the ALL NIGHT LONG trilogy is a strange set of films. All 3 films tend to center around a character/characters who are kinda outcasts and socially awkward. All 3 films have the similar basic premise of a single or group of nerds/outcasts/weirdos who are subjected to some overwhelming stimulus that makes them freak the f**k out. I personally felt that Part 1 of the trilogy is the weakest, but still a decent film. It centers around 3 teenagers who witness a random and brutal murder, and then form a friendship based on their mutual experience. They then decide to throw a party where they each have to bring a girl - and this part of the plot is what holds Part 1 back and makes it a little slow. The whole party idea could have been left out, and I think it would have made the film sleaker and less dull. Anyway...only 1 of the 3 boys has any real luck finding a date, but on the way to the party, the boy is beaten and the girl is raped. The kid freaks out, goes to his other 2 friends, and decides to hunt the rapists down. Of course, the usual bloody revenge follows. The gore in this installment of ALL NIGHT LONG is relatively understated and takes a little too long to get there. The ending is decent but I was expecting a little more. Like some of the other reviewers, I felt there were definitely some slow moving areas and some plot lines that didn't really belong - but all-in-all a decent film. Parts 2 and 3 are better, and since you can now get all 3 dirt cheap as a box set from certain on-line retailers - might as well grab 'em all. Not as shocking as some have said, but still not for casual viewers... 7/10
17 Reviews
Not as shocking or entertaining as it could have been.
ElijahCSkuggs21 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is a 3 part series I've heard about quite a bit, and just recently I was able to see the first installment. And more or less, I happened to enjoy it.
The movie is about three kids who befriend one another after witnessing a horrible event. They end up hanging out at one of the friend's houses on a Tuesday night, which happens to be when that kid's parents are gone. Well that kid has the idea that they should have an orgy party. They all get a girl and then the next? Tuesday they have this party. They all agree, and all set out to find a girl. They all end up meeting a female one way or another, but eventually all things start heading down a dark path and eventually things seriously begin to fall apart.
All Night Long was a fairly entertaining flick. Surprisingly, the ending, when it was supposed to get good, never really got good. It just kinda felt like a jambled mess, where decision making was poor and over-acting was all over the place. Shame too, since you were pretty into the characters before then. But overall the film delivered some red stuff, some rape stuff and a couple funny moments. I've heard the other two sequels are better, and since this was pretty good I'll be sure to check out the others as well. 6.5 outta 10
The movie is about three kids who befriend one another after witnessing a horrible event. They end up hanging out at one of the friend's houses on a Tuesday night, which happens to be when that kid's parents are gone. Well that kid has the idea that they should have an orgy party. They all get a girl and then the next? Tuesday they have this party. They all agree, and all set out to find a girl. They all end up meeting a female one way or another, but eventually all things start heading down a dark path and eventually things seriously begin to fall apart.
All Night Long was a fairly entertaining flick. Surprisingly, the ending, when it was supposed to get good, never really got good. It just kinda felt like a jambled mess, where decision making was poor and over-acting was all over the place. Shame too, since you were pretty into the characters before then. But overall the film delivered some red stuff, some rape stuff and a couple funny moments. I've heard the other two sequels are better, and since this was pretty good I'll be sure to check out the others as well. 6.5 outta 10
Not as nasty as I'd heard, but still a good film.
BA_Harrison14 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I love a good violent revenge flick, and having read quite a bit about the All Night Long films, I thought I'd take a chance and give the first film a go. Remarks on IMDb about the extreme nature of the film made me a little unsure at first, but I persevered to the end. And, having just finished the film, I must say that a part of me was happy that the film wasn't so nasty that I felt I had overstepped the mark, but part of me was also a little disappointed too.
The film tells the story of three boysa nerd, a rich kid and a wannabe aircraft mechanicwho become friends after they witness a violent murder. The boys agree to meet for a party the following week and want to impress each other by bringing a girl. The rich kid tries to hire a hooker, but she turns out to be a man-hater and handcuffs him to a fence with his trousers round his ankles. The nerd tries to get a girl from his school to go with him, but ends up puking on her due to nerves. Only the mechanic manages to find himself a real girlfriend.
