Guinea pig

I felt compelled to write this review because I read so many negative things about the film before I saw it. I wondered if the film was really that bad or if people were just so disgusted by what they saw they felt the need to trash it. That's why I decided to provide an honest look at Guinea Pig.

The first important thing to know about Guinea Pig is that it is quite obviously fake. I won't go into details as to why, but the reasons are many and widespread throughout the entire film. From the first frame of video alone, text that explains where the film came from...are we to believe that this was actually released? A much more effective start would have been to just dive right into the video. That way we might have some sense that perhaps we are viewing something illegal that somehow slipped through the cracks.

The question is, why is it so important that Guinea Pig is obviously fake? Unlike other films, Guinea Pig doesn't have any character development. Without empathy for the film's characters, the only thing that we have to rely on for fear is the thought that maybe, just maybe, what we are seeing is real. Contrast that with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We know that's just a film, but it is much more effective because we care what happens to the characters. Also, TCM is able to show some scenes of violence from the victim's point of view allowing the viewer to put himself in the victim's shoes. Guinea Pig can't do those things, so the only thing it has to frighten us with is realism.

Guinea Pig fails in the realism department, so does that mean the film is a total failure? Not exactly. I think Guinea Pig succeeds on two levels.

Human beings have a natural instinct towards self-preservation. It's that very instinct that causes the thought of true snuff to illicit such horror as well as curiosity. When viewing questionable material, this instinct also causes us to search for explanations as to why what we are watching is not real. In one scene, the victim has hot oil poured on her arm. This is obviously not really happening as she makes no reasonable attempt to move her arm out of the path of the spilling oil. But hold on....how do I know that? The film made me consider it. The mere fact that viewing Guinea Pig made me have to think about how a person might react to hot oil being spilled on them means that it has succeeded on some level. Whether this success of the film is something that the viewer actually wants is another question entirely.

Secondly, I think Guinea Pig succeeds in forcing us to think about what we are willing to see. Though quite fake, the famous climactic needle scene is indescribably difficult to watch. This forces the viewer to consider how much more he is willing to see. Many people seek shocking video, but then wish they could unsee what they have seen. Perhaps Guinea Pig can provide some answers as to what we are willing to see. If nothing else, maybe after seeing Guinea Pig we will really think about viewing something before wishing we could unsee it.

In summation, I can't recommend Guinea Pig because of its shortcomings. I expect its recent domestic release on DVD will create wide interest in the film, but I would certainly wait until it's in the $10 bin before considering it. I even found Jeepers Creepers to be a scarier experience because at least the story was told well. With the lack of any story and the lack of realism, what does Guinea Pig really have to offer? Not much.