Watch Star of David: Beauty Hunting For Free

Why so much hype?

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Blistering performances.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

With shocking scenes of violent rape, murder, bestiality, necrophilia and torture, Beautiful Girl Hunter (my first foray into the 'pinku-eiga' genre) is certainly an eye-opener.Tatsuya is a little messed up: he is the result of a vicious sex attack on his mother by a violent rapist/thief. His surrogate father treats him like dirt as a child, and degrades his mum (by tying her up, whipping her and having sex with other women in her presence) until she can take no more and kills herself.Tatsuya eventually gets even by killing his father, inheriting a fortune as a result. But it seems that he has also inherited his real father's penchant for mistreating women, and is soon following in daddy's footsteps, abducting, raping and killing beautiful women.A misogynistic, ultra nasty and disturbing movie, Beautiful Girl Hunter is certainly not for everyone. However, those who have an 'anything goes' attitude towards their viewing matter will probably enjoy this simply for its willingness to show pretty much anything in the name of entertainment.A series of busty victims suffer at the hands of Tatsuya (and his biological father, who turns up towards the end of the film to join in the fun) and the humiliation they have to endure is certainly very imaginative: one is smeared all over with butter, only for it to be removed by a dog with an obliging tongue; another is forced to masturbate in front of her captor; and, in a particularly gob-smacking scene, one poor girl is denied lavatorial facilities until she can hold on no longer...The forced sex, which occurs at regular intervals throughout the film, is also very unsettling and not for those who are easily offended. Peculiarly enough, though, for a film that is so extreme in places, the nookie is at times made rather laughable by carefully placed objects in the foreground obscuring the 'action' (think of that scene in Austin Powers and you'll get an idea of what I mean). I always find it amusing when I see what the Japanese find acceptable to show and what is deemed too obscene (for example, they have no problem with a scene in which Tatsuya masturbates over photos from the Nazi holocaust!!).What is also rather surprising about this film is its technical excellence. There is no evidence of the low quality prevalent in many of filmdom's more seamy productions—the cinematography is great and the direction very effective. Director Norifumi Suzuki has managed to imbue this sordid tale with a level of class which is rare in exploitation movie-making.And if Eli Roth thinks he is the last word in extreme bloodletting, he ought to check this baby out: his Mrs. Bathory bath scene in Hostel 2 pales in comparison with the bit where Tatsuya stabs a girl suspended by chains and is drenched in her blood! Beautiful Girl Hunter ends with a rather confusing and pretentious finale which might be a case of the director trying to justify his film with some kind of message. He needn't have bothered: viewers of this movie will be too busy gasping at the on-screen filth to care about any deeper meaning.

Norifumi Suzuki, legendary director of 70's pink films has fashioned his most shocking and controversial film in "Star of David: Beauty Hunting". Dealing with every inflammatory subject conceivable; rape, incest, bestiality, necrophilia, but somehow the film never for a moment looks ugly, or cheap for that matter. Suzuki is a genius indeed to film such horrors and make them look stylish and elegant. The story is evil and hypnotic as well; the child of rape who grows up to inherit the twisted traits of his genetic father, a man who brutally raped his mother and destroyed so many lives as a result. For the woman is raped in front of her new husband, who grows to despise her, as in typical fashion for movies of this genre, the woman appears to enjoy being violated! She becomes pregnant as a result of the rape, and gives birth to a son, equally hated and abused by his surrogate dad. The boy is exposed to violence and sexual perversions at a young age, which adds to his already twisted psyche. And he is made familiar with death when his tortured mother eventually commits suicide. The seeds of hate have been planted, and at the age of 20 he inherits a sprawling estate, when his father dies in a mysterious boating accident. Now in a position of great wealth and power, he is able to live out his most depraved fantasies. Girls are kidnapped and taken to a bizarre torture chamber in the cellar of the house. But the story has deeper meanings behind all the excessive sex and torture. Symbolic attacks on capitalism, family 'values', and religion are all explored in an intelligent way. A famous pop singer is kidnapped and humiliated, and is less upset at being brutalized than she is of finding that her song has dropped from the charts. And a pious schoolgirl, a virgin, but secretly addicted to masturbation, is exposed, broken, and remodeled into a somehow healthier, happier person, when the constraints of society are lifted, and she can be a sexual person at last. Here is Suzuki's most adult oriented feature, a horrifying vision, but with very intelligent jet black comic overtones. I felt guilty for laughing when the whip is placed in the hand of the singers assistant, as she goes wild at finally having the upper hand in a society that dictates that she should be on a lower level, because of beauty standards, or money. She savagely beats the arrogant pop singer, and forces her to repeat, 'I am a dark pig!' Make no mistake about 'Star of David', as it is a film of superior quality and beauty. This is not 'Guts of a Virgin' type trash, and not nearly as sickening and juvenile. In fact there is really not much actual gore here at all, other than a gruesome stab to the heart scene, and a couple other short scenes. In fact, the blood draining scene in Suzuki's 'Terrifying Girls High School' is more extreme than what is shown here. And this lends yet another layer of class to this production. The real terror is of the psychological kind. Not to say this film is not loaded with disturbing imagery, the scene involving a German Shephard being especially offensive. Those familiar with Suzuki's work will recognize his unique style here; his masterful use of color and camera angles, as well as attention to detail. The final scenes in a flower garden are especially beautiful, and a sex scene at the films climax comes across as romantic, even though it involves a brother and sister! 'Star of David' is one of the most infamous 'pink films' of all time, and for good reason. Highly recommended to viewers with open minds, and for those looking to venture out of the main stream.

Norifumi Suzuki's STAR OF David (aka BEAUTIFUL GIRL HUNTER) is a very strong entry in the Nikkatsu violent-pink genre and should be sought out by lovers of sexploit cinema. Unlike some of the other Nikkatsu pink films I've seen - this one has a very polished and professional look to it that makes it stand out amongst other entries. In fact, to my eyes the film resembles the more "mainstream" Toei pinky-violence films but for the slightly more twisted subject matter. This isn't surprising given Suzuki's background in Japanese exploit cinema, helming the equally excellent SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEAST and SEX AND FURY. Tatsuya is a handsome young guy who comes into a lot of cash after the "accidental" death of his father. Problem is, his REAL father was a serial rapist and Tatsuya is the product of his mother's rape session. His "surrogate" dad obviously resents Tatsuya's birth and treats him like garbage. Turns out that the penchant for rape must run in the genes - and Tatsuya is no amateur when it comes to the finer points of female abuse and degredation. Eventually Tatsuya's real father comes back into the picture and things go downhill from there...STAR OF David has a little bit of everything for sexploit fans - Tons of erotically-charged rapes and rope bondage, lots of pantied crotch-shots, incest themes, a hilarious urination scene, some brief necrophilia, implied beastiality - all the things to make a sleaze fan happy. The only draw-back is that the pacing is a bit slow, but even so - STAR OF David is a very solid entry. Pair this one up with a few of Suzuki's other joints and have a sleazy good time...9/10

When a man's wife is raped and impregnated by a serial killer, the result is a handsome playboy who grows up with a fetish for sex, torture, and murder. This Japanese production is like a morality play with no morals, with a protagonist who is at once charming, intelligent, and unredeemable; the multi-layered script fleshes out the character and those he abducts, and makes some surprisingly insightful observations about a society fixated on religion, morals, and beauty. While not achieving a balanced mix of depravity and fascination like Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Salo," "Beautiful Girl Hunter" comes close enough, though the violence and sexual content becomes excessive near the end.6.5/10