Za ginipiggu 4: Manhoru no naka no ningyo (Guinea Pig 4: Mermaid in the Manhole) poster & wallpaper
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Mari Somei, Masami Hisamoto, Shigeru Saiki, Tsuyoshi Toshishige

A real surprise for fans of the notorious series, this fourth installment is a literate, even poetic piece of Sadean grotesquerie from director/artist Hideshi Hino. Shigeru Saikai stars as Hayashi, an... read more read more... artist who gets his inspiration from a sewer near his home. One day, as he is wandering around the tunnels, he is surprised to see a mermaid (Tsuyoshi Toshishige) caught in the muck. Hayashi takes the mermaid home and keeps her in his bathtub, intending to paint her portrait. But she begins to rot -- slowly at first, then more completely until her agony is excruciating. She begs Hayashi to kill her, but to paint her sorrow first. He does so, capturing her pain on his canvas until the final moments. Hino's film is a departure from the previous episodes (despite telling an admittedly nauseating story in graphic detail) in that it has a heart. More psychological splatterpunk than straight horror, Za Ginipiggu 4 is touching in a most peculiar way, and is not generally considered part of the series. The next installment, Za Ginipiggu 5: Peter No Akuma No Joi-san (1992), was an even bigger surprise -- a comedy. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

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51% liked it

1,014 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 3 min.

Directed by: Hideshi Hino

Release Date: January 1, 1988

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Flixster Reviews (109)

  • DragonEyeMorrison
    May 5, 2011
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Probably the most ambitious of all the guinea pig movies, more of a sad film than a shock fest. Of course, plenty of gross effects to go along for the ride, but there is a strong melancholic sensation in the story.
  • theunknownhobo
    January 23, 2011
    theunknownhobo
    When it comes to originality this movie certainly deserves some gold stars, but I think it was the pace that put me off of the movie more so than anything else. I found it incredibly slow and even when things did happen I had become so desensitised by the atmosphere that I was no... read moret as shocked as I was relieved that something was happening at all. On screen the leads had wondeful chemistry but at the basis of this movie is a story of love and want, rather than anything else. A good movie in its own right, but not my favorite of the guinea pig series although certainly one of the most original and tragic.
  • thefog1331
    August 14, 2010
    thefog1331
    I decided that my first Guinea Pig experience would be this one because it sounded like it had more of a plot and an interesting one at that.
    Well the story is certainly unique and it's definitely gross but it's about 20 minutes too long and made just a little too much on the ch... read moreeap.
  • matertenebraum
    October 22, 2008
    matertenebraum
    A painter named Hayashi(Shigeru Saiki)finds a wounded mermaid(Mari Somei)and saves her.He takes her home and puts her into his bathtub where she keeps decomposing,the spreading disease spurting blood and pus.Hideshi Hino's "Guinea Pig 4:Mermaid in the Manhole" is easily one of th... read moree most disgusting horror movies I have ever seen.The make-up effects made by Nobuaki Koga are incredibly revolting.The character of Hayashi is pretty sympathetic and the film has a mood of a very sad romance.The mermaid represents painter's wife and "all the beautiful things" he has lost,so she is bound to rot and vanish too."Mermaid in the Manhole" works as a piece of extreme art,so anyone who loves Japanese horror should give it a look.However if you're easily offended avoid this one like the plague
  • LickTheABCs
    October 18, 2009
    LickTheABCs
    The other entry that I previously saw. This is, along with Flowers, the most popular of the series and at least so far, the most creative. Painter guy finds Mermaid girl in the sewer. She's just chillin', all wounded and shit. He takes her home and um... well, what do you think?
  • TheMovieDuuude
    July 30, 2008
    TheMovieDuuude
    Not bad really...supposedly based on a true story (to some extent), lots of gross out scenes and gore.
  • soulxside
    January 2, 2008
    soulxside
    Cheap production, cheap sets, cheap effects... they were even too cheap to pluck the mermaid's eyebrows - filmed with handheld consumer camera from the 80s - looks like a home movie. It's like Splash meets Ebola Syndrome. It's not gross, it's just silly and stupid. If you think ... read moreearthworms are just about the grossest thing ever, then you better not watch it or else you'll have nightmares. Seriously though - did not deliver.

    One full star for having some value - I mean, you could watch it with some friends and laugh I guess. Although there are way better movies than this for that purpose.
  • theSwitchbladeSister
    December 10, 2006
    theSwitchbladeSister
    This is possibly the strangest movie I've ever seen. The title really leaves no doubt in your mind as to the content.

    ..Mermaid in a Manhole. Yeah.

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