OK - so lately I've become a REALLY big fan of quality Asian cinema - stuff like, 'Oldboy'; 'Ichi: The Killer'; 'The Isle'; 'Battle Royale'; and so forth.
And on top of those flicks, my favorite director is Takashi Miike. He makes this UBER- violent movies - really nightmarish stuff, I kid you not. So when I discovered his entry into Showtime's 'Masters of Horror' series was banned in America, you can be damned sure that I wanted to see of it.
Well... I may be wrong here, but as near as I can tell, the episode he directed called 'Imprint', is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen - EVER!. I won't give anything away, but sufficed to say there is a torture scene that is unholy, and - uh, lots of baby fetuses. Yes, I see now why it was banned.
This message has been edited by sadowsmd on May 28, 2006 2:04 AM
I dunno if it was from a DVD or not - I know that in places like BestBuy and WalMart you can purchase individual chapters from the 'Masters of Horror' series.
But it was a burned disc I borrowed from a friend (it looked pretty offical though), so I'm reasonably sure it's available to rent or get through Netflix or whatever.
I should also say it's not great - the first 25 minutes or so is REALLY boring, then... it takes a decidedly Miike turn. Don't watch on a full stomach - or in the presence of a pregant woman.
Ah... 'Mulholland Dr.', arguably the best movie to OWN on DVD - because you can watch it over and over and over again, and still say, "WTF"?!? Moreover, there aren't any chapters, so you're forced to watch it from beginning to end (or get a sore thumb from the FF button).
But your point is well taken, 'Eraserhead' is absolutely the most creepy, nightmarish, atmospheric, film ever. Whereas that Takashi Miike short, is gory and shocking - the camera doesn't cut away from some scenes early enough.
And I am forced to admit, there are different variations of 'scary', your average run-of-the-mill axe to the head scary, and David Lynch-esque. I prefer the latter. I mean, who else can make a movie with a female self-gratification scene that is both disturbing and titillating at the same time?
Twin peaks I think is more of a WTF movie for me... or maybe lost highway... or no Mullholand Dr. hmmm nope they are all WTF freakin movies.. I have yet to meet a Lynch movie where I was completely comfortable with my translation. Lynch might as well change his freakin name to Willefred Thomas Fritz...
Absolutely LOVED Old Boy and Battle Royale after people have mentioned those movies on this board. Thanks board!
Couldn't help but be underwhelmed by the Battle Royale violence though, with all the hype I saw it garner here. It wasn't that bad for me, but I was wowed by the movie.
I saw a Miike-esque Japanese film at Another Hole in the Head film festival tonight. That's San Francisco's Horror film festival.
Rampo Noir is really four short films pieced together. Edogawa Rampo wrote surrealist short stories.
The first vignette is dialogue/sound free 5 minute piece about a naked guy wandering around the wildnerness.
The 2nd story was my favorite. It was about a mirror maker that coated his mirror with a chemical compound that would microwave the water molecules in the air when a its resonant frequency was activated by ambient noises. The result was that the person looking in the mirror would have their faces burned off. It included some kinky sex involving bondage and hot candle wax.
The 3rd story was a bit of a cross between Boxing Helena and Johnny Got His Gun. A woman is taken care of her mute, quadruple amputee husband who was wounded "during the war." Japan hasn't fought a war in 60 years but the setting seemed contemporary although the original story pre-dated WWII. The wife likes to beat and torture her husband calling him her caterpillar. She whips him, applies stinging ointment, and cuts his nipple and licks the blood. Despite his condition, she has needs and has sex with him and he crawls with his stumps on top of her and uses his tongue to great effect. You hear his inner thoughts and it's all confusing but plot is not the strong point. In the end, the woman chooses to have her limbs amputated.
The final story was almost as good as the 2nd one. A man chauffeurs an actress although she seems more an upscale whore than an actress. She loses her hairpin and sprouts a massive afro. The guy is delusional & suffers from hives. Eventually, he uses the woman as a painting canvass. Then he begins to act strangely - mainly walking around Tokyo streets in his underwear. All the while, the actress is laid out with paint all over her body. Again, plot is secondary but the final scene makes up for everything. Three public health officials in full hazmat suits pull his head out of an orifice from the corpse's body. His face is covered in some bodily fluid. In the background, the landlord has his hand over his mouth and the stench can almost be smelled based on the disgusted look on his face. Also, there great suction sound effect when they pull him out by his feet from the corpse's body.
All in all, a fun movie if you like Miike. It's a little long at 2:20.
This message has been edited by scalias on Jun 10, 2006 5:15 AM This message has been edited by scalias on Jun 10, 2006 5:14 AM This message has been edited by scalias on Jun 10, 2006 5:14 AM This message has been edited by scalias on Jun 10, 2006 5:13 AM This message has been edited by scalias on Jun 10, 2006 5:12 AM