However, before the party, the boy and his girl are attacked by a gang; she is raped (and killed) and he is beaten up. Seeking revenge, the boy rallies his friends and together they go looking for the gang...
A very violent, pessimistic and nihilistic film, director Katsuya Matsumura's All Night Long (the first in a series) isn't exactly a fun film, with nearly everyone dying by the end, but I was surprised that I wasn't as shocked as I thought I might be. Sure, the content isn't the sort of thing you would show to the easily offended, but to be honest, I've seen nastier without having to look too hard. And yes, there is a lot of blood, but the gore content should not shock anyone used to modern day horror movies.
That is not to say that I didn't enjoy the film. The actors all play their parts well (with the exception of the nerdy guy at the end, who hams it up a tad too much), the story is engrossing and, surprisingly, the film is a quality production (nice cinematography, great haunting score). I was just expecting....well, something else. Maybe I need to go one step further and seek out parts 2 & 3 of this series. They're supposed to be really out there!
The film tells the story of three boysa nerd, a rich kid and a wannabe aircraft mechanicwho become friends after they witness a violent murder. The boys agree to meet for a party the following week and want to impress each other by bringing a girl. The rich kid tries to hire a hooker, but she turns out to be a man-hater and handcuffs him to a fence with his trousers round his ankles. The nerd tries to get a girl from his school to go with him, but ends up puking on her due to nerves. Only the mechanic manages to find himself a real girlfriend.
However, before the party, the boy and his girl are attacked by a gang; she is raped (and killed) and he is beaten up. Seeking revenge, the boy rallies his friends and together they go looking for the gang...
A very violent, pessimistic and nihilistic film, director Katsuya Matsumura's All Night Long (the first in a series) isn't exactly a fun film, with nearly everyone dying by the end, but I was surprised that I wasn't as shocked as I thought I might be. Sure, the content isn't the sort of thing you would show to the easily offended, but to be honest, I've seen nastier without having to look too hard. And yes, there is a lot of blood, but the gore content should not shock anyone used to modern day horror movies.
That is not to say that I didn't enjoy the film. The actors all play their parts well (with the exception of the nerdy guy at the end, who hams it up a tad too much), the story is engrossing and, surprisingly, the film is a quality production (nice cinematography, great haunting score). I was just expecting....well, something else. Maybe I need to go one step further and seek out parts 2 & 3 of this series. They're supposed to be really out there!
well-done revenge flick
Jonny_Numb30 January 2003
There might be hope for cult horror fans if Japan keeps making movies like "All Night Long." The tale of three high-school outcasts (the brainy geek, the aspiring pilot, and 'the guy with the car') who go after a savage gang of thugs after one of their girlfriends is raped and murdered is as lean and mean as classic revenge pics like "I Spit on Your Grave" and "House on the Edge of the Park." If the movie moves slow at times, it's with the good intention of developing the characters, which makes the violence of the last act more unsettling and personal.
6/10
6/10
Not so bad Japanese horror thriller
searchanddestroy-120 September 2022
It seems that this film is mainly destined to teen audiences, because the leads are young adults. It is a social drama disguised in a horror film, that's my analysis; a vitriolic portrait of Japanese youth thru those grown up kids. It is not an European film, no matter the actors, it is sometimes totally f...up in the making of scenes, bloody, brutal, bitter and funny a few seconds later. Not for Western audiences anyway, except the die hard fans of Asian cinema and Japanese in particular. But it is not too long, only ninety minutes, and it makes things a lot easier for me. This is not a crime film, my real cup of tea concerning Rising Sun country films. It is bearable however, and it is also the first movie of a series. Without me though.
