As the story goes, while on a high fashion photo shoot, a group of people find themselves lost in the dark, fog filled woods.  Unsettled after running over something -- or someone-- with their van, the gang decides to take refuge in an abandoned house, where one by one they fall prey to a mud-covered creature from the woods.

The DVD package gives clear warning: "Prepare to be shocked, offended, horrified and repulsed by every single frame." And they're not messing around!  This isn't your average Friday night popcorn horror flick.  Director Gaira has taken the exploitation flicks of the 70s, like Last House on the Left, and cranked the perversion knob all the way to the right.  I've seen plenty of exploitation films in my day, and was never really bothered by the less than genteel treatment of women, but this scandalous little joint draws the line at misogyny and then enthusiastically throws the dead body right over it.  The female characters in Entrails are not only the subject of the killer's bloodlust, but the actresses playing the parts, themselves, are often humiliated for the pleasure of the director (and the audience too, I suppose).  This disdain is displayed by a particularly unsettling scene in which the male characters squabble about how immorally cruel show biz is to women, all this while the man who speaks out most against such injustices wrestles one of the female models mercilessly into submission.  Pass the pop, please!

This flick is definitely not for the squeamish.  But hardcore horror gore fans can rejoice at the widescreen transfer put out by Synapse Films.  Extras include a candid interview with the mischievous director, a theatrical trailer, and an essay on the controversial subject of Japanese censorship.  No doubt this was included to explain that due to Japanese censorship laws, women were allowed to be shown topless, but their nether regions were veiled by a fog effect (similar to the effect used to cover nudity on TV), which was edited in by the studio upon the film's original 1986 release.

Barry Meyer is a writer living in Jersey, where they really respect their women.

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