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The paper delves into film evocative of the bourgeoise cultural phenomenon of the early 20th century Japan known as ero-guro-nansensu and its fiction. Two contemporary movies, made well after the movements purported end, Miike Takashi’s Imprint (2006) and Sono Sion’s Strange Circus (2005), are selected. These are compared against what is known as post-war ero-guro film, namely that of Teruo Ishii and the production house Shintoho which belong under the erotic genre of film dubbed pinku eiga. These movies have specific prerequisites such as torture, sexploitation, and misogyny. The purpose of the paper is to classify Imprint and Strange Circus within the ero-guro genre and see how the ero-guro-nansensu elements are utilized. A close reading and analysis are conducted on the movies to put into high relief the differences and changes regarding the post-war ero-guro film and the movement’s fiction. The results show that the movies have affinity with the fiction of the movement and only borrow elements of post-war ero-guro film as contextual devices or for the sake of commentary. Both movies destabilise post-war ero-guro’s phallocentrism by having female characters as leads. Strange Circus may be seen as an allegory for effects of child abuse and psychological degradation. Imprint comments on misogyny and why women find themselves in situations without an exit, which is a clear contradiction to the post-war ero-guro film where the why was not as relevant as the how apropos torture and sexual abuse. A separate branch within the genre is suggested to elucidate this discrepancy.