The Ravaged House (2004)

Dir: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri

Another Hideshi Hino adaptation from those nice folk over at Pony Canyon Distribution. This one is set in rural Japan and tells of a boy who, somewhat inexplicably, contracts a horrible flesh-eating disease that eventually turns him into a bulbous, worm-like lump of drippy stuff. As usual with Hino, the main story's focus is a gradual destruction of the human body but unlike, say, "Mermaid in a Manhole", the onscreen grue is kept to a minimum, occuring mostly beneath bandages here. Instead, Kazuyoshi Kumakari's sympathetic screenplay turns the attention to the reactions of the boy's family and his fellow villagers. Although mildly interesting, this never develops far enough to fully arrest the viewer which is a pity since the direction here is fantastic. The atmosphere is stark and eerie - reminiscent of Shindô's "Onibaba" or "Kuroneko" - and the photography is some of the most convincing Digital Video stuff I've ever seen. It's great to see that films that look this good can be made on such a low budget but I just wish they could've done a bit more with the story. **1/2