Living Hell (2000)
"Iki-jigoku" (original title)

Family is the source of all evil, in this aspiring horror film which traces its descent from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre gore and the atmospheric Hammer films. Chiyo, an old woman and her ... See full summary »

Director:

Shugo Fujii

Writer:

Shugo Fujii

Stars:

Hirohito Honda, Yoshiko Shiraishi, Rumi

Cast

Cast overview:
Hirohito Honda	...	Yasu
Yoshiko Shiraishi	...	Chiyo
Rumi	...	Mami
Kazuo Yashiro	...	Ken
Naoko Mori	...	Yuki
Shugo Fujii	...	Mitsu
Hitoshi Suwabe	...	Dr. Kurando
Umitarou Nozaki	...	Sensei
Noboru Mitani	...	The Professor
Sei Hiraizumi	...	The Inspector

Storyline

Family is the source of all evil, in this aspiring horror film which traces its descent from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre gore and the atmospheric Hammer films. Chiyo, an old woman and her granddaughter, Yuki, are the sole survivors of a horrendous crime which wipes out an entire family. They find solace under the roof of far-removed relatives. The family's son, confined to a wheelchair, has a terrible premonition when the two women arrive, which will be verified in the most horrifying way. Because, when the house is empty, the boy is made to suffer sadistic games at the women mercy, which become more and more violent making his life a living hell...

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Plot Keywords:

premonition | gore | old woman | wheelchair | gash in the face | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, torture and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Subversive Cinema

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

30 July 2000 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Living Hell

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in just nine days.

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Connections

References Lady in a Cage (1964)

User Reviews

I don't even really see this as a horror movie.

So this movie loves to see itself as a blend of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and movies from the Hammer studios, which is an interesting approach to take for a Japanese genre movie but not really one that works out all too successful.

Thing about this movie is that it just isn't being much good as a horror. For most part of the movie, there is no good tension or mystery in it and when it does feature elements such as that, it doesn't quite work out that well, since the movie just isn't the best made or most convincing one. In the first half of the movie you'll basically have no idea what is going on and during the second half, when everything gets explained and revealed, you simply don't care enough anymore.

It's really a problem that the story just isn't being all that good. Besides, it's hard to follow and messy at times and the story doesn't always makes the best choices. Of course basically all Japanese horror movies have a certain 'weirdness' to them but this movie really pushes it at times and unfortunately goes a bit overboard with it as well at certain points, especially toward its ending, which also doesn't really rhymes with the movie its first half.

Another thing I also disliked about the movie was that it didn't really featured a good and likable enough main character in it. What, just because the main character is in a wheelchair we are supposed to sympathize for him? No, he just doesn't have enough character to him and it doesn't help that he's being mostly mute throughout the entire movie.

The movie is mostly being torture-porn and this is also where most of the movie its horror comes from. If you're looking for gore, this movie still has some moments in it but it isn't the best, since most of it is very random and doesn't really work out as anything shocking or graphic, also mainly because it isn't always being handled that well, or incorporated into the story convincingly. The movie is mostly taking a 'fun' and entertainment type of approach, as opposed to a serious and atmospheric horror kind of approach, which wasn't one of the best choices this movie made, since it pretty much ruins all of the horror aspects about it.

You could say that the movie perhaps tried a bit too hard. Director Shugo Fujii was only 26, at the time he did this movie, so perhaps he let his youthful enthusiasms take over, which blinded him and prevented him from making a truly good and successful genre movie. Or perhaps it was simply being a lack of experience thing. After all, it was only his first full length movie.

I just couldn't ever really like or get into this movie.

4/10

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