After the leader of a group of activists is imprisoned, their party slowly starts to dissolve under the leadership of his girlfriend, a head-case who cares simply about being in charge, and very little about the operations of the group. She keeps everyone compliant to her wishes and under her charge through sexual manipulation. When the group gets wind of their leader's suicide while in prison, the group turns on one another, inflicting all means of torture and violence on each other.

Kichiku dai enkai is a 1997 student film from Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, and is apparently inspired be the events at the Asama-Sanso lodge in 1972; the film however more closely mirrors the events that preceded the United Red Army's taking of the lodge. Regardless of its inspiration, Kichiku dai enkai is a repulsively depraved illustration of the violence inherent within the ideals of many extremist parties.

However, while there is suggestion of political commentary within Kichiku dai enkai it is never really followed through with. The film works as two separate acts, the first 60 minutes serve to establish the group and what little we know about the characters, while the final 40 are an amazing display of violence with no emotional core. It is a completely nihilistic approach and surprisingly difficult to watch.

The visual effects are surprisingly good for what one would call a 'student film', but their intentions are confused. Take, for instance, a sequence in which a man's head is literally blown apart with a shotgun. The group stands in shock, obviously emotionally affected by what happened – a reasonable response, I would imagine. Their shock soon turns to laughter, and one character proceeds to dig around the disgusting remains of the man's head. I asked myself why someone would do that... I guess because it's more disgusting than not doing it. At this point I realized that the violence, which ultimately should have been used to reinforce what was suggested in the first half of the film, was intended simply to disgust in its sheer excessiveness. It wasn't complimentary to the films premise; in fact it was almost contradictory, as the violence doesn't occur as a result of any political ideals. No, the violence begins when the leader begins presumably losing grip on her own sanity… and everyone else seems to follow suit.

Kichiku dai enkai is reasonably well made on all fronts, but the filmmakers don't seem to know whether they wanted to make a political statement or a straight up gore film. It almost seems like neither. Despite the film's failure to have any sort of identity, one thing is for sure, you will feel the effects of the film for a while after viewing. This isn't because of any sort of emotional resonance, but you can't help but feel at least somewhat violated by the sheer depravity of the events that transpire.

A film like Kichiklu dai enkai can be compared alongside films such as Salo: 120 Days of Sodom, Cannibal Holocaust, and I Spit on Your Grave, in its nihilistic approach to showcasing the depravities of human beings. The difference between these films is that the three prior mentioned films had distinct intent and still have merit in today's society. They may not be good in the traditional sense, but they are significant. Kichiku dai enkai is not significant; it's too confused by its own intentions and as a result has no clear goal, and no clear audience.