Enemies of the State: the Films and Filmmakers of the Underground — Part 1 “Splatter-Eros”

The sexy, absurd, extremely gruesome and often poor-taste world of exploitation cinema is one that hasn’t survived the 21st century. A paradoxical combination of lax censorship and prude values have demoted it to the world of chic. In the past, the various genres of exploitation — sexploitation, blacksploitation, nunsploitation, women-in-prison, cannibal, et al. — existed as a refuge where one could watch content not allowed within studio films: namely, violence and sex. Fortunately or unfortunately, the freedom given big budget productions has allowed them to exist with violence and sex on the level of B-grade skin flicks and cannibal movies. Pair that with our 21st century reticence towards the truly transgressive, and it becomes clear why the market for such films is on life support. Our hope with this series of articles is to mark the various genres within this dying category of exploitation, and to create a snapshot of the filmmakers who contributed to them.

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SPLATTER-EROS

“Splatter-eros” is the term used by critics to describe films of a particular set of characteristics. More transgressive than your average B-movie, splatter-eros films often delve more into eroticism — including prolonged scenes of softcore sex — and gore. Overlap exists between splatter-eros and ero-guru — a genre that similarly involves an amalgamation of sex and blood. The differences between the two lies more in aesthetics: ero-guru concerns itself with perversity, combining the two into one singular thing, in ways that are often surreal, stylized, symbolic, and generally more artistic. Splatter-eros simply presents the two as a contrast: cartoon-snuff and porn, taking both to the extreme.

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KAZUO KOMIZU

A common characteristic of exploitation films in general, and Japanese films in particular, is their uncompromising dedication to treating the stupidly illogical as logical, and the irrefutably random as inevitable. Kazuo Komizu’s Guts trilogy claims three of the most popular and emblematic within the splatter-eros genre, being one of the films that inspired critics to create the designation.

Komizu stated that if you “establish a false realism within the films, it just gets boring. I’m not that kind of director.” His films may be hellaciously violent, yet there’s comedy to them all. Komizu claims to have a writing philosophy of “anything can happen.” Inspired by when he first saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and thinking “if they can do that, then I can do this.” His philosophy is clear enough when you see his films. “Entrails of a Virgin” features a scene where a man demonstrates various wrestling moves, such as a suplex, on his female coworker, resulting in her wetting herself — it is never explicated whether from pain or pleasure.

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Click HERE for our diptych on the most arousing films of the Roman Porno

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