COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - BLOODY MUSCLE BODYBUILDER IN HELL (VISUAL VENGEANCE BLU RAY)

They say that “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery”. You’ve probably heard this quote before, but did you know that it’s incomplete? Attributed to OSCAR WILDE, the full quote is “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery that mediocrity can pay greatness to”. Kinda changes the meaning if you think about it, and what assume is a compliment is more like a witty dig. The thing is, I don’t think Mr. Wilde is wrong. How many different knock-off horror films do we get when one genre does well? JAWS spawned a litany of imitations ranging in quality from entertaining to embarrassing. What about HALLOWEEN? The film that shepherded in the slasher craze overtook the early 80s and spawned similarly popular franchises like FRIDAY THE 13TH. More recently, THE CONJURING films blew the doors wide open for a slew of similarly supernatural films that once again range in quality and consistency. While I’m never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the abundance of films influenced by others can sometimes be overwhelming and quality is all over the place. Sometimes, however, imitation can in fact be a sincere form of flattery without mediocrity. This brings us to today’s film for the crypt, the SOV (shot on video) indie horror film BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL (aka THE JAPANESE EVIL DEAD). A movie with a background as interesting as the film itself, and it arrives on special edition BLU RAY from a new label focusing exclusively on SOV films, VISUAL VENGEANCE. So is this imitation worth your time, or just another reason why Mr. Wilde was right?

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A bodybuilder must save himself and his friends from a demonic ghost.

HOW IS IT?

I’m gonna cut to the chase here, if you like THE EVIL DEAD you’re gonna love this. BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL is everything you would want in a film that pays direct on-the-nose homage to one of the most well-known independent horror films of all time. The film clocks in at 62 minutes, and is pretty much a non-stop onslaught of references and highly entertaining (as well as endearing) gore gags. Before we get into the review, it is worth mentioning that VISUAL VENGEANCE (the label behind this film, a part of WILD EYE RELEASING) is slowly going to become the label for people who think VINEGAR SYNDROME is too high-brow. Focusing exclusively on hard-to-find regional SOV horror films, even the trailers that precede the film are guaranteed to jack you up on heavy metal riffs and audacious indie horror.

Refocusing on BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL, the story is as straightforward as the film it so aptly wears as an influence. The “bodybuilder” referenced in the title is no other than writer/director/producer/editor/actor SHINICHI FUKAZAWA. When I tell you this cast and crew are small, I am not joking. The IMDB page for the film has a total of 8 cast and crew members, including Shinichi, and the film itself has been in development and production since 1995. The story behind the making of the film and its long journey to becoming a final product is almost as interesting as the film itself, but more on that later. The film follows a familiar storyline to THE EVIL DEAD with a dashing hero taking his girlfriend and another psychic friend with him to an old abandoned house where his father murdered his lover and buried her in the basement. From the very opening scene, we are treated to at least 4 very obvious visual references to Raimi’s seminal demonic possession in the woods film. Usually, these types of nods, nay violent nudges, are off-putting and eye-roll inducing, but in the case of BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL, they are downright charming.

This is not to say that BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL is for everyone. First and foremost, if you don’t like SOV films this one is likely not going to win you over. It has all the hallmarks of bootstrapped cinema including a single shooting location, minimal cast members, and production values that are dollar store quality. I don’t say these things in ire, rather, these are the elements that make a film like this so special. If you’re willing to get past the low production value you can begin to appreciate the effort that was put into some of the visual effects in the back half of the film. They are on par with the first EVIL DEAD film in terms of quality, and they make the entire film feel like some sort of surreal art project. This is for the best since the film clocks in just over an hour, and that’s a good thing since I’m not sure how much longer they could have pulled off some of these visuals without things feeling redundant. Overall, BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL is sure to win over those who love low-budget horror and THE EVIL DEAD, and maybe, just maybe, it may inspire others to seek out more SOV horror films.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL was shot on 8mm film stock, and as such, this isn’t the movie to stress test your 8K home theater. BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL is presented in its original fullscreen aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The film actually looks quite good considering the quality of the initial masters being in standard definition, and truly part of the allure of films like these is that they aren’t pristine and wear their imperfections proudly. So while the film itself is not going to win over A/V enthusiasts, it's also the way the film was intended to be seen. Screenshots from the film are seen throughout this review and below:

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

Much like the video, the audio here is nothing to write home about since it’s your standard 2.0 Stereo audio mix. It sounds fine and while it won’t give your surround sound a workout it is perfectly fine and fitting considering audio had to be recorded separately due to the limitations of filming on 8mm.

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

We live in a day and age where special features on physical releases are not only expected, they are ubiquitous. The irony is as more studios and distributors begin releasing smaller independent horror films, the access and availability of special feature content are likely to be much more sparse. Balancing that with the notion that the production of special features costs money, and many of these films are targeted at very niche audiences where recouping costs can be a challenge. All of this said I have to hand it to VISUAL VENGEANCE for doing their best with what they could get to fill this release out. 

As per usual, I’ve taken a stab at watching as many of these as I could. Thankfully, the runtime of the film is so short that I was able to listen to one of the commentary tracks with directors and podcast hosts ADAM GREEN (HATCHET, FROZEN) and JOE LYNCH (SHUDDER’S CREEPSHOW, MAYHEM). Commentary tracks can be hit or miss, and sadly this one is more miss than hit. I like hearing Adam and Joe talk about the film itself and their admiration for it along with similar films, but the tone of the commentary is all over the place. There are many times when they think they are supposed to be doing the dubbing, which I’m sure is a joke, but they keep going with it throughout despite how unfunny it is. That’s kind of the sentiment with this commentary track overall, it’s great when they aren’t trying to crack jokes. And the “wE aRe GoInG tO gEt CaNcElLeD fOr ThIs” jokes are cringe-inducing. I like these two guys, I just wish they stuck to commentary about the film and not inside jokes no one gets.

The other special feature I watched was a short interview with the man himself, SHINICHI FUKAZAWA. Despite this interview being 15 minutes or less, it was really nice to see the man today and hear him dish on his admiration for all of THE EVIL DEAD films as well as the long journey of trying to make this film. If you read the booklet inside, you’ll get a sense of just how long this production took, crossing over decades despite being filmed in the mid-90s it didn’t actually get released until 2012 on a limited 100-copy DVD release. A full list of the special features included with this release is below:

• New Interview with Director Shinichi Fukazawa

• Commentary track featuring directors Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen) and Joe Lynch (Shudder’s Creepshow, Mayhem)

• Commentary track with Japanese film historian James Harper

• Limited Edition O-Card/ Slipcase

• Special Effects Video

• Original Archival Trailers from Japanese release

• Behind The Scenes Image Gallery

• Archival Image Gallery

• English subtitles or Japanese audio-only options

• Outtakes

• Folded mini-poster

• Four Page Liner notes by Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs

• Vintage style Laminated Video Store Rental Card

• Visual Vengeance Trailers

• Reversible Sleeve featuring original Japanese home video art

LAST RITES

BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL is one of the best examples of imitation and ingenuity. While it isn’t going to win any awards for originality, it certainly will charm you with its low-budget effects and its clear admiration for a horror classic. The short runtime makes it easy to watch, and the team at VISUAL VENGEANCE is establishing themselves as another key player in the “hard to find horror” game with a great package that is just as delightful as the film inside. A worthy addition to your collections!

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to MVD ENTERTAINMENT for the review copy, and you can purchase BLOODY MUSCLE BODY BUILDER IN HELL now from MVD DIRECT!

Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following MacabreDaily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.