Insano Steve sent me this little Vice documentary on YouTube during work hours which I watched in it's entirety in one sitting. Truly fascinating stuff in a weird, morbid way. I had heard about Japan's infamous Aokigahara forest and did a bit of research myself and found the most disturbing pictures which you can find here. There are more graphic photos just by Googling.
The documentary is fascinating in it's tale. According to the description via Vice:
The site holds so many bodies that the Yakuza pays homeless people to sneak into the forest and rob the corpses.
Clearly this must have been the inspiration for Ryûhei Kitamura's Versus as convicts escape to a forest full of Yakuza zombies and do battle.
Other Japanese movies (some by Takashi Miike) have shown bullying in Japan is catastrophic more than it is in America. What's baffling is the men and women who've taken their lives were inspired by a the novel Kuroi Jukai, in which a young lover commits
suicide in the forest which resulted in people started taking their own lives there at a
rate of 50 to 100 deaths a year.
We'll never know why one does the unthinkable but the remnants of these lives in haunting pictures will without a doubt leave a lasting impact.
In the doc, they visit the forest in the day and I must admit, I'd be scared shitless to do that. What's more scarier are the ribbon trails so people wouldn't get lost. Would you follow a ribbon to the end?
If I ever visit Japan, I know one place where I'm NOT GOING. Such a peaceful place to have a horrible reputation.
[this feature is brought to you by guest writer Camiele White, and no she's not an intern. The Jaded Viewer is to poor to have interns.]
Psychological Mastermind: Takashi Miike
Who would ever imagine that there could be beauty in the mind of a psychopath? If there is such a thing, it’s most certainly found in the imagination of Takashi Miike. He has the eye of a painter with the mind of a serial killer --bloody guts and gore with an uncanny bit of grace.
Coming from a working class area in Yao, Osaka, Japan, Miike had a very normal upbringing. His father was a welder and his mother, a seamstress. He graduated from the Yokohama Vocational School of Broadcast and Film, under the tutelage of one of the most celebrated directors in Japan, Shōhei Imamura. With technical knowledge and an eye on the boundaries of the film industry, Miike shook up the world with some of the most shocking, lurid, creepy, and over the top work to come out of Japan.
Though he’s never been one to toot his own horn, it’s plain to see that Miike is an artist of gore and black comedy. Though his work takes a particular taste, you can’t deny that his work leaves the world in awe at every single turn. At his most shocking, he doesn’t allow you to settle. The nerves are always dangling by fingernails on the edge of the proverbial cliff and just when you think he’s going to step on your fingers and watch you fall to the rocks below in a lump of blood and brain matter, he reaches out his hand and pulls you back just long enough for you to take a few gulps of clean air before being shoved right back over.
Some of the most beautiful films to come out of the early 2000s seemed to come from the chainsaw of Miike. Well, I suppose I’m biased. The first taste I got of Miike was from his infamous film, Audition. One of those films worthy of cult status. I think the first time I actually watched the film I couldn’t believe how disgustingly gorgeous it was. Miike knows just what to expose to get you involved in the film. And just when you’ve found yourself caring about the characters in a way that’s too close for comfort, he slaps you in the face. No, fuck that! He straight up molly-wops you in the skull! It’s the kind of film that could catch you so off guard that it keeps you awake at night for months afterwards --maybe not out of fear; more out of a constant throbbing feeling of unease that just when you think everything’s beautiful, something’s going to sneak up behind you and kick you in the arse.
I think that’s what’s so brilliant about the psychotic brain matter of Takashi Miike. Yes, he’s all about the blood and gratuitous sexual perversity. However, for someone who delves deep into the human flesh, he sure knows how to make it gorgeous! I think the most touching aspect of Miike’s style is that he has the eye of a photographer and the hand of a gifted painter --he sees the beauty, but doesn’t force it. It may seem like he squeezes ever drop of weirdness possible out of every scene, but he has an exceptional eye for sensitivity. There’s a reason why Audition has been described as a “romantic horror”. That’s the kind of contradiction that Miike works with --perhaps romance and horror aren’t so different?
