… Captivating…
I was looking for a romance. Somehow, I ran across this, read the first two lines of the summary, and thought it sounded fun. The first five minutes I thought maybe it was some sort of gothic romance, but no, it is the most gruesome graphic violence I have seen in my life. However, the fact that I came in looking for romance, but ended up watching all 1 hour and 20 minutes of this horror says a lot. I screamed and writhed around every five minutes. The plot was awesome, and it somehow managed to have a satisfying ending. Anyways, very much not a romance, and I think I’ve sustained genuine trauma. Would watch again with a blindfold and earplugs.Was this review helpful to you?
To find beauty in horror
When you watch this movie, the first thing that you will realise is that it has a completely different feel to it as compared to many other recent horror movies. Although most of the movie is shot in a single building, there isn’t a dearth of creative ways to use that to their advantage. Right from the get-go you feel a sense of foreboding and that continues till the end.The movie is about four students in an isolated school that are part of a study group of Grand Guignol. This school of troubled youths get two new entries. Homura Itsuki a new student and a mysterious new teacher. As soon as Homura joins the school it starts a series of deaths by a strange figure that is targeting the school students and faculty. With no way out of the island and the only escape is via a boat the next day, the residents of the school are forced into a desperate struggle to survive the horrific night and capture the killer.
Considering it’s a slasher movie, the horror should stem from creative death scenes. However, the movie keeps you entertained with gallons of blood spraying out of victims during every kill and the final rolling of heads post decapitation. There is a lot of shaky cam to create an atmosphere of dread but in some scenes it feels overdone. There is a hint of mystery to find the real killer but it fails to capitalize on that story instead investing in making the audiences wonder whether all the kills are staged or is it real and the movie ends beautifully leaving you with your own interpretation and theories.
The movie has a line-up of some great actors and they do not disappoint. There are times when they ham it up and you cheer their performance. Although the movie is tagged as a BL, it certainly isn’t the main plot. It’s a mystery wherein the audiences get to decide what is true.
In conclusion, give this one a watch with an open mind. As its name suggests, the movie pays homage to the style of horror plays made popular in the Grand Guignol Theater which typically depicted gore and explored the human psyche when faced with insanity, panic or hypnosis.
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Crazy.
I honestly started watching this thinking I would stop it if it got too hard to watch (due to the gore), but I didn't have a lot of trouble watching it, but I did have to look away at parts. I saw a lot of people saying it wasn't good and it was not worth watching and I'd agree unless you're bored, but it wasn't horrible. I'm not familiar with Japanese actors or BLs at all, but everyone in this movie wasn't bad at acting, maybe my standards are low? It wasn't too horrible for only that reason. There was a huge lack of plot, and it felt that everything happened in the last quarter of the movie, everything happened at once. The ending wasn't horrible but I find myself not liking endings that I have to interpret myself. I also found myself being confused as to what was happening during several parts of this movie. I would say personally I was expecting the gore in this movie to be worse than it was, maybe I was expecting more because of the comments but it wasn't AS bad as I thought, I saw someone say they couldn't get the scenes out of their head for months, but I don't think that will be a problem for me. I thought as someone who doesn't enjoy seeing gory movies or lots of blood would really hate this movie but surprisingly it wasn't awful, just extremely crazy. If you're bored with nothing better to do or you usually enjoy Japanese gore/horror movies this one won't be too horrible to watch, but don't watch with the expectation of this being centered towards romance or gay relationships, it's only erotic.Was this review helpful to you?
Gore, Guts, Gays!
Wow! What a ride this movie is! You must be warned, however. This movie is a ‘hack-and-slash’ gory romp of blood and guts. So, if this is not your thing, I suggest you do not watch it. I loved it even though I generally dislike these types of movies. Despite what you might imagine, it is a gay-themed movie but certainly not BL by any stretch of the imagination. However, there is no romance here; it is just eroticism. This movie is based on a real lifestyle of gruesome theater that was popular in France in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. While it was characterized by the ‘grotesque” drama, it stresses horror and sensationalism and explored the darker aspects of human attributes. This movie takes that to a whole new level.Was this review helpful to you?
So many issues, grotesque but somewhat entertaining in a confusing way.
