What the hell did I just get done watching? Not a great way to start out what many would hope to be an informative and insightful piece, but ahhh well - such is life. Truth be told, I had never heard of Shogun's Sadism before this disc from Japan Shock had landed on my desk. Of course it's not like me to turn away a piece of unknown or forgotten sleaze either, so I popped this puppy in the ole' DVD player and broke out the chips and Vanilla Coke. I suppose I should have braced myself for the worst, because Shogun's Sadism is an extremely brutal and simply ugly affair from nearly start to finish. I was sickened and upset, but at the same time, strangely compelled. I'm not ashamed to admit that it entertained the hell out of me. However, in this instance I should truly be ashamed of myself.

OK, from what little info I could find, this particular "Shogun" film appears to be part of a series. Shogun's Sadism, appears to also be known as Joy of Torture: Oxen Split Torturing (which is kind of fitting, at one point a young woman is torn apart by running bulls and rope). While the booklet included lists this particular title as Part 3 of the series, the onscreen subtitles actually list it as Part 2. To confuse matters even more, this particular film appears to be split into two sections as well. While there is only one set of credits, there is without a doubt, two distinct tales being told here, albeit with similar themes, each of these segments still remains quite unique unto itself. Therefore, let it be known from the get go that I am writing about this title from a perspective of complete ignorance. I know little to nothing about the series here, including the fact that I have never seen another film in the series. I'm basing my judgments and assumptions on this solitary viewing with absolutely no point of comparison. No angry emails, OK?

Once again, the common theme throughout here, is torture. Torture to varying degrees and types, whether it be mental or physical, Shogun's Sadism is all about the torture. The first "story" if you will centers around an evil magistrate who loves to torture Christians (get it? torture?). Rest assured, if you practice this "evil religion", and you cross this guys path...you will indeed be tortured. Methods of torture here are pretty gruesome and graphic and they range from multiple methods of being burned alive, to poison snakes or having your feet clubbed (this one is particularly graphic and vomit inducing). In any event, our hero's (Lori) best girl (Toyo) is taken by the magistrate who happens to have a crush on her. This bastard not only disfigures and tortures her younger sister in front of her, he also murders her parents. It's an agonizing experience, as Lori attempts to get his revenge (the story even spans a time of up to a year later) but unfortunately as we've all come to expect, not all stories have a happy ending.

The second story involves a young man named Sutezo, who is forced to work off an unpaid debt at a brothel. He takes a liking to one of the young working girls, and attempts to save her from the life of prostitution. While this story is a bit more lighthearted at times, especially those scenes concerning the lovable Sutezo decievingly portraying himself as a rich man, or eventually working off his debt - don't think there's any less Sadism provided by the Shogun this go round. There are all matters of gruesome torture to be dealt with including a young girl who is "licked" repeatedly after she's spread with a substance that drives dogs crazy, and a fairly nasty impromptu abortion, yeesh!

Considering that this film was shot in the late 60's color me surprised at all of the gruesomeness and graphic depictions of violence. It's really unlike anything I've ever seen from this time period in Eastern cinema. It's closer to more recent efforts in abrasiveness, take for example the likes of Takashi Miike, Battle Royale et al. Purely disgusting worthless sleaze? Or way ahead of its time? You be the judge.

Japan Shock gets extremely high marks on quality this round. Presented in an anamporphic widescreen transfer, Shogun's Sadism looks simply spectacular. Print damage is minimal, there is no evidence of artifacting and colors are quite bright and lively (for the most part). This is a tremendous looking transfer for a film of this type from the 60's. Now this isn't to say that there aren't any trouble spots, because there are a few, but overall, it's quite pleasing. Audio is presented in Japanese or German mono with optional English or Dutch subtitles. Dialogue and ambient sounds are clear with no signs of distortion.

Extras include 4 anamorphic trailers (no English) for what appear to be related titles and an animated still gallery. Also of note are the cool animated menus and slipcase packaging for the first 2500 discs pressed. For a title that I knew nothing about, I'm not ashamed (see that, acceptance - now I'm NOT ashamed) to say that I found it to be both highly despicable and entertaining at the same time. Quality is top notch, so if you're not too afraid to dig in, bon appetite!

You can pick up a copy of Shogun's Sadism at www.xploitedcinema.com