MASTERS OF HORROR: IMPRINT (2006)

Director: Takashi Miike

Synopsis: An American journalist is traveling through Japan in the 1800’s, searching for the love of his life, Komomo, whom he had to abandon years prior. He ends up in a creepy brothel with a deformed prostitute who knew Komomo and she reveals Komomo's sad and gruesome fate to the American.

My take: Like many great directors, Miike repeats himself with Imprint, using some of the same themes and motifs he’s covered before. It is definitely a mash-up of elements from Audition, Box, and his mentor Tsukamoto’s Gemini, but it is done from a new and unique perspective. Imprint is undoubtedly the most talked about episode of the MoH series, and for good reason, but people's opinions are generally mixed. The climax is either the boldest, most innovative sequence I’ve seen in a very long time, or it is the worst crap ever, I can’t decide, even after several viewings. However, one thing is undeniable – this film sticks with you, which is often what Miike sets out to do. As horrible as it is, you cannot turn away. Imprint is not for the squeamish. If the abundance of aborted fetuses isn’t enough, the infamous torture scenes go on for way too long. The acting is also not for the squeamish. Miike's only restriction was no subtitles – the only English-speaking member of the cast (Billy Drago) is frequently criticized for his acting here, with much justification. But, the acting problems are just so insignificant in light of what Imprint is. Must be seen to be believed, yet my feelings overall are still mixed.
3 out of 4 Zombie Faces

ONE MISSED CALL (2003)

Director: Takashi Miike

Synopsis: Yumi’s friends start dying mysterious deaths after receiving phone calls from themselves in the future at the moment of their death. Yumi partners up with Yamashita, the brother of one of these victims, to get to the bottom of things, until Yumi herself receives the call…


My take: What a big, steaming pile of poo. I realized beforehand that this was a very cliché, mainstream effort from director Miike, but I held out hope that he would have put a little of his characteristic style into it, but this is not the case. The story, the deaths, the spooky moments, they were all pretty unoriginal and boring. The ending turns out to be all muddled up – the corpse that was calling everyone before their deaths turns out not to be the killer and tries to help save Yumi from the real killer who eventually possesses Yumi and tries to kill Yamashita but doesn’t succeed and then isn’t mentioned again? WTF? The characters act in ridiculous ways – instead of trying to save themselves, they put themselves right into danger. And the ending – after stabbing Yamashita and sending him to the hospital, Yumi visits him there with a knife hidden behind her back as a joke and they both have a good laugh? I bet the American re-make of this is a real gem.

Most ridiculous moment: Being attacked by a corpse whose skin is falling off in big chunks, Yumi doesn’t fight back, doesn’t try to get away, doesn’t scream – she just looks straight ahead, apparently unfazed.

1 out of 4 Zombie Faces

AUDITION (1999)

Director: Takashi Miike

Synopsis: A widowed movie producer takes up a friend’s offer to hold fake auditions for a non-existent movie with the secret purpose of screening women to find a new wife. He falls in love with one of the women, but she ends up being more than she appears.

My take: Brilliantly crafted film by Miike, definitely one of his best works and one of the most frightening psychological horror films ever made. At first, Audition seems like its just a simple love story, with little hints here and there that something is amiss. But, its really a uniquely designed set up – the first hour and a half of the story is deliberately slow paced, nearly boring, specifically intended just to build up to the last 20 minutes, which turns out to be, in contrast, one of the most extremely intense and terrifying 20 minutes of film ever. The ending does not disappoint, it leaves the viewer in shock. A true masterpiece of horror.


Best use of vomit: The bowlful of vomit served to Asami’s prisoner was apparently the actress’s real vomit – she insisted on making it as realistic as possible.

