Oxen Split Torturing

With a name like Shogun's Sadism you rather know what to expect. Or at any rate you should, and if you don't, it probably isn't a film for you. I could wrap up this review in a sentence or two just giving a few select highlights of the frequent torture, but its more interesting than that for me, for a few reasons. The first comes in the opening credits, they play over a montage of sepia toned historical imagery that meant very little to me (some kind of account of nastiness down the ages perhaps though the context was lost on me) but the last of them is of the bomb. Its a puzzling way to start such a film and rather had me scratching my head. Does it make the film an act of prostration, an admittance of the horrors of feudal Japan? Perhaps a sobering reminder of mans limitless capacity for horrifying violence? Me, I thought it over and eventually came to figuring that its a snub, a way of saying "You thought the A-bomb was pretty hardcore? Try some of this on for size", or whatever the dignified Japanese equivalent of that would be. The other points are in the very nature of the thing and the state of nasty horror today. It's interesting to me that commentators from morality humping imbeciles to language abusing soundbiters to morons of most stripes like to throw around the term of "torture porn" when talking about almost any horror these days where the violence is relatively graphic and the intent reasonably nasty. All this nonsense about genre decline, hell the whole danged decline of the arts in general, even humanity in general comes rather into sharp relief when one considers that the Japanese have been making meaner films than the average effort decried as "torture porn" for many years previous. And lastly, I found the character of the evil shogun who drives the film's first half to be a rather prescient creation. A forerunner of the sort of people who made the Saw franchise a runaway success, he bores easily of torture and demands more, ever more and more creative methods in fashion that can't help but make me think of those who ceaselessly glut the multiplexes for their fix of ever dafter traps. Now as well as having some generic interest, Shogun's Sadism serves up two quite decent stories in a manner well made and acted throughout. Firstly we have nice guy samurai Iori falling for a girl who tends to his wounds in an hour of need. Unfortunately she is a Christian, Christians are persona non grata in feudal Japan and the results are terrible for all concerned. Second up we have conman Sutezo, throwing is weight around in a brothel before being forced to serve as he has no money. Eventually things get so nasty he elects to escape with one of the hookers, but things just keep getting worse. And like before, results are terrible. Director Yuji Makiguchi captures all without flinching, only shifting the camera's gaze in cases where an effect might be spoilt by overexposure, he also handles the actors well. Some hand-held camera work goes into the mix as well for moments of action and there's generally fine cinematography it all makes for a classy package. Far classier perhaps than is deserved for a film whose delights include a multitude of stabbing, burning, hacking, maiming and at one point an thoroughly horrid forced abortion, but classiness makes for a smooth watch. This surely won't be for everyone but if really mean spirited Japanese exploitation filth is your cup of tea, its essential stuff.

Oxen Split Torture is apparently a follow up to the omnibus style torture flick Joy of Torture released in 1968. I have no idea if there are actually any links between the two films (other than content) and I'm thinking that this film is just trying to cash in on the popularity(?) of the earlier one. That sort of thing is often a recipe for a terrible film; but actually, for what it is, Oxen Split Torture is really rather good. The first film had three separate stories; this one only has two and it's a good deal shorter, but it's also much nastier. The plots of both of the stories focus on torture; I'm not going to get into the specifics of either because the plot lines are not important. What is important is the gore and while the film is not overly gory all the way through - when it does feature the red stuff, it features it heavily and some of the torture scenes really are quite shocking - a scene that sees a man have his foot literally battered away from his leg is a particular highlight in that respect. Director Yuuji Makiguchi really takes care to ensure that the gore scenes are as realistic and graphic as possible; and that is a huge positive for the film. If you want to see something cringe-worthy, don't miss this! I would even go as far as to say that Oxen Split Torture is superior to the original Joy of Torture - it might not be as classy, but it's much more violent and that's all anyone can ask for from a torture flick.

Any film that opens with a naked woman being boiled alive is going to be harsh viewing, but there are very few films that are as wanton in their depiction of sadistic violence and sexual brutality as Shogun's Sadism (AKA The Joy of Torture 2: Oxen Split Torturing), a film that positively delights in trying to shock its audience in as many ways as possible; even by Japanese standards, this is one extremely repugnant piece of film-making, and therefore an absolute must-see for fans of extreme Asian cinema.

The film consists of two separate tales set in feudal Japan during the Edo period, taking place in the years 1645 and 1821; both are tragic love stories of sorts, but the doomed relationships that unfold exist purely as catalysts for an unrelenting onslaught of on-screen nastiness.

Part one sees samurai Sasaki Iori fall for lovely peasant girl Toyo, unaware that she is a Christian and therefore an 'enemy' of the Shogunate. Amongst the dubious delights unflinchingly captured on film by director Yuuji Makiguchi for this chapter: a man cut in half with a samurai sword; Toyo repeatedly raped by Sasaki's newt-munching boss; Toyo's twelve year old sister blinded with a red hot poker; a man's feet mashed to a bright red pulp by huge hammers; some poor sod roasted alive inside a man sized cooking pot; Toyo's parents stabbed with spears and set alight; and Toyo's legs torn off by oxen.

