Grotesque: A doctor kidnaps a young couple and forces them into a game of torment that slowly extinguishes their hopes for survival.

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Introduction

Its one of those films that have no story and depth, and full of shock value torture-p0rn flicks. I love horror, and Grotesque goes in my top ten list of torture J-Horrors. Directed by Kôji Shiraishi (Sayuri, Sadako vs. Kayako)

The story revolves around a doctor with extreme and depraved needs kidnaps a newly dating couple, pitting them against each other in a game of torture. The doctor claims that he wants them to excite him by showing him their willingness to live. The whole duration of the film is essentially torture-p0rn.

Characters

• The couple, Kazuo (played by Hiroaki Kawatsure) and Aki (played by Tsugumi Nagasawa) performed well, though I couldn’t really emotionally relate to them due to the fact that we didn’t really get any information about them aside from the fact that they were dating and are now victims. But their body language and emotions during the torture scenes were projected very well. Specially when the doctor were doing s3xual related acts on each of them, their reactions were on point.
• The doctor (played by Shigeo Osako) was a perfect choice for the role. His natural look had no emotions on it. You couldn’t tell if he was feeling upset, happy or sad. But you’d feel there’s a void inside of him that needs to be filled. Every heinous acts he does, his face says nothing. He doesn’t look satisfied with it, and he doesn’t look happy about it. A perfect example of a perfect casting.

Dark tone all throughout

There’s not much to say about the tone of Grotesque, the title alone speaks for itself and that’s the feel for the entire duration of it. Depravation. Desperation. Death. Three words to define what you’ll be feeling throughout your watch.

Storytelling

Again, this is like a project made out of love for torture. There really isn’t much to say about the story. There’s no depth, and there’s no character development. It starts and ends the same way, except the ending added a deodorant, which I found funny.

Grotesque scenes

As nonsensical as this was, the gore scenes were epic and its the main reason why its still on top of most horror fans’ list. The use of practical effects made it all the more believable. I honestly prefer practical effects over CGI. Unfortunately, most horror films coming out nowadays (looking at you Final Destination: Bloodlines) look crappy because of bad CGI effects. It takes away the fear from it, I’d take a B-Horror film over those any day. The s3xual part of the torture were disturbing. I was honestly surprised that Tsugumi Nagasawa complied and allowed Shiego Osako to do those things to her and on camera. Props to Nagasawa and Osako.

Conclusion

The gore scenes aren’t for everyone as it deals with graphic mutilations and s3xual acts. There’s really no story here nor any moral lesson that you can take away from watching this. Grotesque is pure torture p0rn and the director wanted to see how far he can take it before getting sued by someone. The horror was very effective and I can still see it when I close my eyes. I love every part of it, regardless of its non sensical plot. Osako (doctor) was phenomenal.

If you’re looking for Japanese found-footage style of horror, I recommend Noroi: The Curse.