[Note: This is an updated version of an earlier SaruDama review. I've revised portions of the review and have added screenshots.]

intro

In this world, the acts of man are the foulest of the foul. As the years pass, the number of those in Hell grows, proving what sad shape the world is in! Man only thinks about committing more crimes, turning a blind eye to the horrors that await him.
~ Lamentful warning of Lord Emma, Goddess of Hell.

There are three films entitled Jigoku. The original is director Nakagawa Nobuo's 1960 Jigoku which is deemed a classic among film aficionados but remains generally unseen by Western audiences. A remake by director Kumashiro Tatsumi appeared in 1979 adding to the formula more "contemporary" horror elements. And in 1999 Ishii Teruo directed the version we are here reviewing.

Director Ishii has had a rather prolific career and his film genres seem to run the gamut from space alien sci-fi (e.g., Spaceship of Human Destruction (1957)) to historical piece torture films (e.g, Joys of Torture (1968)) to yakuza violence (e.g, Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture (1973)). The formula of Jigoku allows him to combine many elements from these prior genre (minus the space aliens, of course) into a single piece attempting to present shock, gore and social commentary.

story

Jigoku presents a thoroughly traditional Japanese perspective of the fate of sinners awaiting them in the underworld. All three versions of this story follow a similar pattern which provides detailed narratives depicting sins committed during life followed by the horrific tortures in hell (jigoku) which correspond to those sins. In Ishii's Jigoku we witness both underworld and earthly scenarios through the eyes of Rika, a young woman graciously granted a vision of hell by the underworld's Lord Emma. In allowing Rika to see first hand what awaits sinners after death, Lord Emma hopes that Rika will correct her ways before it is too late.

The film consists of roughly three parts, the first two involving separate depictions of earthly sins and their corresponding tortures, and the last dealing with Rika's escape from hell and repentance.

The first sinner is Iwajima, a serial child molester who kidnaps, kills and videotapes innumerable young girls. When Iwajima inevitably finds himself in Hell, Rika is instructed to observe the torture awaiting him which, Emma promises, will produce suffering and pain thousands if not millions times worse than that suffered by his victims and their families. Rika then watches as Iwajimi is gruesomely cut into many pieces, etc. Despite the extreme degree of torture, Iwajima remains conscious throughout the ordeal, and after he has been completely dismembered, he is miraculously restored to his original, whole form and the process starts over again, ad infinitum.

The second set of sinners strikes much closer to home for Rika, since it involves the "Space Cult" to which she belongs. In following a crazed and libidinous charismatic leader Shyoko who claims to be divinity, a large group of followers engage in several murderous plots against the innocent public. When the group's leader is not raping his female followers, he is masterminding sarin gas attacks and assassinations. In addition to his army of willing accomplices, the group has at its disposal a bastion of deceptive lawyers who defend the group against legal attack using lies and deception.

As Rika is forced to look on in horror, the various tortures awaiting this group's leaders and followers unfolds. For their lies and deception, the lawyers have their tongues slowly pulled out by large demons using even larger utensils. The disciples of the group are forced to endure the inferno, a large, flat rock glowing red from its heat, against which they are slowly held (like a hamburger patty) until all the surfaces of their body have been severely burned. Worse still is the fate awaiting the cult leaders, who must endure all the tortures of the Eight Gates of Hell (of which the inferno is a single, milder gate). This involves, among other things, being steam rolled by huge slabs of rock, and having the skin repeatedly torn off their face and body.

This torture will not be finished for a thousand years! But don't worry. You will soon look back upon these moments fondly. There are much greater tortures awaiting you in the other Gates of Hell.
~ Quote from the burly demon with two large fangs and a VERY big hack saw.

The third scenario follows Rika and her guide as they attempt to escape Hell. Having seen more than she can endure, Rika can only flee from the horrors all around. In her departure she encounters a variety of other bizarre scenes, including the cannibalistic fate of the bulemic and the sheer power of an evil samurai (Tanba Tetsuro!) who, after having broken all laws known to men, is capable of entering and departing Hell of his own accord (and kicks a little demon-derriere while he's there!!!). Finally, with the aid of Emma, Rika is able to cross over the Sanzu River surrounding the borders of Hell, and reenters the world of the living. Once there, she quickly renounces her cultish ways and helps in the rescue of other young women from the cult's influence.

commentary

This film was entertaining on several levels, but has a couple serious drawbacks due to both narrative and budget issues.

Ishii's narrative spends way too much time exploring and delineating the sins of the "Space Cult". This is understandable, however, since Ishii's depiction of the cult is clearly intended to depict the real-life Aum Shin Ri Kyo doomsday cult responsible for the 1994 sarin gas attack on innocent commuters within the Tokyo subway tunnels. The entire infrastructure and crime of the Aum cult are thoroughly recreated by Ishii, including the (real life) narrow-eyed, unkempt leader Shoko (renamed in Ishii's film as Shyoko).

