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Poster for Guinea Pig: Mermaid in the Manhole

Guinea Pig: Mermaid in the Manhole

1988 · 58 min

A slow, claustrophobic descent into decay and devotion, blending tender grief with visceral body horror in a grimy, intimate setting.

Directed by
Hideshi Hino
Genres
Horror, Romance
Starring
Shigeru Saiki, Mari Somei, Go Riju
Overview
An artist dealing with the grief of his wife leaving him finds solace in painting the squalor of the sewer. He discovers a trapped mermaid, whom he brings home to heal. Her condition worsens, and she asks the artist to paint her before she dies.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Hideshi Hino
Genres
Horror, Romance
Starring
Shigeru Saiki, Mari Somei, Go Riju
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • grief
  • obsession
  • art
  • isolation
  • death
Places
  • big city
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • single location
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror9
Humour1
Realism4
Romance3
Tension6
Darkness9
Complexity4
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
horror, romance
Directed by
Hideshi Hino
Written by
Hideshi Hino
Starring
Shigeru Saiki, Mari Somei, Go Riju, Masami Hisamoto, Tsuyoshi Toshishige
Cinematography
Naoki Hayashi
Runtime
58 min
Country
Japan
Languages
Japanese

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