Hell yeah, Mermaid in a Manhole! When Halloween approaches I like to push my limits.

Envisioned by Japanese horror manga artist Hideshi Hino, the Guinea Pig series was created as a way to bring to life a couple of Hino’s stories while making it possible for other extreme works to hit the small screen. These were exploitive low-budget direct-to-video films that used practical effects and an underground aesthetic to push the boundary of acceptability.

But at the time of their release, the six Guinea Pig films faced several controversies that would give them notoriety. For one thing, the violence and gore in most of these films is brutal and, at times, hyper-realistic- and not just for its time. The second film in the series, Flower of Flesh and Blood, actually got pulled from the market after Charlie Sheen called the police thinking he stumbled upon a snuff film with footage of a real murder. (Guess which one I’m watching next.) They also came out in a social climate where many in the public were attempting to pin a perceived increase of horrific crimes on images found in media.

I’ve seen some of the later American Guinea Pig films, but I must confess, this is my first time seeing one of the Japanese films that started it all. But I should warn, the Guinea Pig films collectively can desensitize you to a lot of stuff. There is usually something in these films so disgusting you have to turn away.

I intentionally picked Mermaid in a Manhole to be my first Japanese Guinea Pig because it is considered the one that tries the hardest to break that shameless gorefest reputation by daring to be something that is also artistic and profound. Some might even call it hideously lyrical.  

Mermaid in a Manhole is also one of only three films directed by Hideshi Hino, the other two being Flower of Flesh and Blood and a little known softcore porn with no Guinea Pig connection (that I know of) called Bara no Meikyu. Of the three films, Mermaid in a Manhole is believed to be the one that truly captures the spirit of a Hino horror manga.

The story itself is surprisingly simple. It involves a lonely artist, a mermaid and two nosey neighbors.

One day, while doing his regular rummage through the sewers in search of inspiration, a middle aged artist comes across the same mermaid he once met in his childhood when the area contained a river. The mermaid claims to have survived in the sewer after the river dried. Entranced, the artist immediately begins to sketch the mermaid, but when she drops her hand, he sees that her torso is covered with horrible boils. She is clearly not well. 

In hopes to return the mermaid back to health, the artist brings her back to his apartment. He purchases a large bathtub to keep her in, but his attempts to treat the infected area all fail. Worse still, the boils begin moving further up the most human portions of her body.

Meanwhile, a curious lady who lives below can’t help but notice suspicious changes in the artist’s usual routine.

Just to be clear, don’t expect many (if any more) of Guinea Pig films to end up on The Midnight Selections. Gore aside, a lot of films in the series are just known for being bad films hindered by their limited budget and poor taste. Even some of the performances in Mermaid in a Manhole, especially from the neighbours, can seem over-the-top and amateurish 

But most scenes involving the artist and the mermaid, which makes up about 70% of the movie, are absolutely hypnotic. This is body horror at its best, serving a purpose we don’t often see. And those scenes with the neighbours are completely forgivable because they succeed in snapping us back into a more convention film- something that really pays off as we get closer to the film’s gut-wrenching, mind-blowing climax. 

And what a magnificent ending it is. Rarely has an ending taken me so much by surprise, perhaps because I unfairly underestimated the ability of a Guinea Pig film to be clever. My bad! Having seen American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice, I should had known there could be more to some of these movies then extreme gore.

It is hard not to watch Mermaid in a Manhole without thinking of its possible influence on filmmakers like Shinya Tsukamoto or horror manga writers like Junji Ito. This is a legitimate film experience…and it is also one of the best examples of a Japanese horror manga turned into a live-action film.

But perhaps most importantly, Mermaid in a Manhole uses the extreme film genre to tell a unique, folkloric tale of tragic love. There is a beauty in this gore. This is a genuinely rare feat. 

And clocking in at 58 minutes, it is a quick view perfect to add to a double feature.

If you have a heart you’ll love film, but be warned- it might make you gag a few times too