Nerdly » ‘Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell’ Blu-ray Review

18th Aug2022

‘Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell’ Blu-ray Review

by Paul Metcalf

Stars: Shinichi Fukazawa, Masaaki Kai, Asako Nosaka | Written and Directed by Shinichi Fukazawa

When a film has a name like Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell, it comes with certain expectations. Described as the Japanese Evil Dead, that is a lofty claim. So, can the crazy-titled film also live up to the name of Evil Dead?

When a bodybuilder, his ex-girlfriend and a professional psychic enter a haunted house, they soon find themselves trapped within it. With the spirit of a murdered woman obsessed with keeping the bodybuilder within the house, it seems that the ghost’s secret may be connected with the bodybuilder’s father. It may seem strange just calling the main character the “bodybuilder” but this is how simplistic the characters are. This isn’t a bad thing, as really these characters don’t have to be too deep. We are given a “grudge” style haunting, an ex-girlfriend and of course a psychic who can call up the vengeful ghost…

What I find interesting about Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell is that it was originally filmed in the nineties, but took years to actually be completed, and released. Filmed like an old-fashioned grind-house flick there is a feel of Evil Dead to the special effects on show, but they do feel comically bad. The truth about Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell is that it is a “bad” movie, but also a fun one. The references to the former 80s video nasty can’t be ignored though this film can’t really compete with the original Sam Raimi classic. What it does feel like though is Shinichi Fukazawa’s love letter to what Evil Dead was – and the impact it made in Japan.

A lot of the gore in the movie is stop motion, and there is plenty of gooey substances coming out of every orifice of the zombie-like demons. There is a feeling that the film is trying to be sillier than it manages to be, especially with the overuse of blood, which looks more like tomato purée than anything that could come out of a human being.

At around an hour in length, Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell doesn’t overstay its welcome, but it also doesn’t really offer much of a storyline. The situation is set up to give a ghost, and to get the cannon-fodder heroes into the house, and then let the death and the destruction commence. What will confuse people (if they are looking for anything to make sense that is) is what does bodybuilding have to do with it? Other than the main character having big muscles and using a few weights to impale corpses and smash body pieces, there isn’t really much of a body-building theme. In truth though, should we care?

Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell is a film that may be bad but is watchable. Horror fans will enjoy the old-school special effects and cringe at some of the really bad ones, but that is the fun of “so bad they’re good” movies.

Blu-ray Special Features:

Archival 1995 SD master from original tapes
New Interview with Director Shinichi Fukazawa
Commentary track featuring directors Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen) and Joe Lynch (Shudder’s Creepshow, Mayhem)
Commentary track with Japanese film historian James Harper
Limited Edition O-Card/Slipcase
Special Effects Video
Original Archival Trailers from Japanese release
Behind The Scenes Image Gallery
Archival Image Gallery
Outtakes
Folded mini-poster
Four Page Liner notes by Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs
‘Stick your own’ video store sticker sheet
Vintage style Laminated Video Store Rental Card
Visual Vengeance Trailers
Reversible Sleeve featuring original Japanese home video art