Have good potential
phanthinga24 July 2017
After searching for some extreme Asian horror movie on IMDb this movie pop up and it been a long time since i watched a J-horror flick but after 90 minutes i finally realize how wrong i am.The movie have good start with characters i can relate too and there are strong performance thought out the movie but the rest is a complete trainwreck.The whole movie is just a bunch of random events smash together try to make sense but it executed so poorly.There three Japanese guy befriend with each other after witness a bizarre murder.I really care about these guys and want to know more about their live but the more the story go the more nonsense it become.I understand the movie goal is to show us audience the cold hard truth of reality but the way it approach is lazy as hell.The last 30 minutes of this movie is just simply mindless violence it seem like they don't know what to do next with the plot so they just show as much as gory disturbing stuff they can imagine and hope the audience sympathy with characters.If you interested with this movie feel free to check out the whole series by the same director
The first of a sick and depraved trilogy.
Captain_Couth19 February 2005
All Night Long (1992) is a dark and twisted film following three Japanese school mates. One day one of their girl friends is brutally tortured and raped by a gang of sick individuals. The three friends can't take it any more and begin to plot away to avenge their friend. But will the path to vengeance also lead to insanity? Can the friends help each other out in this darkest hour?
This has to be one of the most deranged films I have ever seen in awhile. But this film was nothing compared to the movies that soon followed. Dude, this film makers has a more skewed vision of the world than I do and that's saying something. If you like gutter level revenge flicks (Like I do) then look no further. Kind if hard to find but keep on looking. I don't think anyone can view all three films in one sitting.
Rated X and it shows!
Recommended for fans of this genre. Others definitely need not apply.
This has to be one of the most deranged films I have ever seen in awhile. But this film was nothing compared to the movies that soon followed. Dude, this film makers has a more skewed vision of the world than I do and that's saying something. If you like gutter level revenge flicks (Like I do) then look no further. Kind if hard to find but keep on looking. I don't think anyone can view all three films in one sitting.
Rated X and it shows!
Recommended for fans of this genre. Others definitely need not apply.
Disjointed.
gridoon18 May 2004
Though I appreciate the fact that the movie tries to be a serious-minded, "artistic" take on revenge and not just a bleak and mindless bloodbath, it doesn't really say anything new about its subject, anything that American and European horror films haven't said before. The first half proceeds in a disjointed, somewhat uninvolving manner; in the second half, the violence is excessive; and in both halves, the (over)acting is amateurish, with lots of "maniacal" laughing. There are also way too many (symbolic?) shots of planes taking off. (**)
Boring boring boring
colaboy728 April 2004
As a fan of the extreme japanese cinema i was really excited to finally get my hands on this film. But it was simply not worth the wait. The film is very slow and boring and as a matter of fact i had to fast-forward most of the film. Also most of the film's action is in the last 30 minutes and even when you finally reach that point of the film you are simply not interested anymore. It would have been way better if they had cut out about 45 minutes of the film ! and also , the scene at the end where a guy goes crazy is far too long. we dont need to see the guy jumping up and down for 10 minutes to understand there is something wrong with him
Very dark and disturbing film.
HumanoidOfFlesh4 August 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Katsuya Matsumura's "All Night Long" trilogy must be the darkest and most disturbing film series ever made.Unlike the "Guinea Pig" series,the "All Night Long" films have a clear message and don't exist purely to shock the viewer."All Night Long"(1992)is the easiest to watch even though it includes one of the most vicious and cold blooded murder scenes ever at the beginning when innocent girl gets stabbed to death.This scene is extremely violent,with blood spurting everywhere.The rape scene is quite tame for a Japanese genre movie-still the film has truly powerful and almost anarchistic feel to it."All Night Long 2"(1995)is perhaps the most extreme in the series and comparisons to Pasolini's "Salo"(1975)are pretty close and realistic and the films are very similar in themes,telling about man's barbarity and sadistic instincts."All Night Long 3"(1996)is pretty much on the same level with "All Night Long 2",and has the most pessimistic tone of the whole series as it suggests that humans are nothing but filth and garbage.The theme in this horrifying trilogy is as mentioned about man's barbarity,wickedness and willing to dominate,torture and crave for sexual pleasure and violence.So if you're a fan of Japanese extreme cinema check out this highly disturbing trilogy.
