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Grand Guignol japanese drama review
Completed
Grand Guignol
4 people found this review helpful
by IncorrigibleMe
Jun 3, 2023
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.5

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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