American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.0

American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 2, 2016

How bad does a film have to be for Charlie Sheen to phone the authorities about it? Mr. Sheen, hardly a model of circumspection and inhibition, evidently watched one of the original Japanese Guinea Pig movies back in the day and, horrified by the realistic splatter and gore on display, became convinced he was viewing an actual snuff film and reportedly called the FBI about it. The probably humorous sidebars of that event aside, the fact that Charlie Sheen was so disturbed by what he saw that he felt the need to get professional advice about it is probably as good an example as any of what made the original Japanese Guinea Pig films, and by default their American counterparts, so “memorable”: extremely graphic depictions of physical harm. That sort of thing has a devoted following, of course, but I will admit up front that this fan base does not include me. I have no objections to others reveling in close-ups of knives slicing flesh or other indescribable horrors, and I’m certainly not one to offer any huge sociological conclusions about what watching films like this means (though I frankly wonder), but I can only say that I find watching films like American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock more an exercise in “WTF” (not just in terms of content, but with regard to why these films resonate with some folks) than any sense of dread or disgust. That said, and probably especially for those who are prone to ask themselves “why can’t they get someone who likes these films to review them?”, I suspect that even fans of this peculiar subgenre may find American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock lackluster.

Oddly, part of what may discourage some horror fans and followers of the Guinea Pig franchise in particular is one of the stylistic choices that in another context would make American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock worthy of at least some notice: some striking black and white photography. It’s a kind of weird psychological truth that older viewers who grew up on black and white films or television tended to perceive offerings in that technique as being more “realistic” than Technicolor extravaganzas. Quite the opposite is probably true for younger viewers, though, and the fact that most of American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock is in black and white tends to be a distancing factor in removing the audience from the “realism” of what amounts to a series of torture vignettes.

While lip service is given as to why a pair of hapless victims are undergoing a grueling series of vivisections, amputations and other horrors, does it really matter? People coming to this film are probably coming to see the gore effects, and while they’re often gruesomely impressive, they’re frequently somewhat detached from a really visceral impact due to both the black and white cinematography as well as a tendency by director Marcus Koch to frame things in extreme close-up. Sure, that way you get to see things like blades or other sharp objects slicing through skin, but there’s no real “context” to give the proceedings a more distressing environment.

Perhaps ironically then it’s in the interstitial (i.e., non-torture) moments that American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock actually tends to work up a bit of emotional response in the audience. The victims, kept in what amount to padded cells (understandable, given what they’ve gone through), communicate to each other via notes, and some of the angst felt by the “main” victim played by Dan Ellis is frankly much more disturbing at a gut level than any of the guts. The film has an undeniable style which some may find interesting, though the final over the top episode (in color) casts the proceedings in a somewhat surreal light.

American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Unearthed Films and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Technical data on this film is pretty hard to come by, but as can be seen in the screenshots accompanying this review, there's a fairly wide discrepancy between shots and/or styles, with some (like screenshot 1) having the crispness and smoothness of digital capture and others (like screenshot 7) looking more like 16mm (whether "natural" or digitally accomplished). Some of the high contrast black and white is quite striking, with appropriately stomach churning levels of fine detail when little things like tongues getting scissored out of mouths are part of the "storyline". Late in the film, a brief color sequence occurs, one which starts out rather desaturated and then slowly gains hue as it proceeds. It's a striking conceit, and one that plays towards this film's artier proclivities (we try to shy away from scenes of outright nudity in our screenshots, and so I decided against posting any from this sequence since it's virtually nothing but naked bodies). There's commendable sharpness in the bulk of this presentation, with an understandable downturn in detail levels in the sequences that look more like distressed 16mm film.

American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock features a moody DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, one that is awash in the drone and musique concrete sensibilities of Kristian Day's provocative and at times disturbing score. A number of sequences have hallucinatory effects which spill over into the mix, and those reverberate quite well (one particularly effective moment is when the man scrapes his hand around the paneled walls of his cell). Dialogue, which is on the sparse side, sounds fine. The opportunities the effects and music track have for a winning surround mix make the lack of one a disappointment, but what's here sounds clear and resonant and is one of the film's strongest assets.

American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bloodshock: The Making Of (480p; 1:31:54) has a lot of behind the scenes footage which should appeal to fans.


• Steve Nemeth's Bloodshock Production Cell Phone Videos (720p; 6:35) offer moments like location scouting.


• Days of Dead Atlanta 2016 Q&A (1080p; 21:43) features Stephen Biro.


• Commentary with Marcus Koch and Stephen Biro


• Commentary with Andy Winton, Gene Palubicki, and Alberto Giovannelli


• Biro's Bloodshock Introduction (1080p; 5:14)


• Dan Ellis Interview (1080p; 39:21)


• Lillian McKinney Interview (480i; 11:18)

Additionally, the DVD sized digipack comes with a soundtrack CD, a DVD copy of the film, and a four page booklet with an essay by Art Ettinger of Ultra Violent Magazine.

American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're only going to see one film this year about a pair of victims being relentlessly dissected (alive), I guess American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock will fill the bill pretty effectively. The film has undeniable style, even if it's style surrounding some questionable content. Technical merits are strong and the supplementary package excellent for those considering a purchase.