It looks like over-the-top splatter fun and it lasts 62 minutes so the balance sounds about right when compared to the overly-long and incredibly gory splatter-fests released by Sushi-Typhoon (some of which I reviewed during a Summer of Splatter – that burnt me out in terms of Japanese horror films…).
Reviews for this one from horror aficionados such as Ken Wynne over at Attack from Planet B, are glowing:
“Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell meshes the SFX style of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s cult horror Hausu (1977) with the comedy and splatter associated with Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead series.”
It’s well worth reading the rest of the review not least because it has more information on the director who runs his own movie site. Terror-cotta are really getting behind this one by including a lot of interesting extras such as two “behind-the-scenes” clips and a step-by-step look at the work of Graham Humphreys did in making the cover for this. He is a legendary horror movie poster/VHS cover illustrator (THE EVIL DEAD, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) and his work here hits the mark. There are also the original Japanese trailers, an extensive behind-the-scenes photo gallery and two ‘making of’ video clips.
Here’s the trailer and more information from a press release:
Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell AKA The Japanese Evil Dead 
地獄の血みどろマッスルビルダー 「Jigoku no chimidoro Muscle Builder」
Running Time: 62 mins.
Director: Shinichi Fukuzawa
Writer: Shinichi Fukuzawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Shinichi Fukuzawa. Masaaki Kai, Asako Nosaka,
Synopsis: After a surprise phone call interrupts his daily workout, beefy body builder Shinji agrees to meet his photojournalist ex-girlfriend to help with her research on haunted houses. Accompanied by a professional psychic, they visit an abandoned house once owned by Shinji’s father. But inside the house a dark secret lingers and they find themselves trapped and tormented by a relentless ghost with a 30 year grudge …
From the land famous for cursed VHS tapes, comes a ‘forgotten video nasty’. Unleashed from a mysterious Tokyo cellar and available for the first time in the UK, the Bloody Muscle Body Builder invites fans of bizarro, lo-fi cinema on a far out journey … into hell.
DVD Special Features:
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From Sketch to Scary: ‘Groovy’ Artwork by Graham Humphreys
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Original Japanese Trailers
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Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery
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Dismemberment of a Scene
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Clip 1: Losing Your Head
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Clip 2: Hands Off My Skeleton
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Asian horror movies out now from Terror Cotta
