living Hell cost approximately $100,000 US dollars to make).

Well over the top (and around the bend) the horror and gore is more ludicrous than scary… but there are two or three standout scenes that are unrivaled even by some big-budget Hollywood horror flicks I've seen this year. They stay with you, and that's no easy task in this genre. The makeup is terrible and actors are wildly uneven, but that just makes the crazy climax that much more fun.

While I can't in good conscious recommend Living Hell, I do think this shlocker has some worthwhile moments and is a must-see for diehard fans of the new wave of Japanese horror films.

The DVD includes a commentary from Fujii, four of his short films, deleted scenes, and storyboards. His short films are incredibly tedious, but the storyboards are somewhat interesting (it's amazing to think Living Hell even had storyboards!).

(by Staci Layne Wilson)