Mai-chan no nichijô

Miyako (gravure idol Miyako Akane) takes a job at a remote manor house, working alongside senior maid Mai-chan (An Koshi), whose body has remarkable regenerative powers. Miyako is surprised when her master (Shôgo Maruyama) and head maid Kaede (Soaco Roman) torture Mai, cutting off her finger and removing her eyeball (Kaede eating the juicy orb), but she also finds herself excited by the violent acts and longs to mutilate and devour Mai herself.

Based on the ero guro manga by Waita Uziga, Mai-chan's Daily Life is gory and perverse nonsense, featuring graphic scenes of sadism, humiliation, and cannibalism, with a hefty dose of nudity and fetishism. We get chainsaw dismemberment, intestine fondling, and those familiar Japanese obsessions, upskirt shots and peeing, and yet it's all too absurd to be considered disturbing or shocking (although I still wouldn't recommend showing it to granny or the kids). Director Sade Satô's tendency to use tacky video filters and switch to monochrome for no reason is irritating: black and white gore is never very satisfying.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for the music. Recommended to fans of the later Guinea Pig films such as He Never Dies (1986) and Android of Notre Dame (1988).