Director: Hideshi Hino
Length: 42 minutes

Flower of Flesh and Blood was released in 1989 as the second of the Guinea Pig series of films. Guinea Pig films are a series of relatively short Japanese horror films that are more a showcase for effects than for plot and substance. All of the films are especially gory, but this is easily the most sensational. It has relatively no plot and no characters, just two actors as a framework to display some of the most disturbing violence put on film.

So disturbing in fact, that when Charlie Sheen saw it in 1990 he thought it was a true snuff film and turned it over to the FBI. Which of course, it isn't. Paying attention to camera cuts and various other elements prove this. The FBI apparently didn't catch it, and started a very in-depth investigation in both the USA and Japan. There were even a series of congressional hearings about snuff films at the time. Hideshi Hino quickly put a stop to the investigation by releasing a "making of" video about Flower of Flesh and Blood. The video was soon thereafter banned in America, and no large distributor can carry it. It is, however, relatively easy to get a copy off eBay or small underground dealers. If you do find a copy it will usually be a 4th to 6th generation copy and the quality will be horrible. (Update: This, along with all the other Guinea Pig videos, are no longer banned. They're all available on DVD from your usual friendly retailers.)

When I first saw Flower of Flesh and Blood, I got sick. My stomach hurt, and I felt I was going to vomit. However, I couldn't actually turn my head away. The violence is realistic and horrible. It's sadism at its worst. You have to remind yourself that it's not real throughout the film. I don't suggest you watch it. Horror fans, maybe, but if you haven't become adjusted to watching Faces of Death and the like please don't watch it. It's more a test of how much the viewer can take, than it is a something to enjoy watching. When limbs are pulled from the body, it's all very anatomically correct. Bone placement, layers of fat, even the amount of pressure used. No words can describe how realistic and horrible this film is, but I've included a short synopsis to help show how disturbing this film is.

Synopsis:
First, a young Japanese woman is abducted from a park and drugged. She wakes up, she is tied to a bed in a small blood soaked room. A man dressed similar to a samurai is standing next to the bed, sharpening various knives. He cuts off a chicken's head to test a knife, then drugs the girl again. He takes a large knife and cuts off one of her hands (in extreme closeup). He then continues to cut off both of her arms, and both of her legs. All in extreme closeup and detail. He then cuts open her stomach and removes a handful of intestines. Finally, he decapitates her in slow motion then removes an eyeball and puts it in his mouth. The camera then pans around the room, showing various organs and heads in jars all while the samurai smokes a cigarette.