is a Japanese exploitation film director. He has worked prolifically in the genre of pinku eiga films, which refers to Japanese films that prominently feature nudity or sexual content. His best-known works are the 1992 pink film The Bedroom and the 1996 V-Cinema splatter film Splatter: Naked Blood. He is known for his "sledgehammer" filmmaking style, and using his exploitation career to tackle serious subjects like obsession, alienation, perversion and voyeurism.
He has been likened to Canadian director David Cronenberg due to his penchant for body horror as well as dark eroticism. Along with fellow directors Kazuhiro Sano, Toshiki Satō and Takahisa Zeze, he is known as one of the .
Life and career
Satō is a very prolific director, having directed about two dozen films in 1988 and 1989. To date, he has directed more than fifty films dealing with eroticism, sadism, and horror among the lower classes of Japan. He is famous for his "guerilla shooting technique" in which his actors appear on location in public and incorporate unknowing bystanders into the film. One notorious example of this technique can be seen in Widow's Perverted Hell (1991) (aka Look Into Me) in which the lead actress, nude and bound in S&M gear, appears in a busy downtown location and begs confused passers-by to help her masturbate.Weisser, p.471. Allmovie comments, "Like Divine's memorable strut through the streets of Baltimore in Pink Flamingos, this scene was shot guerrilla-style, with no planning, and some of the reactions from unsuspecting pedestrians are priceless. Intended as a dark meditation on the unhinging effects of grief, the mondo aspects of its climactic scene makes the rather lackluster Mibojin Hentai Jigoku worth seeing."
Satō's 1987 film Temptation of the Mask was important for several reasons. One of the first gay films produced by a major pink film director, the film also brought together three members of the shitenno for the first time. Takahisa Zeze worked as Satō's assistant director for the film, and through him began hiring future-director Kazuhiro Sano as an actor in his films. Zeze later recalled, "I remember once there was a gay pink film, and Satō wanted to use Sano, so I was the go-between and negotiated with him to appear in it. That's how we all started working together."
Satō's second gay-themed film was Muscle (1988) (also known as Mad Ballroom Gala), a tribute to Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini. For this film, Satō was awarded the grand prize at the Berlin Gay and Lesbian Festival in 1993.Weisser, p.467. From this and later films like Hunters' Sense of Touch (1995), Satō has gained a reputation as one of the few directors who can competently alternate between gay and heterosexual-themed pink films.
Satō's 1990 film, Horse and Woman and Dog (also known as Poaching by the Water), another film featuring Kazuhiro Sano, became a success due to its scandalous scenes involving bestiality between the three characters in the film's title. Another controversial but highly regarded film from Satō is The Bedroom (1992), for which the director hired the Paris cannibal, Issei Sagawa (aka Kazumasa Sagawa) to appear in a cameo role.Weisser, p.473.
Famed for the offensiveness of his films, Lolita: Vibrator Torture (1987) (also known as Secret Garden), dealing with a homeless man who rapes and murders women, is often singled out as Satō's most repulsive film.Weisser, p.465. In his later works, Satō has collaborated with the female pink film writer, Kyoko Godai. While the violence in his films has sometimes been less extreme since this collaboration, the Weissers, in their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films call Godai and Satō's work on Uniform Punishment: Square Peg in Round Hole! (1991) (also known as Just an Illusion) "Perhaps the most mean-spirited satire on film.". The film deals with a religious cult who worships a maniacal young woman who spends her nights hunting the city for people to rape and kill with the help of a male slave. Allmovie judges the film a "perversely entertaining jet-black satire" and a "dark but highly watchable softcore effort".
Yoshiyuki Hayashida, editor of P*G magazine—currently the leading journal on pink film—and founder of the Pink Grand Prix, became a fan of Satō's work and wrote a script using many of Satō's major themes. Satō filmed the script as Uniform Masturbation: Virgin's Underpanties (1992) (also known as Close Dancing). Though Satō's style seems to have softened somewhat as the 1990s progressed, he was still capable of producing such works as Splatter: Naked Blood (1996), which, Allmovie warns, "contains one of the most appalling scenes in Japanese horror, with a young woman mutilating and eating her own body."