In Ichi the Killer, you’re not simply dealing with a killing machine whose only real goal is to destroy the ruthless Kuchisaki-oona faced Yakuza maniac, Kakihara. It’s the story of an orphan named Ichi who’s been brainwashed from childhood with the idea that he’s nothing without his natural urge to kill. There’s a depth and a care taken with each character. That’s the brilliance of Miike --the audience gets so close to each character (even those who seem to be the most gruesome) that at you can’t help but get involved in their stories. And at the crucial moment of intimacy between the audience and the characters, there’s a feeling like being pushed in front of an oncoming diesel train. Scenes of complex emotional thickness between Ichi and anyone he encounters are followed by unethically violent scenes of torture and violence (the slitting of a woman’s nipples, a man’s face cut clean from his skull and splattered across a blood-soaked wall).
It’s this push and pull that is indicative of the range and imagination to make some of the most entertaining children’s films (Zebraman and The Great Yokai War) and the most touching and intellectually complex films (Sabu and The Bird People in China). Miike’s desire to delve deeper than what the mind initially wants to tackle is what sets him apart in the film industry among an elite few that manage to teach as well as repulse. He pushes the boundaries of violence, sexuality, and intellect to a pulsating breaking point. I don’t think I’ve ever been so repulsed and so educate about raw and unapologetic beauty than with Miike. He’s a master that is, surprisingly, underrated in the film industry. Those close to film tout him as a genius. Those just meeting him for the first time are driven crazy to the point of murder. Whichever side of the saucer you spill, there’s no way that you can avoid being affected by the psychological mastermind that is Takashi Miike.
There is pure beauty in everything. I have a keen interest in all things that shed light and colour in this dark and, at times, uninspiring world. I love film, all film --ranging from Japanese and Korean horror, to nonsensical action films. The one qualification is that it must, must entertain me. As much as I love watching film, I love even more to write about it.
Right now, I get my jabberjaw jollies writing about Halloween costumes. If you want to give me a buzz, I can be reached at cmlewhite at gmail [dot] com.
I had a few features I wanted to write about what we should all expect in 2011 via film but they all sorta made sense to go list a few Nostradamusisy predictions instead. When in doubt, always go with a list I always say. Who knows what 2011 will bring in the world of horror but I'm going out on a limb with my guesses and predictions.
If any of these come true, I've got proof I'm psychic. Now place your bets.
1.) Steampunk will be Hollywood's Newest Exploitation
With Sucker Punch coming out which will probably be the equivalent of 300 in terms of success, Zach Snyder will initiate a Hollywood bandwagon for all that is steampunk.
2.) We're going to see a lot more Exorcist type movies
With The Rite comes out this month, we're going to see more devil in a child movies. The Last Exorcism's succes and Exorcismus, this is just the tip of the iceberg for devils vs priests.
3.) We're going to see less horror remakes
Just because Hollywood's already milked the shit out of every horror franchise
4.) Remember shaky cam shot on video cinema? We're going to get a film like that every month.
And it's going to be in 3D.
5.) Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods will be better than Kevin Smith's Red State
Two fan bases collide but somehow Whedon will prevail because his movie will be funnier.
6.) Zombies and Vampires will jump the shark....say hello to werewolves
With Teen Wolf coming to MTV, I smell more howling wolves coming to the big screen.
7.) There will be less Exploitation and Grindhouse throwback flicks
Sure I'm going to see Hobo with a Shotgun but we're going to see indie filmmakers turn their backs on these type of flicks.
8.) Gladiator movies will make a comeback
From Spartacus to Hercules to Conan, we're going to see more overgrown men with swords slicing and dicing.
9.) We will have 1 hyped up Japanese or Korean remake
I hope it comes from Takashi Miike or Chan Wook Park.
10.) The French will blow us away with a horror flick (which will probably end up #1 on my Top 10 List for 2011)
They've been quiet for a while. I think they're going to make a flying zombie film that's somehow intellectually stimulating.
I'm introducing a new feature. This one is Insano Steve's one sentence review o matics. I tasked Insano Steve to review every movie in his DVD collection but instead he gave one sentence reviews (lazy bastard).
They're still hilarious when broken down into different editions. This will definitely be a reoccuring segement on the jaded viewer. This week's edition: Japanese Militant Edition! Enjoy.
Kichiku - Militant Japanese students fuck and kill each other. yes, in that order, you sicko. has some graphic hari kari scenes! very underrated.
Fudoh: The New Generation - a girl shoots poison darts out of her vagina. otherwise, it's the usual Miike manga inspired madness
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 - Japanese grindhouse movie. a female in prison escapes to kill again. features random stabbings in Tokyo streets. awesome movie!
Battle Royale series - part 1 was great. part 2 sucked. the idea's been copied to death. i own both movies....on vcd!
