Review – Philosophy of a Knife

I rented this (or streamed it from Netflix to be more precise) based on the mistaken assumption that it was a documentary about Unit 731, the infamous facility in Manchuria where the Japanese military performed horrible medical experiments on prisoners during World War Two. So imagine my considerable annoyance when it turned out to be an extended exercise in industrial noise video and torture porn. The picture revels in graphic recreations of torment – particularly sexual abuse – with almost no historical context or other redeeming quality. Indeed, the old Russian guy they interview no doubt to lend some sense of legitimacy to the visceral “thrills” appears to have little or no firsthand knowledge about 731’s activities. The result is an ugly, nasty mess intended solely to entertain audiences with sexual proclivities that require the intervention of mental health professionals. In the interest of full disclosure, I acknowledge that this is actually a review of only the first half of the video. After two hours of filth and degradation, I wasn’t prepared to prolong my misery. Avoid at all costs