When the group’s leader is arrested and commits suicide in prison, his girlfriend assumes control using sexual favours as a means to influence the male members. Unfortunately all this achieves is to spread mistrust and jealousy among the ranks. Matters come to a head when a planned robbery of a post office fails after one of the group tips off the police. The mole is taken into remote woodland to be tortured and killed but events get even further out of hand as the group turn on each other; their female leader being the catalyst.

The film is probably trying to make some socio-political statements in the first hour or so but all that’s forgotten once the film turns to extreme violence and the first victim gets their head blasted off (literally). It gets much worse and despite an obviously limited budget the excessive gore is quite realistic and some scenes are particularly disturbing.

As a piece of film making it certainly looks accomplished. The mood of the seventies is effectively recreated and the cast of unknowns all handle their parts well. Some of the film’s points may have gone a bit over my head but its still an interesting and engaging film if not altogether an enjoyable one. Described as one of the most disturbing films ever made, I’d still go with ‘Irreversible’ however this comes near the top of the list.

Review: Thanks to the help of Artsmagic DVD, we are treated to a film that has no doubt some of the most violent and extreme torture scenes seen on film. If you plan to see this movie, put the kids to bed because this is definitely not for them. Director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri created this film as his final project for film school, casting a set of unknowns as cast and crew. Made in 1997, the film is getting its first DVD outside of its native Japan. The film takes a look at society gone totally wrong.

If you thought Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer was insane, then you better see this movie and then your tune will change. Scenes of extreme torture, such as the brutal beating of a few people, and the castration of one other, as well as the gory scenes, like something that comes out of the movie Alive (where the rugby team eat the dead bodies to survive), are just too insane to see. In fact, I had to watch this film twice just to think about what was going on. However, what is really astounding is what Kumakiri did in the opening of the film. He took stock footage of riots breaking out in the 1970's and used them for the opening sequence. A wise move because it shows the theme of the movie: society in a world of chaos. That's what this movie is all about. The gory scenes are like a combination of Jess Franco and Herschell Gordon Lewis, two pioneering filmmakers who did exactly what Kumakiri does here.

The Bottom Line: Kichiku Dai Enkai is a very primal look at society in a world of chaos, but a damn good debut film from Kumakiri. Definitely recommended for those who like torture and gore and NOT for the kids.