Horse and Woman and Dog
Synopsis. Three social outcasts who live near the seaside interact with each other in increasingly disturbing ways. The trio of characters are a woman who has killed her sister, a man who enjoys necrophilia, and a female amnesiac. The first woman engages in sadistic pursuits such as capturing young women at the beach to force them to engage in sexual activities, including copulation with a horse and a dog. Background. Usually concerned with the alienation of modern urban life, "Horse and Woman and Dog" was the first of director Satō's films to have a  non-urban setting, though his dark and disturbing style remained. Satō originally named the film "Poaching By The Water", but Shintōhō Eiga, the distributing company, chose to promote the scenes of bestiality in advertising, and gave it the more specific title "Horse and Woman and Dog". Such renaming by studios is common in the pink film industry. Kanako Kishi's sex scenes with animals created a good deal of controversy and resultant publicity. Shintōhō Eiga's strategy paid off, and the film became a scandalous success, and, according to the studio's website, one of the top hits in Shintōhō 's history. In his "Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema", Jasper Sharp singles out the opening scene of "Horse and Woman and Dog" as an example of Satō's technique for placing the audience at an uncomfortable position as viewers of his films. The sadistic woman is applying make-up to her face while looking into the mirror of a compact. As the sounds of a young girl's screams become more audible, the woman tilts the mirror so that her face is looking directly into the audience. Sunglasses prevent the audience from fully understanding  how it is to interpret the woman's gaze. In their "Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films", the Weissers give "Horse Woman and Dog" a qualified—due to the extreme nature of the film—rating of three out of four stars. The success of "Horse and Woman and Dog" led Satō to film a second bestiality-themed film the following year, "Lady of the Stable" (aka "WAVE", 1991). Availability. "Horse and Woman and Dog" was released theatrically in May 1990. It was released to home video in the VHS format in 1999. On November 11, 2003, it was re-released  under the title "Horse and Dog and Lady". On July 14, 2008, Shintōhō Eiga made the film available through their online AV on Demand service at XCity.