Here from 88 Films, as part of their Nikkatsu studios Roman Porno series of reissues, is Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell. The late 1970s film is set at an elite girls' finishing school in the 30’s- it regards the relationship between two girls, and the male depravity/perversion that surrounds them. The picture shifts from sordid, at points, troubling/ brutal melodrama into a surreally edged ghost story in its last quarter. The release comes in the form of a region B Blu-ray- this features a new crisp HD scan, a new commentary, and a few other extras

Yumeno Kyusaku's Girl Hell (aka Yumeno Kyûsaku no shôjo jigoku, Raging Hell Fires) is from the year 1977.  It was based on a story by Yumeno Kyūsaku- a Shōwa era Japanese author who penned horror, sci-fi and detective-based work, with often surreal and bizarre leanings.

It was directed Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan born Masaru Konuma. He had fifty-five feature credits- which all sound like that sat in either the Roman Porno or Pink genre. These went from the S & M themed Flower & Snake (1974), onto the bluntly titled erotic thriller Getting Raped (1976). Though to sexual torture fired horror of Woman in a Box: Virgin Sacrifice (1985), onto the coming-of-age erotic drama of Beach (2000).

The film opens on a bright sunny day on a body of water, as we see two sets of hands trying to grab a large white balloon and giggling in a small rowing boat. The hands belong to finishing school friends Utae Amakawa (Asami Ogawa) and Aiko Tonomiya (Yûko Asuka)- Utea is the shyer, at points vacant of the two. While Aiko is fairly outspoken.

As the film unfolds, it’s clear perversion and depravity is rife behind the school’s grand house setting. The top hatted and be-speckled Principal (Masakazu Kuwayama) often rapes the girls- to such a level that he’s on first name terms with the local abortionist. The school's male secretary also pounces when he can, and lastly but hardly least, Aiko's school inspector father often brings a woman home to have sex with her- as his unwell wife listens above.

All of the male-on-female sex in the film is forced/ painful, and frankly, very unsexy/ uncomfortable to watch. There is a sense of tender discovery between the two girls, but this is largely quashed by the adults.

Aside from the disturbing rape/ forced fleshy side of things- we have a few rather unsettling to creepy scenes. There’s a smashing against a piano brutal abortion session, jarring upside down & enticing ghostly hands scenes, darting of severed cat limbs/ head, and burnt to burning female body action.

Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell is certainly a well, at times arty shot film- the acting is largely good, in particular from our two leads, and the film's leering/perverse man folk. I’d say you’ll need to have some grounding in psycho-sexual cinema, as there are truly quite unsettling/ deeply troubling scenes blended in with the film's mix of melodrama, ghost horror, and the lightly surreal.

This region B Blu-ray features a great, bright and bold scan of the film, with nice, bold subtitles, and good audio.

On the new extra side, we have audio commentary from academic and genre expert Anne McKnight and Jasper Sharp. They begin by talking about the film's theme song and those behind it.  We find out that the two leads were in their twenties. They discuss the rather free adaptation of the original story, which apparently had a rather William S Burroughs cut-up structure bringing elements of letters & newspaper reports.  They touch on the Roman porno films in general and talk about that there were at least one thousand made.  The talk about director Masaru Konuma's other work- most of these were decidedly bondage-focused.   Later on, they discuss the film's more upbeat resolve than the original story. We get a rundown of the other literature focused roman porno films, and much more. I’ve heard more than a few of Mr Sharp's tracks, but never anything from Ms McKnight- and together they did a most worthy track, which balances information, observations, and chat.

Otherwise, we get two new featurettes- Planet Girl with Kei Chiba (8.48). He starts off by talking about how the original story was really unfilmable, and among other things, the girls ate brains. How the film between men and women-based sex as dirty/ depraved in the film, but the girl-on-girl action is purer.  And he gives a general overview of the film and its theme. Next is Life On Mars with Ken Terawaki (14.21), he talks about author Yumeno Kyūsaku, and director Masaru Konuma, as well as discussing the film at hand. Both of these are worth a play.

The disc is finished off with a still gallery and trailer. The finished release comes with a booklet featuring a new essay from Caitlin Casiello.

Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell certainly is a troubling, yet thoughtful arty slice of Japanese exploitation. I’m so pleased that 88 Film are carrying on with this Roman Porno series, and let’s hope they are lots more to come.