[KFCC] Guinea Pig : Mermaid in a Manhole Review

Story: A hapless painter is traumatized by his wife's departure. He wallows in his own grief by visiting the hideously trashy sewers and drawing the bizarre discoveries he finds. Why would any man find comfort in such a disgusting place? Because in his childhood, the sewer was once a river that he frolicked around. One day, he stumbles across a mermaid that he had met during his childhood. Ever since the construction of the sewer, she's been stuck in the god forsaken hole. The painter's passion is rejuvenated and he proceeds to paint her. However, due to the highly polluted environment, the mermaid becomes infected and sores begin to form in her abdominal region. The painter, heartbroken that the mermaid was in such pain, brings her back to his apartment and puts her in a bath tub to aide her back to health. At the same time, he's also trying to complete his artwork that the mermaid has inspired. The mermaid's condition only worsens and her whole body becomes infested by the terrible sores. The two struggle together through the gut-wrenching trial that only leads to a tragic finale.

Review: Oh my dear lord.

Hideshi Hino, the sick and twisted mastermind behind "Flowers of Flesh and Blood", brings us this tale of passion and obsession. I'm not sure what's more disturbing: a disgusting film trying to be nothing more than a disgusting film, or a disgusting film trying to be a touching story that provokes some deep thinking?

In somewhat of a different vein from the rest of the "Guinea Pig" series, "Mermaid in a Manhole" delivers something other than body mutilations or decapitations. This time around, we're treated to festering sores and oozing puss. The effects in this movie ranged from extremely well done to borderline crap (only the puss-squirting scenes fell in the latter category). Sitting through this film, I kept telling myself this was fake and none of it was real. Just imagining any of the sores on my own body was enough to make me vomit. Each scene progresses the infection, starting from only the mermaid's stomach and spreading to the rest of her body. In one of the last stages of the bodily rot, worms begin to rip through her pores and boils. Much respect goes to the actress who had to endure such a repulsive process. How these two actors a can deliver such great performances is beyond me.

Why didn't the mermaid just kill herself? All her pain and suffering was an act of gratitude towards the painter who had saved her life. She wanted to restore some hope and meaning to the painter's life. In one of the scenes, the mermaid demands the painter to cut her sores and use her puss as colors for his artwork. This shows her devotion and belief in his work, perhaps something his wife never blessed him with. Then the questioned is posed: what type of relationship do these two beings share? Do they share a contrasting sadistic and masochist relationship (the painter horrified yet inspired by her pain, and the mermaid going through all this just to be his muse)? Does the relationship outline what the ideal wife should be (the man works for the both himself and the woman, while the woman stands by his side and supports him no matter what happens)? Or does it reach into our inner minds to tell us that childhood dreams and adult ambitions are forces that act against each other (being a painter may fulfill the dream, but it leaves no room for a "mature" ambition to survive in society)? Regardless, the two of them feed off each other, each acting as a catalyst to the other's decisions and actions.

The finale throws a curve ball that is quite mind-blowing for such a meager production and mediocre script (It was probably prolific for its time, which gets it brownie points). Not wanting to give away too much, but the end blurs the line between devotion and obsession. Beauty and horror are the underlying themes and they are both conducted to tell us that all dreams die. If we don't take the time to breathe in the beauty around us, it will eventually rot into death. Once the past is gone, it can never be touched again, regardless of its splendor and the happiness it brings.

I can't believe I'm going to say this but "Mermaid in the Manhole" is a splendid grotesque film which studies the relationship between two people that care greatly for each other. Do they actually love each other are they obligated to serve in each other's behalf? The interpretations are endless in this sick and twisted fantasy. Take a little bit of "Splash," mixed with "Portrait of Dorian Gray" and "Beauty and the Beast," and sprinkled with a Hideshi Hino twist, then you'll have this magnificent horror fairy tale called "Mermaid in the Manhole."