This horror movie is such a mixed bag for me. It has some gripping and really WTF moments...But it failed on many elements. Indeed, in terms of horror, unfortunately, I was never really frightened. I often cringed and was quite appalled by some scenes...But the visual effects are quite bad and the acting is also very limited, which is problematic for the horror to properly work.The main issue is that some characters are part of a theatre club doing grotesque and gruesome pieces, so they do "fake horrific scenes" BUT the real horror situations seems to be put at the same level...You cannot be really scared therefore because everything feel unreal due to the context in which the characters evolve. If they had a bigger budget to make the horror part frightening enough and different enough from the theatric club part, that would have worked so much better...
Regarding the acting, it got a bit better in the second half but most of the actors were average at best. Some were saying their lines in such an unconvincing way that it was comical. Some were clearly under-acting (instead of over-acting) which is an error because it did not match the craziness of the plot.
Regarding the story, it is a bit of shame that they did not lean more into characterization for the main protagonists. It makes it super difficult to care for whatever was happening to them. I think they were too many to be properly developped given the length of the movie. The adults roles were pretty limited and boring but there was a lot of interesting aspects relating to the students. It could have made a fascinating series expanding on each of the characters with all their kinks and unhealthy relationships.
I would not recommend this movie because I am very ambivalent about my feelings about it. It is objectively bad on so many aspects but still it is so WTF that it might be worth a watch (?). It is super gruesome and graphic, so if you are squimmish, it is definitely not for you. The scare level is not really there because of the acting and context in which the characters evolve make everything pretty unconvicing.
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what the fuck?
there’s a reason it’s under the “what did I just watch?” category on GagaOOlala………………………………………………………………………….
you will need a palate cleanser after watching
…………………………………………………………………………
…I’m just so confused…bloody horror is usually my thing…but this…this is something else
……………………………………………………………………………why does a review have to be 500 characters? …………………………………………………………………………..
it doesn’t take that many to say. this was weird, left me super confused and hoping it didn’t follow me into my dreams…..
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CREPPY in a SPECTACULAR WAY
I am not an avid fan of gore films and series but I already prepared myself of the possible things that I may see in the movie given the title since I already have an idea of what the title means. I will give my review in relation to the ratings that I have given above.STORY:
The story is quite interesting. An idea of an exclusive conservatory and somehow juvenile students and the thing they do. What's lacking on that part was the WHY of every character. Why they were sent or why they went there? Answering that question will help us understand the personality of the characters but in some way not answering that question added to the suspense value of the story since we don't know the backgrounds of each character and the things that they can. Another thing to be applauded with the story is the illusion it portrays. Since they are an acting club we can't deduct nor tell at first glance if what partakes in the story are all an act or reality.
ACTING/CAST:
To begin with, hahaha seems like I have a thing with Komiya, the one who played as Itsuki. After watching his series entitled ETERNAL YESTERDAY, I was so stars truck with him. From his looks to his acting skills but I'll try to be objective in this review. Acting with such topic or scenes is difficult. You should convinced the audience that you are terrified or afraid for them to believe you and that cast did a great job in that part. I so love the several touch of BL being a BL lover those scenes are like a breath of fresh air hehehe.
MUSIC:
Without a doubt the music has added to the suspense or thrill of the movie. That part should be understandable and agreeable.
REWATCH VALUE:
Will watch part of it especially the BL scenes but not the gore ones. I am not that person who easily lost his/her appetite while watching gore films, in fact I can eat while watching those gut slicing with exposures of intestines. I don't really mind but it's not my thing.
OVERALL:
As BL, a bit but not with the standards. I gave it a 10 because of the story quality, acting and cinematography. If you are someone who is not into gore films. You won't really like. For some who can tolerate but don't really love gore scenes you may come to appreciate it like me and for some who are into gore file this might be for you. In short, people will surely have different perspective with this films bit in order to like it you must prepare yourself for what you may see but don't set a particular standard in your mind before watching do. That way, you may get to enjoy the film.
In the end, this film made me love Komiya Rio better!!!
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o seu maior inimigo é você
eu peguei esse filme esperando coisa trash mesmo e até que fiquei vidrado porém a cor dele ser escura e mal filmado me deixou desconfortável em certos momentos mas acho que foi proposital e eu que não compreendi kko elenco até que entregou bastante para um filme bizarro desse e o gore foi bem feito dá agonia em certas partes, porém o exagero dos japonês sempre me choca acho tudo tão caricato porém é tão deles isso que eu fico encantado no final
esse filme quis ser uma salada de todos os clichês possíveis e conseguiu até que executar bem, só que não inovava em nada e o final meio batido para compensar tudo que nossos olhos foram obrigado a ver foi muito de mal gosto.
recomendo para quem gosta de filme bizarro que você não entende nada e depois fingi que nunca existiu
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