Partial filmography Release titleFilmography from ; and Satō's titleRelease dateStudioMad Love! Lolita Poaching激愛！ロリータ密猟Gekiai! Lolita MitsuroDistorted Sense of TouchFebruary, 1985ShishiToei CentralSex Virgin Unit: Party of BeastsSEX乙女隊 獣たちの宴Sex Otome-tai: Kemonotachi no UtageZero FlightJune 1985ShishiToei CentralWife Collector人妻コレクターHitozume CollectorDecaying Town1985-09-28NikkatsuShishiOffice Lady Rape: Disgrace!OL暴行汚すOL Boko: Yogosu!Save the Last Dance for MeJuly 1986Shintōhō Eiga/KokueiUniform Virgin: The Prey制服処女 ザ・えじきSeifuku Shojo: The EjikiExplosion...1986-08-09NikkatsuShishiExciting Eros: Hot Skinエキサイティング・エロ 熱い肌Exciting Ero: Atsui HadaGimme ShelterOctober 1986ShishiMillion FilmRape Climax!暴行クライマックスBoko ClimaxWater's HighApril 1987ShishiShintōhō EigaLolita: Vibrator Tortureロリータ・バイブ責めLolita Vibe-ZemeSecret Garden1987-09-19ShishiNikkatsuGenuine Rape暴行本番Boko HonbanPleasure KillOctober 1987ShishiShintōhō EigaTemptation of the Mask仮面の誘惑Kamen no YuwakuTemptation of the MaskDecember 1987ShishiENK ProductionHard Focus: Eavesdropハードフォーカス 盗聴＜ぬすみぎき＞Hard Focus: Nusumi-gikiSurvey Map of a Paradise Lost1988-03-09KokueiShintōhō EigaAbnormal: Ugly Abuseアブノーマル 陰虐Abnormal: IngyakuRewindJuly 1988KokueiShintōhō EigaPervert Ward: Torturing the White Uniform変態病棟 白衣責めHentai Byoto: Hakui-zemeLove Letter in the Sand1988-10-15KokueiShintōhō EigaLolita Disgraceロリータ恥辱Lolita ChijokuRadical Hysteria Tour1988-12-23ShishiShintōhō EigaMad Ballroom Gala狂った舞踏会Kurutta ButokaiAsti: Lunar Eclipse TheaterMarch 1989ShishiENKRape Between Sisters: Penetration!姉妹連続レイプ えぐる！Shimai Renzoku Rape: Eguru!Welcome to the Illusion1989-03-04ShishiExcessEcstasy Game陶酔遊戯Tosui YugiBondage EcstasyMay 1989ENK ProductionsPervert Ward: S&M Clinic変態病棟 SM診療室Hentai Byoto: SM Shinryo-shitsuFuga Music for Alpha and Beta1989-09-02KokueiShintōhō EigaBeauty Reporter: Rape Broadcast美人レポーター 暴行生中継Bijin Reporter: Boko Nama-chukeiLove Obsession1989-10-07ShishiShintōhō EigaNaked Action: College Girl Rape Edition半裸本番 女子大生暴行篇Hanra Honban: Joshidaisei Boko-henPsychic RoseJanuary 1990Media Top/Shintōhō EigaSerial Rape: Perverted Experiment連続レイプ 変態実験Renzoku Rape: Hentai JikkenKi*Ra*RaFebruary 1990ShishiExcessRapist with Handcuffs: Defile!手錠暴行魔 いたぶる！Tejo Boko-ma: Itaburu!Interlocking LocksMay 1990ShishiExcessHorse and Woman and Dog馬と女と犬Uma to Onna to InuPoaching by the WaterMay 1990Media Top/Shintōhō EigaOffice Lady Rape: Devouring the Giant TitsOL連続レイプ 巨乳むさぼるOL Renzoku Rape: Kyonyu MusaboruSlushSeptember 1990ShishiExcessSpecial Lesson: Perverted Sex Educationスペシャルレッスン 変態性教育Special Lesson: Hentai Sei-kyoikuThe Gods Have a Nervous BreakdownSeptember 1990KokueiShintōhō EigaHidden Video Maniac: Uniform Hunting制服盗聴魔 激射・なぶる！Seifuku Nusumi-dori-ma: Gekisha NaburuNaked CityDecember 1990ShishiExcessLesbian Rape: Sweet Honey Juiceレズビアンレイプ 甘い蜜汁Lesbian Rape: Amai MitsujiruSilencer Made of Glass1991-02-02ShishiShintōhō EigaUniform Punishment: Square Peg in Round Hole!制服私刑 ねじり込め！Seifuku Lynch: Nejirikome!Just an Illusion1991-03-01ShishiExcessWidow's Perverted Hell未亡人変態地獄Mibojin Hentai JigokuLook Into Me1991-04-26ShishiExcessHidden Video Report: Dark Shot!盗撮レポート 陰写！