GORE IN THE STORE
REVIEWS BY FANS FOR FANS
5 STAR FAB - 1 STAR RUBBISH

The Hole
Outcast
Outcast
(Second Opinion)
Choose
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Mirrors 2
Puppet Master - Axis of Evil
Deadly Crossing
Death Race 2
The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism
(Second Opinion)
The Expendables
The Chatroom
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Splice
Peeping Tom - Re-issue
A Town Called Panic
A Nightmare On Elm Street
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
Night of the Demons
Lawnmower Man (Blu-ray)
Siege of the Dead
Psych 9
Big Tits Zombie
Exquisite Corpse
The Collector
The Collector
(Second Opinion)
The Tortured
Zombies of Mass Destruction
Tears For Sale
Higanjima: Escape From
Vampire Island
I Spit On YOur Grave (1978)
Twelve (XII)
Dead Cert
[REC] 2
Mother
Killer Pad
Rin – Daughters of Mnemosyne
Death Tube
Death Tube
(Second Opinion)
7 Days
Death Note
Beyond The Rave
Hunter Prey
7th Dimension
Army of the Dead
Splintered
Basement
Meat Grinder
14 Blades
Manson Girl
The Blackout
The Torment
The Torment
(Second Opinion)
Hierro
Psycho - Blu-Ray
Pet Shop of Horrors
Kaiji:
The Ultimate Gambler
Shelter
Fullmetal Alchemist:
Brotherhood Part 1
The Final
Bubba Ho Tep - Blu-Ray
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Vampire
The Dead
Resurrecting
The Street Walker
The Haunting Of
Molly Hartley
Soul Eater: Part One
Rozen Maiden:
Traumend Vol. One
Bikini Girls On Ice
Diary of a Bad Lad
Satan's Baby Doll
Feast 111
Phobia
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin
Valhalla Rising
City of the Living Dead
Dorothy
Daybreakers
Daybreakers
(Second Opinion)
Harpoon: The Reykjavik Whale
Watching Massacre
Harpoon:The Reykjavik Whale
Watching Massacre
(Second Opinion)
Feast 3:The Happy Finnish
Raging Phoenix
His Name Was Jason
Left Bank
Ju-On: White Ghost/White Ghost
Spiral
Ghost Machine
Stag Night
Bitch Slap
The Descent 2
The Descent 2-Second opinion
Dance of The Dead
Henry Lee Lucas: Serial Killer
House Of The Devil
The Twilight Saga
New Moon
Salvage
Salvage-Second opinion
Dread
The Haunted World of
El Superbeasto
Saw VI
The Horseman
Triangle-Second opinion
Triangle
Cabin Fever 2-Third opinion
Cabin Fever 2-Second opinion
Cabin Fever 2
Stan Helsing
Pandorum
Pandorum-Second opinion
Open Graves
Paranormal Activity
Growth
Growth-Second opinion
Train
Antichrist
Wrong Turn 3
Coffin Rock
Orphan
Sorority Row
Drag Me to Hell
Staunton Hill
Summer Moon
Driftwood
Messengers 2

 

Directed by Toshio Hirata / Anime / Cert. 15

DVD – MVM – 2 August 2010 – £15.99

Not to be confused with the man-eating plant musical, Pet Shop of Horrors is a four episode OVA – that’s ‘Original Video Animation’ for the less geeky amongst you – directed by Toshio Hirata and based on Matsuri Akino’s horror manga series.

Each of Pet Shop of Horror’s episodes revolves around the mysterious Count D, whose little pet shop in the Chinatown of an unnamed American city specialises in exotic and unusual animals. Highly unusual, it turns out… and customers had better not break the effeminate Count’s contract if they want to avoid terrible consequences.

Naturally, the pet owners – who include a rich couple whose only daughter has died from a drug overdose and a young politician set on becoming president – invariably mess things up, with satisfyingly unpleasant results. Linking the standalone stories is an ongoing investigation into Count D’s operation by detective Leon Orcot, who incidentally embodies most of the stereotypes Japanese have about Americans.

However, it’s worth mentioning that Pet Shop of Horrors is not particularly horrifying; certainly not by FrightFest standards. This isn’t a jump-in-your-seat, I-shall-never-sleep-again chiller, nor is it the torture porn popularised by Eli Roth and the Splat Pack. Instead the stories build up an atmosphere of oppressive unease, with the anime’s sickly colours and absurdist plots lending it an opium dream quality.

On the plus side, Pet Shop of Horrors is a memorable concept and represents an anime genre that, unlike mecha shows and harem comedies, doesn’t get much exposure in the West. Unfortunately, the stories themselves are more ridiculous than scary and tend to run along rails – Count D sells an odd pet to a customer; customer’s character flaws lead to them breaking their contract; bad things happen. Rinse and repeat.

Nor is the artwork especially impressive. Madhouse produced Pet Shop of Horrors back in 1999 and the title shows its age (and budget) when compared more recent shows from the studio such as Black Lagoon or The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

While I admit that Matsuri Akino’s art style isn’t to my personal taste – she seems to struggle with drawing anything other than fey bishonen types – some of the anime’s character designs also seem rather misguided; for example, the way Count D’s eyes look like they are sat on top of his floppy hairdo rather than peering through it.

Pet Shop of Horrors’ slow-burn spooky certainly offers something different from horror-inspired anime such as Soul Eater, Occult Academy and Hellsing, but outdated visuals and silly plots (man-eating rabbits, anyone?) mean that it is by no means a must-buy title. One for major anime horror fans and followers of the manga series.

Special features: English dub; Japanese audio with English subtitles; clean closing; trailers.

David Axbey

© London FrightFest Ltd. 2000-2010
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