Horrible
cocolingus29 October 2002
What starts off as a potentially disturbing movie gets caught up in itself and trips over its own feet. 3 kids are brought together after witnessing a senseless murder and form a pseudo friendship - Soon after, things slowly start to fall apart for each of them - throwing the entire movie into a disarray of confusion. Not as shocking as many claim it to be (in fact - I thought the horrible sequel to Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer left more of an impact than this Asian 'horror' movie) * out of ****
Desensitization to Murder Death.
DarkSpotOn28 September 2022
Not sure how I feel about this one. The first half of the movie was pretty boring actually. For an hour or so, the movie is kinda slow, and not that interesting. However, the second half does help this movie. It's an obvious message, how "normal" people turn into slashers and lose their compass.
I wish the first half was better, instead, we get a good idea, with a poor beginning. None of our characters have any depth, or a reason to really care, all are there for the sake of being there, and all struggle with the same problem: Women. I am curious how are the sequels to this. There are way better Asian extreme films out there like one of my favorite films The Untold Story or another film I dearly love Sweet Whip, or I Saw The Devil, all the films I just listed have a way more interesting plot, with loveable, characters, here you cant to that. None of our head characters are that likable, nor do they are interesting enough.
To summarize this movie, it's an Asian version of Hostel pretty much. The first half was pretty low, second half helps this movie a lot to stand on its feet. If you were a fan of Naked Blood or the Guinea Pig films, you most likely will enjoy this. To me, it was sort of okay.
I wish the first half was better, instead, we get a good idea, with a poor beginning. None of our characters have any depth, or a reason to really care, all are there for the sake of being there, and all struggle with the same problem: Women. I am curious how are the sequels to this. There are way better Asian extreme films out there like one of my favorite films The Untold Story or another film I dearly love Sweet Whip, or I Saw The Devil, all the films I just listed have a way more interesting plot, with loveable, characters, here you cant to that. None of our head characters are that likable, nor do they are interesting enough.
To summarize this movie, it's an Asian version of Hostel pretty much. The first half was pretty low, second half helps this movie a lot to stand on its feet. If you were a fan of Naked Blood or the Guinea Pig films, you most likely will enjoy this. To me, it was sort of okay.
not a typical gory Japanese movie
trashgang24 June 2010
All of you who are into Japanese movies know how they could detect the hard stuff on the DVD sleeve. This one was released as offensive, vicious, nihilistic and extreme. And be sure to watch the strong uncut version, but, wait a minute, I didn't find it that vicious after all. As with most movies it all starts pretty decent. Just a ordinary guy asks a girl if he could help him find his way. She doesn't knows the way so he freaks out and stabs her in front of a few friends in daylight. The blood sputters out of the girl in a typical Japanese way. But after that part it all falls a bit down. We see what is happening to the friends, of course the experience creates a strange bond. It is all a bit of talking and nothing really happens until a girlfriend of them gets raped by a gang. That's the point were they freak out and are in for a brutal hunt. But in a vicious way, not a gory way. That's my only problem with this movie, the blood flows but not as it should be for an eastern movie. No nudity while the rape takes place. It's sad but not that bad after all.
Bleak revenge movie
movieman_kev6 October 2003
Hopelessly bleak and nihilistic tale of 3 kids who after who witness a senseless, random murder & attempt to find three girls to go to a party to cheer them up. All of them end in heartache in one way or another. Ok, that synopsis doesn't sound like the movie is horror, but trust me it is. All the actors are believable. The violence is NOT over-the-top, but rather shown in a matter of fact way. The only part that wasn't that good was the ending, when they fade to black the first time, just press stop on your dvd player.
Where I saw it: own it on dvd
My Grade: B-
Extras: Trailers for Visitor Q, Blood, & Freeze Me
Where I saw it: own it on dvd
My Grade: B-
Extras: Trailers for Visitor Q, Blood, & Freeze Me
Review of the UNCUT Japan-shock DVD
incubus-116 July 2001
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** It is very surprising that this movie hasn't got any reviews yet. First of all, I am a lover of cult-horror and really saw lots of them. Ranging from Eurocult movies from directors like Fulci, Argento, Soavi, both bava's, deodato,Lenzi, Andreas Schnaas, Ittenbach, Böttgereit,etc. to American cultmovies from directors like Raimi, Hooper,Yuzna, John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon and lots more. I am tending to watch every horror movie ever made, how enduring some of them may be. I really admire the FX work of Tom Savini, Gianetto Di Rossi, Robert Kurtzman, Rick Baker and Stan Winston. I saw movies comming from several countries, except the ones from Japan. Now thanks to the Dutch Japan-shock company, I recently acquired five movies coming from Japan and one from China (that one being the notorious "men behind the sun", but I have yet to see that one). I bought the complete all night long trilogy and the two Evil Dead Trap movies. I've only seen two of them yet, them being all night long and Evil Dead Trap 1. I'll post the reviews of the sequels later on.
