6. Shogun's Sadism (1976)
Shogun's Sadism is broken into two parts. Part one deals with a peasant girl who saves the life of a Guard by sucking snake venom out of his snakebite wound. She is a Christian and the relationship is frowned upon by his Master. Brutal torture is the name of the day as the master tries to break her spirit by rape, torture and sadism. In the second story Sutezo is a handyman in a brothel. He falls in love with one of the prostitutes and they run away together. Unfortunately they are recaptured and yet again, more graphic torture ensues. Shogun's Sadism is, like its notorious predecessor Shogun's Joy of Torture, a litany of highly graphic cruel and vicious acts of violence against the person. The list includes: beheading, dismemberment, women being thrown into a vat of snakes, branding, castration, boiling in water. What makes the film so hard to watch and affecting is the fact that it isn't some grimy half arsed caper like HG Lewis, it is positively glossy and well shot, with good production values and authentic costumes. It is well acted but I would call it gruesome more than gory. A film about torture may sound awfully grim, but the grimness is lessened by a dollop of humour in the film as well as a fantastically groovy 1970s soundtrack. The film is absorbing and heart rending - something that I didn't expect it to be. I thought it would be an orgy of depravity but there is characterisation and sympathy. It will perpetually amuse me that the Japanese can perform all sorts of vile tortures and sadism on the screen, but as soon as a whiff of pubic hair comes their way, it's out with the blurring machine. I would highly recommend this one to extreme cinema lovers/ J-Horror lovers if you can get a copy of it. A step up from your average Japanese exploitation film. It delivers the gruesome goods in an interesting and stylish way.