Nusumidori Report: Insha!Turtle Vision1991-07-20Shintōhō EigaNew Wife's Private Parts: Caress新妻下半身 わしづかみNizuma Kahanshin: WashizukamiDoll1991-11-22ShishiExcessLady of the Stable馬小舎の令嬢Umagoya no ReijoWave1991-12-21Shintōhō EigaReal Action: Vibrator Punishment本番バイブ 折檻Honban: Vibe SekkenSymbol of Release1992-01-24ShishiExcessHousewife Punishment: Triple Torture人間拷問 三段責めHitozuma Gomon: Sandan-zemeLabyrinth of Primary Colors1992-07-31ShishiExcessPromiscuous Wife: Disgraceful Torture浮気妻 恥辱責めUwaki-zuma: Chijoku-zemeAn Aria on Gazes1992-09-12KokueiShintōhō EigaUniform Masturbation: Virgin's Underpanties制服ONANIE 処女の下着Seifuku Onanie: Shojo no ShitagiClose Dancing1992-10-10Shintōhō EigaS&M Group Wax TortureSM集団?責めSM Shudan Ro-zemeDirty Blue1992-11-06ShishiExcessWife in Mourning: Pubic-Shaved Rope Slave喪服妻 剃毛縄奴隷Mofuku-zuma: Teimō Nawa-doreiNegation1993-02-05ShishiExcessReal Time Tapping Report: Pillow Talk(生)盗聴リポート 痴話Nama Tocho Report: ChiwaKyrie Eleison1993-03-05Shintōhō EigaPleasure Masturbation: New Wife Version快感ONANIE 新妻篇Kaikan Onanie: Niizuma-henLight Sleep1993-05-28ShishiExcessReal Action: Drink Upナマ本番 飲み干す！Nama Honban: Nomihosu!Angel in the Dark1993-08-13ShishiExcessMolester's Train: Nasty Behavior痴漢電車 いやらしい行為Chikan Densha: Iyarashii KōiBirthday1993-11-26KokueiShintōhō EigaWife's Perverted Beauty Salon人妻変態美容師Hitozuma Hentai BiyoshitsuDead End1994-01-14ShishiExcessMolester and the Peeper: Gynecology Ward痴漢と覗き 婦人科病練Chikan to Nozoki: Fujin-ka ByotoSick People1994-04-01ShishiExcessYoung Wife: Opening Juicy Thighs若奥様 太股びらきWakaoku-sama: Futomono-birakiRental Love1994-06-17ShishiExcessFilthy Wife: Wetいやらしい人妻 濡れるIyarashii Hitozuma: NureruLove - Zero = Infinity1994KokueiShintōhō EigaWife in Heat: While Husband is Awayすけべ妻 夫の留守にSukebe-zuma: Otto no Rusu niRafureshia1995-01-06KokueiShintōhō EigaHunters' Sense of Touch狩人たちの触覚Karyudo-tachi no ShokkakuHunters' Sense of Touch1995-05-02ENK ProductionsIn a Grove薮の中Yabu no Naka1996-05-18Image FactorySplatter: Naked Blood女虐/NAKED BLOODMegyaku: Naked Blood1996-02-20TM Project/MuseumNight of the Anatomical Doll人体模型の夜Jintai-mokei no Yoru1996-11-08Excellent Film/Toei VideoMeet Me in the Dream: Wonderland夢で逢いましょうYume de Aimasho: Wonderland1996-02-09Pink PineappleSoft Skinやわらかい肌Yawarakai Hada1998-01-31KokueiShintōhō EigaThe Fetist: Hot Breath THE FETIST 熱い吐息 The Fetist: Atsui toiki1998-05-02ENK ProductionScent of a Married Woman人妻の値段 匂いたつ欲情Hitozuma no Nedan: Nioutatsu Yokujou2001-28-12Legend PicturesRampo Noir (segment: "The Caterpillar")乱歩地獄Ranpo Jigoku2005-05-11Albatros FilmToeiThe Tattooer刺青Si-Sei2006-24-03ArtPort Inc.Love & Loathing & Lulu & Ayano名前のない女たちNamae no nai Onnatachi2010-04-09There's Enterprise Inc.MakotoyaHana-Dama: The Origin華魂Hana-Dama2014-18-01Shibuya ProductionHana-Dama: Phantom華魂 幻影Hana-Dama: Gen'ei2016-30-04Shibuya ProductionThe Eye's Dream眼球の夢Gankyu no yume2016-01-07Arrete Ton CinemaStance CompanyCute Devil可愛い悪魔Kawaii akuma2018-23-06Is Field
Notes
Bibliography Hunter, Jack. "Abnormal Ward: The Forbidden Visions of Hisayasu Sato" in Andy Black (ed), Necronomicon: The Journal of Horror and Erotic Cinema: Book Two, London: Creation Books, 1999, pp. 30–39.
Seveon, Julien. Le cinema enrage au Japon. France : 1st edition : Sulliver 2006 / 2nd edition : Rouge Profond 2009. Seveon, Julien. USA : "Interview with Hisayasu Sato" in Asian Cult Cinema #34, 1st quarter 2002.
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