Bloody Muscle Body Builder In Hell (UK DVD)
Padraig Cotter
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Starring Shinichi Fukazawa, Asako Nosaka, Masaaki Kai
Directed by Shinichi Fukazawa
Distributed by Terrorcotta Distribution
When it comes to truth in advertising Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (AKA The Japanese Evil Dead) does exactly what it says on the tin. The movie is very much a loving fan tribute to The Evil Dead by director/writer/star Shinichi Fukazawa, who shot it in 1995 on Super-8, and then spent twenty years trying to complete post-production. Thank god he did, because this joyous little gorefest feels like a present from a bygone era.
The story finds Fukazama as the titular body builder, who accompanies his journalist girlfriend to his late father’s abandoned home. She’s investigating the possibility it could be haunted and brings alongside a psychic to prove it. They quickly uncover the house’s dark past, and a vengeful ghost is determined to make the hapless body builder pay for his father’s sins.
Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell – a title I’ll never get tired of typing – wears its influence on its bloodsoaked sleeve. It borrows shots, scenes, camera angles and even lines from the Evil Dead movies, right down to “groovy!” A certain creature even resembles the poster for Evil Dead 2. That’s not to say it’s a shot by shot copy though, with Fukazawa staging his own demented take on the material. Once the blood starts flowing it never lets up, and he manages to pull off some impressive DIY gore. There are some stop motion effects in there too; some look good, others definitely do not.
The first half actually manages to build up a creepy atmosphere, and while the acting is nothing impressive everyone is on-board with the tongue in cheek vibe. Fukazawa summons his inner Ash too, attempting to be macho while being freaked out by the high level of dismembered body parts. The star is clearly proud of his physique, and he pays homage to this body in a couple of scenes, including one where he rips through his shirt Hulk style.
Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell clocks in at a lean 62 minutes, so there’s no padding or pointless subplots to speak of. Of course for an amateur effort filmed over twenty years ago it looks rough, featuring scenes with bad lighting, audio and a constant grainy look. That said, the look adds to the retro vibe, and if it had a clean digital look some of the magic would be lost.
Ultimately, Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell isn’t essential viewing, but it’s a breezy good time while it lasts, and the fun that was had behind the camera is more than reflected on screen. While we wait for Ash vs Evil Dead season three to arrive this affectionate tribute should help ease the pain.
Special Features:
• From Sketch to Scary: Groovy Artwork by Graham Humphreys
• Japanese Trailers
• Behind the scenes photo gallery
• Dismemberment of a scene clips
• Terror Cotta trailers
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Film
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Special Features
Categorized:Reviews
