by Marq Mosier

Created on: December 11, 2006   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

The most violent films ever made are, of course, mostly films that the average film goer has never heard of. Films such as Salo: 120 Days of Sodom, The Men Behind the Sun, Ichi the Killer, I Spit on Your Grave, Cannibal Holocaust, The Guinea Pig series of films, Cannibal Ferox, and others of those ilk top the list of my personal most violent films. Films such as these contain graphic images of rape, torture, mutilation, and death. They appeal to the absolute darkest corners of the human psyche that most of us refuse to acknowledge exist within us. In many cases (almost all, barring a few films like 'Hostel') these films are made outside of Hollywood and the U.S., and therefore are subject to different laws and regulations placed upon them.

The actual real filming of animals being dismembered or fighting each other to the death are not completely uncommon in these films. It is for this reason that distribution for some of these titles is non-existent in the U.S. and Europe. DVDs of Men Behind the Sun and Salo: 120 Days of Sodom, for example, fetch extremely high prices on ebay and at conventions around the western world. It's not your everyday Tom, Dick, and Harry that can watch a cat being devoured by thousands of starved rats and not feel repulsed enough to stop the DVD.

To push the envelope even further, The Guinea Pig (Guinnea Piggu in Japan) series of films are banned in the UK, and just received widespread distribution here in the United States, even though they are 20 years old now. The first film in the series, 'Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment', for example, is a 43 minute filmed torture scene of a young woman. There is no plot, little dialogue, and no credits.

For these reasons the second film in the series, 'Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood' was mistaken for a snuff film (real murder/rape video) at a party by actor Charlie Sheen. Sheen contacted federal authorities and the film was officially investigated by the U.S. government. It was, of course, found to be fake, and not a real snuff film.

There were 4 subsequent films released in the Guinea Pig series, but they actually have loosely developed plots, and are therefore not quite as shocking, although visually they are. If you are even remotely interested in checking one of these films out, try 'Guinea Pig 4: Mermaid in a Manhole', as it's probably the best. If you can even say that. Check out Unearthed Films official site for more history on these historical works of gore that caused so much terror

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