Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell

Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (1995)

Runtime: 62 minutes

Directed by: Shinichi Fukazawa

Starring: Fukazawa, Masaaki Kai, Masahiro Kai, Aki Tama Mai, Asako Nosawa

From: Well, this is a shot on video thing done by Fukazawa which he self-released on DVD… in 2012. I explain that in the review itself. Visual Vengeance released it on Blu-ray in the United States back two years ago.

Yes, I saw this movie when it played late Friday night on The Last Drive-In & their Nightmareathon where six films in a row were shown on Shudder. Of course I heard about this film when it came out on Blu-ray in the United States back in ’22; how could I forget something called Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell? If you thought that the OG Evil Dead was a labor of love and took a long time to complete, note that star/director/producer/everything else Shinichi Fukazawa created this as he loved Raimi/Campbell and wanted to make a tribute while using his father’s old house that was set for demolition. Fukazawa was broke when he made then edited the movie… to the point that it wasn’t released until he self-released it on DVD—in 2012. BMBBiH started filming in ’95, you see, and apparently wasn’t a finished product until 2009.

It's not a carbon copy, scene for scene remake of The Evil Dead. Yes, there are scenes, lines and Deadites that were lifted from The Evil Dead but the story uses its own gags and the Deadites don’t show up after incantations from the Necronomicon are played on tape. Rather, the father of Namoto (Fukazawa) is shown accidentally killing his side piece after she wishes to kill him due to his impending nuptials to another girl. Her body is buried at the house; the rest is set decades later as the father passed away--Namoto, his photographer ex-girlfriend and a psychic visit the house. It’s that deceased girl who is the root of all the chaos.

Some moments are quite reminiscent of all the Evil Dead films, along with others that I won’t spoil. Neither will the most creative gags that are sprinkled throughout. It’s made in the same spirit as The Evil Dead, so expect plenty of gore, dark humor, dismemberment, a boomstick, and more. I was entertained by the tale and it was genuinely impressive how despite the epic length of the production, the end product was not only not atrocious, me and many others were charmed by the DIY nature, the comedic moments, the OOT moments, the gore, the stop motion, the 8mm fuzzy look, etc.

Those that love Ash will be especially interested to check this out. Even if you aren’t a fan, BMBBiH is only an hour minus credits.