This movie is the first part in a horror movie trilogy which go beyond the realm of mainstream cinema. It is an excercise in nihilistic and very depressive moviemaking. The story develops around three high school kids who are complete strangers to each other until, by circumstance, they witness the brutal stabbing of a teenage girl. This is the goriest scene of the movie and shows a graphic multiple stabbing scene. From that instance the three form a silent bond and become friends, they arrange a party for the next tuesday so they can bring their girlfriends. The problem is that neither of them have girlfriends. So the next 45 minutes focuses on the characterisation of the three boys and their quest to quickly force a one day relationship for the upcoming party. One of them really falls in love and develops a beautiful relationship which sure is a lasting one, unlike the two other boys who's attempts fail miserably. Then the movie smashes the viewer into the face by abruptly ending the happiness of the young couple. The boy gets beaten and the girl gets visciously raped and murdered by a gang of thugs. The sexuality of this scene is not so explicitely like "I spit on your grave", but the scene is pretty violent and realistic. The beating and the cutting of the girl's ankle by a pair of scissors is pretty disturbing. This takes us to the more violent half-hour in which the three boys get revenge on the gang. These scenes are very violent and things surely get out of hand. The movie ends with a ironic twist, but I will not spoil this for you. The movie leaves a message: all violence is useless and doesn't solve anything. More violence results in even more pain. There are no heroes in this movie, only victims. The violence and gore in this movie is never over-the-top which makes it only more realistic and more disturbing. So gorehounds might be disappointed. Watching it gives the same feeling as watching a movie like "kids". This movie is real-life horror. This movie is scary and disturbing 'cause it could happen to any one of us. Overall, I gave this movie a high rating 'cause it was artistically well made, had good production values and a gripping story which grabs you by the throat. The sequels are, from what I've heard, even more violent and more disturbing. Looks like a might need a psychiatrist soon!!!! Rating: 9/10
This movie is the first part in a horror movie trilogy which go beyond the realm of mainstream cinema. It is an excercise in nihilistic and very depressive moviemaking. The story develops around three high school kids who are complete strangers to each other until, by circumstance, they witness the brutal stabbing of a teenage girl. This is the goriest scene of the movie and shows a graphic multiple stabbing scene. From that instance the three form a silent bond and become friends, they arrange a party for the next tuesday so they can bring their girlfriends. The problem is that neither of them have girlfriends. So the next 45 minutes focuses on the characterisation of the three boys and their quest to quickly force a one day relationship for the upcoming party. One of them really falls in love and develops a beautiful relationship which sure is a lasting one, unlike the two other boys who's attempts fail miserably. Then the movie smashes the viewer into the face by abruptly ending the happiness of the young couple. The boy gets beaten and the girl gets visciously raped and murdered by a gang of thugs. The sexuality of this scene is not so explicitely like "I spit on your grave", but the scene is pretty violent and realistic. The beating and the cutting of the girl's ankle by a pair of scissors is pretty disturbing. This takes us to the more violent half-hour in which the three boys get revenge on the gang. These scenes are very violent and things surely get out of hand. The movie ends with a ironic twist, but I will not spoil this for you. The movie leaves a message: all violence is useless and doesn't solve anything. More violence results in even more pain. There are no heroes in this movie, only victims. The violence and gore in this movie is never over-the-top which makes it only more realistic and more disturbing. So gorehounds might be disappointed. Watching it gives the same feeling as watching a movie like "kids". This movie is real-life horror. This movie is scary and disturbing 'cause it could happen to any one of us. Overall, I gave this movie a high rating 'cause it was artistically well made, had good production values and a gripping story which grabs you by the throat. The sequels are, from what I've heard, even more violent and more disturbing. Looks like a might need a psychiatrist soon!!!! Rating: 9/10
Dark and depressing
stepflan28 February 2008
You should really give this movie a chance. At first when I started viewing this film it looked really crappy and low quality at first. The shots and colors were really bad; you could clearly notice that it was made by amateurs. But as I sat there I got more and more into the story. After a while I was completely hooked. The story builds up in such a great way. You don't really know what's going on at first. But after a when you find out, you almost get obsessed with it. I enjoyed the movie a lot The main message in All Night long is about how cruel and full of s*** human beings can be, especially men. It has a very depressing theme. There are no happy endings here. The atmosphere in the movie was really a depraved and dark. The movie is very silent in most of the scenes. There is almost no music, mostly noises. So when the violent parts of the movie starts to kick in the music stops. This is a great dramatic effect which makes it seem so much brutal.
