Naked Blood (1996)
7/10
*Warning* "Splatter: Naked Blood" will make you hurl!
27 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
"Splatter: Naked Blood"

One of the better, simplistic formulas to shake the foundation of the genre in quite some time, has arrived. A few aspects that can be appreciated about "Splatter" are the minimal expenditures of plot twists. Director Hisayasu Sato( "Night of the Anatomical Doll", "Soft Skin") hides none of the script(written by Taketoshi Watari) behind any closed doors for the imagination to guess against. Every bit of this film is in plain view. As the film develops along its 76 min trek to absolution, no punches are pulled. What IS lacking in script writing, is made up in a major way in the special make up department. The world famous Yuichi Matsui (Kill Bill: Vol 1 & 2, The Ring I, II and IV, Audition, Imprint, Ichi the Killer and The Grudge I &II. Please don't make me go on, this guys resume is beyond world class.) circumnavigates the classic effects that made him famous, ranging from disgusting, imaginative, to vomit inducing!

It's just one of those very simple films, budget is not extravagant, the story is not overly imaginative. The acting is decent, although the sound editing is great. You can hear every stab, gouge and slice in Dolby Stereo Surround. On the spectrum of short, time wise, there is a bit of a wait to get things rolling, however when the time is right and the meat of the story(or special effects) starts to develop....you know that saying..."when it rains.....it pours? Yeah....like that!

A young scientist prodigy Eiji (Sadao Abe) is working on his latest experiment, a formula aptly named "MYSON" designed to relieve pain. He feels it is very close to completion and is ready for clinical trials. His mother Yuki (Masumi Nakao) is herself a scientist, specializing in fertility. As her son comes to visit her, she is in the middle of her own trials. Three women are currently involved in a contraceptive experiment. Eiji arrives and asks if he may sit in on his mothers work for a bit. She denies him and asks him to leave her to her work. The opportunity to share his medical breakthrough passes and while his mother is turned the other way, he reveals a vial of his formula and inserts it into the IV bags, unbeknown-st to his mother and the three women.

These three women play a pivotal role in the film, their characters have very distinct attributes that make more sense later in the film. Girl #1 ( Plant Girl) has a 6 foot cactus in her apartment....yeah, kinda weird, however, maybe she is a plant lover! Well, NO( or maybe yes, just in a very odd, loving way). She just happens to have a virtual reality machine hooked up to the plant and to her(when she puts the head set on), so she can communicate with the plant, have virtual sex with it....yeah...really not sure why she has it set up to the cactus.Girl #2 ( Glutton Girl) She loves food, good food and all food she can get her mitts on. Girl #3 (Vain Girl) She loves designer clothes, looking her best at all times and of course looking at herself in the mirror.

Our young Eiji follows his test subjects from a far, watching from building tops or a few blocks away, carefully observing their responses and effects to the "MYSON" cocktail.

I thought this was a horror film with a great FX Director...where is all the good stuff at? I haven't seen a single drop of High Fructose Corn Syrup( I mean Blood)!

Patience my young Pad-Wan; patience!

Without giving away too much, I will issue a:

*Mild Spoiler Alert*

These girls have been subjected to an unknown, untested substance, with out their knowledge. This "MYSON" increases the secretion of endorphins' from the pituitary gland when pain is felt, giving the women increased pleasure when any pain is induced (or extreme body mutilation...let the gore begin).

When the makeup effects arrive, they come wielding, kitchen utensils, cooking oil and much, much more! Yuichi's work can be seen in many Takashi Miike films and he generally doesn't disappoint. This is another occasion where you will get all of your money's worth.

I'm compelled to tell you a small amount of what you can expect from the horrifically graphic, in full view scenes of "Splatter: Naked Blood". Scene #1: Glutton Girl cuts off her vagina......and......EATS IT!!! Scene #2: Glutton Girl sticks a fork in her eye, pulls it out, optic nerve and all....and....EATS IT!!

Splatter is carried specifically on content. Nothing about the films writing is anything to get excited about. Anyone can write stick fork in eye..eat eye. Sure to the non-gore watching community, stomachs would be turning in knots, however enlist the expertise of master effects director Yuichi Matsui and those stomachs turn into empty ones. Not the best characterization and plot development, however, If shock is what you like; you must see this film, it was for me! When the good stuff rolled in, it was in tsunami like waves. Watch it!

BruceVain
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