4 out of 4 Zombie Faces

3...EXTREMES (2004)

Directors: Fruit Chan, Chan-wook Park, Takashi Miike

An anthology of three short (~45 min each) films by three of Asia’s top directors.
Dumplings: My least favorite of the three, this one features a woman who is worried about her aging appearance, so she seeks the services of a woman who makes dumplings that can supposedly make you look younger. The key ingredient to the dumplings isn’t a big shock like it is supposed to be. When things start going wrong and the dumplings have some freaky side effects, things do get somewhat interesting, but overall there was nothing too special here.
1 1/2 out of 4 Zombie Faces

Cut: The best of the program. A disgruntled movie extra takes a famous director and his wife hostage and tortures them out of jealousy over their happy and successful lives. The story is entertaining, humorous, and disturbing, with many clever twists and creative gore. Director Chan-wook Park, he can really do no wrong in my opinion, as everything I have seen from him is top-notch. He does an amazing job directing this, it has a very stylish look to it with lots of unique shots and great pacing. The ending isn’t exactly clear, but it doesn’t really detract from the overall piece.
4 out of 4 Zombie Faces

Box: A young woman starts having strange nightmares when she becomes close friends with a man who looks exactly like someone associated with bad memories from her childhood. Visually, this is dreamy, hauntingly beautiful, flashing back and forth between the present and events in the woman's childhood. The story, like in many of Miike’s films, is meant to be somewhat ambiguous, and this is fine. This has the potential to be one of my favorite Miike pieces, except he ruins it by throwing in a ridiculous surprise ending after the story was already satisfactorily resolved. It was like he felt the need to shock the audience one last time before it was over, I wish I could cut the last 15 seconds of this film.
3 1/2 out of 4 Zombie Faces

Overall:
3 1/2 out of 4 Zombie Faces

ICHI THE KILLER (2001)

Director: Takashi Miike

Synopsis: A Yakuza boss disappears along with 100 million yen. His number two, the sadomasochistic Kakihara (the bad-ass looking guy on the DVD covers) leads his gang on a mission to find the boss, using unorthodox torture methods, which draws the anger of the Yakuza. This part of the plot is pretty straight-forward, but its only a fraction of the overall story. I won’t bother to try to explain the Ichi character here because its way too complicated and bizarre. This one definitely requires multiple viewings for every little piece to fall into place, as there are tons of minor charcters and subplots. Let’s just say that this is not going to be what you expect.

My take: Wow. Definitely one of the most unique films I have ever seen. Most of Takashi Miike’s films are wildly creative; Ichi is the culmination of all of his innovative storytelling techniques. Many will take offense at the excessive ultra-violence (people getting things cut off – tongues, nipples, faces, brutal prostitute beatings, Kakihara chewing off someone’s hand, plenty of blood spraying out of open jugulars, gotta love Miike) but I feel it is so over-the-top and humorous that it often becomes cartoony and can’t be taken too seriously. The story, the characters, the acting, the directing, all top-notch. Nearly flawless.


Best death: The deaths really aren’t a big deal here, its more about the general carnage and gore that doesn’t necessarily result in death (just lots of pain and disfigurement). If I had to pick a death though, it would be the pimp getting cut in half by Ichi.

Favorite scene: The final rooftop showdown between Kakihara and Ichi.

4 out of 4 Zombie Faces

IZO (2004)

Director: Takashi Miike

Synopsis: The film starts out with Izo, a notorious assassin, being executed in ancient Japan. What follows is Izo’s punishment in the afterlife – he is doomed to bounce (literally) through time and space, killing anybody he encounters. And that’s pretty much the extent of the plot, Izo killing lots of people.

My take: Even hardcore Takashi Miike fans have mixed feelings about this one. Watching Izo kill people is fun for a while, but gets tiring and tedious after 2 hours. This is often described as the “false plot” because its not what the movie is actually about, even though it takes up the majority of the film. Miike tries to infuse deeper meaning into the movie’s true plot with reflections on redemption, human nature, and criticism of Japan’s violent history (especially WWII), but sometimes this comes across as pretentious. There are some really good analyses floating around on the internet, if you really care by the time you reach the end of the movie. Some points for creativity though – all the trademark Miike film-making is here.

The Rundown: I count 123 on-screen deaths (yes, I counted them all), but there is room for philosophical discussion here – do some of the dead count twice if Izo kills them once in the world of the living and then a second time in the spirit world? Does Izo killing a spiritual representation of himself count?

Best death: So many to choose from…I’d have to say Izo’s execution at the beginning was my favorite, he gets crucified and run through with spears and wets himself.

Favorite moment: The end of the movie, because it really was too long. And also because it was cool watching “Mother Earth” give birth to a fully grown adult Izo.

2 out of 4 Zombie Faces