The first All Night Long movie is defiantly the nastiest one. It has a lot of brutality and gruesome rape in it. It is very hard to watch. Not for those with weak stomachs. In some way it reminded me of a rape-revenge movie.
The first All Night Long movie is defiantly the nastiest one. It has a lot of brutality and gruesome rape in it. It is very hard to watch. Not for those with weak stomachs. In some way it reminded me of a rape-revenge movie.
Extreme animality inside human nature
Bogey Man18 April 2003
Writer/Director Katsuya Matsumura's All Night Long trilogy is a very controversial film series in Japan. The first film, All Night Long was made in 1992 and has a simple but rather unusual premise as three young boys at their near twenties witness a repulsively mean spirited and violent stabbing murder of one innocent Japanese girl, after which the three become friends and experience another savage act of brutality, by man to another man, which starts the hellish ride of revenge and the victims turning into beasts themselves. This theme is a very usual and great in Japanese cinema, how humans are animals deep inside but rarely has the imagery been so explicit and overall view of life so pessimistic, but still realistic.
The film has one pure character which is a positive thing and also required in order to make the piece even more effective and larger. There must be hope for a better tomorrow, otherwise there's no reason to go on and even make films like this in the world. But the way how the only gleam of light ends up in Matsumura's world is so violent and evil that his look on life must be a very ugly one. Maybe it is better to die off as soon as possible as we are only surrounded by wickedness and selfish beasts hiding under their "civilized" surface? Fortunately it is not quite so and the fight must go on in order to keep the bad and rotten sides of humanity not active and off the background, and so that one character should have ended up some other way, or then the film would have needed another one of her kind.
There are also some scenes that may seem a little too long and boring so some cuts to the most unnecessary parts should have been made, especially near the ending. The ending includes also some stupid over-acting that doesn't work in this drama and the "wimpiest" of the three is not just too convincing anymore. Otherwise the characters are quite well written and thus interesting. They just turn from "good" and promising young boys into violent and avenging beasts that can only kill (each) others until the eventual death. This development of their characters is not jumpy or unrealistic (the mentioned over-acting and noisy nonsense at the end excluded), everything that happens inside them looks natural and the more we dare to admit these sides inside ourselves, the more natural and horrible it looks in this film, too.
There are some great lines that underline the themes of the film. According to Matsumura, people are not born equal into this world and people are just animals, a theme that was already mentioned above. Nobody can say these very pessimistic and nihilistic lines are not true or from this very own world of ours. In this film, there are "stronger" and "weaker", but they all end up pretty much the same way as they're all animals and brutes, too. The "strong" may think they can sadistically torment, make fun of and exploit the "weak" but the latter share the same instincts that can suddenly burst out when the situation's right. It requires a lot to fight against it and not let them become active. Almost nobody in this film manages to do so, and so films like these are there to show the real world how things are not supposed to be and how it can be prevented and achieved. The images and scenes just have to be interpreted and seen through, no matter how hard they can be and are.