Story number two has beautiful whore Sato join con-artist Sutezo in a life of petty crime after her daring escape from a brothel; but when the pair unknowingly attempt to scam a detective working for the magistrate, they wind up in a worse situation than ever, subjected to a series of brutal tortures. This time around the catalogue of nastiness includes a stomach churning forced abortion by a wizened hag (who goes elbow-deep to perform her task!); ear slicing and penis removal with a blunt razor; a desperate escape through a toilet full of liquid feces; the gang rape of Sato by a group of beggars; assorted sadism, including toe-slicing, nipple crushing, and water torture; and Sutezo, trapped in a pillory, slowly decapitated by a passing drunkard. Also keep an eye out for the very strange moment where a naked woman is covered in a sticky substance (possibly honey) and licked all over by cute puppies!!!

As seems to be the case with much of Toei's exploitative output of the 70s, production values are high, giving this film a polished aesthetic that is missing from many Western exploitation movies of the same period; don't be fooled by the glossy look and feel of the film though, 'cos this is much grittier stuff than the majority of grainy grindhouse flicks from the US.

After a very long time, I finally tracked down a copy of this notorious flick. I had heard quite a bit about it and it's disturbing nature (I actively seek out the worst of the worst) and was rather apprehensive to say the least. Well, I definitely was not let down by this one! Holy wow, there was some incredibly sadistic torture methods and downright gut wrenching executions. I've been a hardened film viewer for some time and have seen it all, from the worst french extreme horror to the most underground Japanese flicks and this definitely ranks up with the most brutal of brutal.

Of course, this movie isn't absolutely vivid, due to the time it was released, but don't let that fool you. The violence and torture scenes are still very raw and brutal and even made me cringe a few times (and that's pretty hard to do). Everything from boiling a woman alive, roasting someone on a fire, ankle smashing and on and on. I thought I would get a cheesy 70's grindhouse flick, with all the cheese and over the top dialog expected of the usual fare, but this one smacked me right across the face from the first scene. No, this one doesn't have that silly edge to it, as many of the other flicks of this genre have. It's just downright sick and harsh from moment one. It's also a very well made movie with quite good acting and a great script. The super sadistic Shogun is VERY convincing as well as all of the victims which adds even more to the terrors that hold within. This is truly a shocker worthy of my collection and every other super gore hound's collection as well.

So, if you're seeking out another "sickest tortures on celluloid", then by all means this flick needs to be in your possession. Even if you're looking for a good period piece from the shogunate era, this will definitely suffice as well, but be warned, it is quite a ride through hell. It makes you wonder how people get away with such wanton hate and utter depravity throughout history. I give this a 9/10.. and definitely a 10 for the violence.

I found this to be more entertaining than I expected, which is probably due to the unexpectedly high production values. Very strange that an extreme film like this should have a decent budget. I should add that the first sequence is superior, since it is far more dramatically effective. The second segment is almost played for laughs, at times, which would almost seem unbelievable if you were unfamiliar with the extreme end of Japanese cinema. There is no end of gurning and pratfalling from the main protagonist (and others) in the latter part, as well as a few relatively comedic incidents - one involving a pit of human waste. You would almost expect this to be intended as light relief, to send the punters home somewhat less disturbed after the unremittingly bleak first story, and that is how this tale begins. The main man is punished for being unable to pay for his night of debauchery by being lightly humiliated and forced to work in the brothel. The previously mentioned dog-licking is up next, lulling the unprepared viewer into a false sense of security, as an extremely horrible abortion follows, involving a double whammy of stamping and kicking to the gut, followed by the archetypal old-crone-abortionist going in up to the elbow. This latter is accompanied by what sounds like the electronic equivalent of a swanee whistle on the soundtrack, but I don't think the similarity was intentional. Later on, this prostitute dies slowly, as a result, in a brilliantly effective sequence. She really does look pale and deathly, and the barbaric treatment and it's outcome are portrayed unflinchingly. This early death denies our cruel buddies some torture fun. This is not the case at all in the first half. The baddie of the piece is a nasty magistrate, played with OTT eye-bulging lunacy that veers wonderfully close to the edge of over acting. He gets to do all sorts of unspeakable acts to a succession of hapless christians, and the effect is bleak and cruel throughout. It is also quite tragic; well acted; and well filmed. Kudos also, to the soundtrack composer - there is some decent stuff on here, from the moog-out over the opening credits, to some very nice, more traditional soundtrack material later on. Not as gory as I expected, this is still fairly gruesome. The curious shouldn't be put off by the idea that there is unrelenting blood and guts churning away: it's the nastiness and cruelty that make this film exceptional, not the red stuff.