Ishii is clearly presenting Jigoku as a type of social catharsis whereby some sense of justice and retribution against an otherwise senseless social crime might be perceived. Unfortunately for viewers coming to this film from either another decade or another culture, the detailed emphasis upon the Cult's crimes comes across as overly prolonged and unjustifiably slow. Ishii's intent, however, in this second and longest section of the film, is to use his directorial inclinations toward gore and torture to enact some form of vicarious judgment upon the Aum cult. (By the way, the Aum cult continues to be prosecuted to this day thanks to amazingly slow and inefficient Japanese judicial procedure.)

Apart from the overly-lengthy treatment of the Cult's sins, the only other (glaring) deficiency here is Ishii's rather pathetic standard for his sets and special effects. Everything presented here would have been easily accomplished in the original 1960 version using the technology available THEN. The only hints of this film's modernity are its reference to the Aum cult and the tall buildings appearing in a few scenes. Apart from these hints, however, audiences will be convinced they are watching a low-budget B-movie from several decades prior. There are even scenes here which rival the infamous special effects of director Ed Wood's 1959 Plan 9 from Outer Space, of which I am a big fan and thus kid you not. (For example, check out the scale model "boats" crossing the Sanzu river or the amazingly flexible slabs of rock!)

Similarly, the gore here, which is indeed emphasized, will likely be shocking only to those with a deep disdain for brutality toward rubbery mannequins. Though indeed graphic in its depiction, there is very little here either haunting or life-like. This includes the huge styrofoam mallets wielded by rubber-suited demons, the jello-mud bath apparently symbolizing molten lava, the nude interpretive dances by bare breasted girls intended to convey the convulsions of hell zombies (etc etc etc).

Despite the many flaws, however, this film is indeed entertaining, if not solely for the great effort it attempts in providing a moral message. Though indeed primitive, the special effects here are more colorful and creatively graphic than a lot of the mindless, low-budget horror fodder one runs across. Perhaps most interesting for me, as a Western viewer, was the depiction of traditional Japanese notions of Hell.

The suprisingly kind-hearted goddess/Lord Emma, ruler of Hell, suggests that Rika should avoid "strange beliefs and keep your prayers true to the Eternal One... the Sun". This is a pure Shinto perspective with Ame no Terasu O Mikami (the Shinto Sun Goddess) as the heart of Japanese cosmology. Thus the film concludes with Rika and her fellow cult sisters worshipping the Sun at dawn. Unlike traditional Shinto worship of Ame Terasu, Ishii's version requires these maidens to strip naked and prostrate themselves in various, camera-friendly positions. Woo Hoo!!

verdict

Fans of historical Japanese horror will undoubtedly enjoy seeing Jigoku. But this film's true value and appreciation exists primarily in reference to the original 1960 version. Nearly forty years seperate this remake from the original. Ishii's commitment to (then) contemporary themes of social sin (i.e., the Aum cult) may indeed have been compelling at the time of his film's debut, but his scenario-centric approach makes the film's value to later (post-Aum) audiences less relevant or compelling, except to those viewers interested in truly era-specific pieces. Nakagawa's 1960 "classic", on the other hand, does not rely upon exclusively era-specific crimes, but rather focuses upon far more general human malaise and their corresponding punishments. This characteristic generalization is in many ways what makes Nakagawa's version a "classic" and Ishii's version a highly dated film, since it is critical to any morality tale that the audience associate itself with the sins being committed (and the moral consequences meted out). Thus while most audience members will associate themselves with the sins condemned by Nakagawa, none of us (I certainly hope) will view ourselves as culpable of the sins of child molestation/murder or poison attacks upon the public. And for that reason, post-Aum audiences will find far less personal traction to Ishii's moral lessons.

This is indeed recommendable, but I thoroughly suggest you also see the 1960 original in order to gain a fuller appreciation of this project.

Version reviewed: Region 0 DVD with English subtitles

"JIGOKU"	Lord Emma	Rika	Falling into HELL!
The fiery vagina of Hell??		The pervert	VERY bad company
Yoga from Hell			Doomsday Karaoke
		the WRONG way to dispense a nerve agent
	Sexy slippery fun in the jello-lava pits OF HELL	Godzilla's evil human-munching twin
	Tanba Tetsuro!!	Kiss your head good-bye. OOPS! Too late!!	What The .. ???!!

cultural interest	violence	sex	strangeness
For those unfamiliar with the organization and crimes of the (real) Aum Shinri Kyo cult, here's your B-movie synopsis! Remake of the 1960 classic.	Plenty of implied and explicit violence, predominantly inflicted upon overly expressive actors or rubbery mannequins.	I am happy to inform those of you going to hell that the vast majority of the population there is comprised of healthy, topless women constantly engaged in writhing, interpretive dance. (The bad news is the large, toothy saw blades and the red-hot stone slabs.)	One green skull for bizarre Shinto/Buddhist eschatology. And one for memorable examples of wildly unbelievable special effects.