The film is indeed rather hard to take especially if one has not experienced these, both mentally and physically ultra-strong cinematic rides of pessimism and merciless. The murder at the beginning is a very graphic and horrific one with blood stains on the camera lens and blood flying with infernal sadness, and the ending, perhaps even more (mentally) disturbing is not any delight to the eye, too, but is there to give thoughts for our minds, for example, about the mindlessness behind the morality of revenge. Still the film is not exploitation even though the point of the beginning could have been achieved with a less bloodshed, too. But the ending is at least an example how violence can disturb when everything is not shown on screen, and also the greatest thing in Japanese cinema in general, the silence and lack of (useless) dialogue is present in All Night Long very powerfully, throughout. Images can tell so much more powerfully than written words.
All Night Long is a rough ride of cinematic real life terror that can burst out and take place everywhere where humans live and inhabit. This kind of cinema will never be generally accepted or known and also the "horror audience" that mostly watches these is not very often capable to see through the gore and other reasons they are interested in these in the first place. But films like All Night Long are more and they offer the more the more the viewer is capable to see, understand and admit. Humans just are not as great as they wished they were. 8/10
The film has one pure character which is a positive thing and also required in order to make the piece even more effective and larger. There must be hope for a better tomorrow, otherwise there's no reason to go on and even make films like this in the world. But the way how the only gleam of light ends up in Matsumura's world is so violent and evil that his look on life must be a very ugly one. Maybe it is better to die off as soon as possible as we are only surrounded by wickedness and selfish beasts hiding under their "civilized" surface? Fortunately it is not quite so and the fight must go on in order to keep the bad and rotten sides of humanity not active and off the background, and so that one character should have ended up some other way, or then the film would have needed another one of her kind.
There are also some scenes that may seem a little too long and boring so some cuts to the most unnecessary parts should have been made, especially near the ending. The ending includes also some stupid over-acting that doesn't work in this drama and the "wimpiest" of the three is not just too convincing anymore. Otherwise the characters are quite well written and thus interesting. They just turn from "good" and promising young boys into violent and avenging beasts that can only kill (each) others until the eventual death. This development of their characters is not jumpy or unrealistic (the mentioned over-acting and noisy nonsense at the end excluded), everything that happens inside them looks natural and the more we dare to admit these sides inside ourselves, the more natural and horrible it looks in this film, too.
There are some great lines that underline the themes of the film. According to Matsumura, people are not born equal into this world and people are just animals, a theme that was already mentioned above. Nobody can say these very pessimistic and nihilistic lines are not true or from this very own world of ours. In this film, there are "stronger" and "weaker", but they all end up pretty much the same way as they're all animals and brutes, too. The "strong" may think they can sadistically torment, make fun of and exploit the "weak" but the latter share the same instincts that can suddenly burst out when the situation's right. It requires a lot to fight against it and not let them become active. Almost nobody in this film manages to do so, and so films like these are there to show the real world how things are not supposed to be and how it can be prevented and achieved. The images and scenes just have to be interpreted and seen through, no matter how hard they can be and are.
The film is indeed rather hard to take especially if one has not experienced these, both mentally and physically ultra-strong cinematic rides of pessimism and merciless. The murder at the beginning is a very graphic and horrific one with blood stains on the camera lens and blood flying with infernal sadness, and the ending, perhaps even more (mentally) disturbing is not any delight to the eye, too, but is there to give thoughts for our minds, for example, about the mindlessness behind the morality of revenge. Still the film is not exploitation even though the point of the beginning could have been achieved with a less bloodshed, too. But the ending is at least an example how violence can disturb when everything is not shown on screen, and also the greatest thing in Japanese cinema in general, the silence and lack of (useless) dialogue is present in All Night Long very powerfully, throughout. Images can tell so much more powerfully than written words.
All Night Long is a rough ride of cinematic real life terror that can burst out and take place everywhere where humans live and inhabit. This kind of cinema will never be generally accepted or known and also the "horror audience" that mostly watches these is not very often capable to see through the gore and other reasons they are interested in these in the first place. But films like All Night Long are more and they offer the more the more the viewer is capable to see, understand and admit. Humans just are not as great as they wished they were. 8/10
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