This was a tricky one to learn about and I expected that trying to find it would involve a lot more work. Fortunately Guzoo's minimal search results yielded a YouTube upload, and while that's not the ideal screening option it does stand as your best (only?) chance of seeing Kazuo Komizu's splatter obscurity.Trying to learn more about this film ended up being very similar to investigating Japanese punk records - when you arm yourself with an overwhelming curiosity and zero language ability. A chance encounter with a screenshot on Tumblr led me down a rabbit hole where, beyond what's here on Letterboxd, the only thing I've been able to establish is that Part 2 does not exist.
On to the film itself then, and if you're not consumed by waves of intrigue at the title Guzoo: The Thing Forsaken by God - Part 1, then perhaps this is a good place to take your leave. The plot is not a million miles away from Nobuhiko Obayashi's Hausu as four schoolgirls go to visit a family friend in a country house and after a bunch of innocent wholesome fun, get terrorised by something sinister- in this instance, a lumpen, tentacled monstrosity from the basement. The creature is an amorphous mound of blubber that really looks a hell of a lot like a Shoggoth from Lovecraftian lore. John Carpenter's influence can also be felt in the Prince of Darkness vibe and similarities to The Thing in some of the effects. Stuart Gordon's body horror masterpiece From Beyond emerged the same year and Guzoo feels a bit like its demented sibling.
But the main issue with Guzoo is that at a brisk 40 minutes it feels more like the IDEA of a movie than a fully fledged story. Guzoo could have been something spectacular if they'd just (pardon the pun) fleshed it out a bit more.
IMDB: Guzoo: The Thing Forsaken by God - Part 1
This review was also posted to Letterboxd
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