Female Inquisitor - a Japanese "interrogation company" uses rape and torture to acquire sensitive information from targets. with all parties involved having big breasts.
Sometimes an underground film becomes legendary becomes it avalanches into something more.
During Insano Steve and myself's heyday of looking for the most fucked up films to watch, we'd have to make contact with horror traders to get our fix. I documented this in a post about Horror Trading circa 2002. It was a weird time and the standard protocol was this:
You'd dub a movie on VHS in SP mode and make sure to tell your trading counterpart the quality (1st generation dub, 2nd, 3rd, etc)
You'd trade lists and each person would choose what they wanted (this would entail 1 for 1's, 2 for 2's and sometimes 5 for 5's)
Send it out as quickly as possible
Of course there were bad traders that burned you (you'd send them stuff but they wouldn't or take their sweet fuckin time to send the tapes to you), but your reputation grew on news groups and message boards if you were a prolific trader. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED was a term you wanted.
But this brings us to how we got two Japanese films called Red Room and Red Room 2. After searching for this movie at horror conventions, we met up up with a one GoreMaggot (a legendary trader) at Chiller. After getting his trading list, many trades were initiated. But I believe Insano Steve initiated a trade for the Red Room double.
Trade for a fucked up Japanese film we've never heard of? Yes we want that! The fact we traded for a movie with no subs and was only in Japanese made it exciting.
Here was my original review from my trading list:
you want underground mofo? this is it. straight from the motherland of sick shit...Japan. holy depravity batman! let's start off by saying this flick had no english subs, no dubbed version...just straight Japanese language. so this negates what i know of the real plot. the movie starts off with an extreme closeup of 2 women french kissing while a guy watches and you know what. anyway 4 people (3 girls and a guy) are trapped in a "red room" and seemingly are talking, arguing and playing a card game. the game consists of 4 cards 3 of which are numbered 1,2, and 3 and the 4th has a crown on it. they each pick a card. the person who selects the crown card gets to order 2 participants to do very sexual and depraved shit to each other. this is where we enter guinea pig territory.
***SPOILERS AHEAD!!!***
a woman is twirled on a chair until she blows chunks, a man has a hair dryer inserted into his mouth and hot air blows into his brain, the man inserts a screwdriver and bulb into a woman's ummm...well you know. guy beats the crap out of a woman and then rapes her. mr. wang gets separated from mr. rapist guy. and more fucked up shit then imaginably possible.
downright disturbing. totally fucked up. sicko perverted atrocities. the insanity of a movie with no morals. lowest common denominator appeal. underground, bootleg, cancerous disgusting. this is it. guinea pig is still the pinnacle but red room has its moments.
This was one of the movies that had THIS company send me a cease and desist e-mail! After I got this movie I had added it to my horror trading list which led to some bullshit copyright crap. In any case, the legend of Red Room was born.
A ridiculous Japanese gore movie, a horror trade, watching a movie without subs and a cease and desist letter. That is the Legend of Red Room.
Intrigued by this movie? Well here is the trailer and now you'll know why we had to see it!
Insano Steve says: The wildly popular Ring is the story of an urban legend where the watching of a certain videotape will cause you to die within a week's time. Female journalist tries to find the existence of this tape and how it came to being. Assisting her is psychic friend who has sight beyond sight which leads to a mysterious island where the secret is revealed. Atmospheric horror neo-classic has unforgettably chilling ending. Be wary of tapes given to you by strangers who have died recently.
See the Japanese version of this film before Hollywood bastardizes the shit out of it. (oh wait they did and according to Insano Steve, the American version was better!)
Rating:
Ringu 2
Directed by Hideo Nakata
Insano Steve says: Sequel to the Ring explores more of the historical part of the urban legend. Better than the original in many ways, we see a new female investigator trying a bring an end to this curse once and for all. You'd think people would stop watching that tape after so many people died but there probably isn't a whole lot to watch on TV in Japan.
At least Japan is still making quality horror flicks unlike the films defecated out of Hollywood.
Insano Steve says: Old widower decides he'd like to remarry now in his old age and has his friend (a movie producer) hold a bogus movie audition to find his perfect mate. Old guy finds woman of his dreams but low and behold, she's crazy. Very exciting ending and extremely well crafted thriller. Departure from the usual Miike insanity. Slow but worth the wait. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Insano Steve says: Teenage Yakuza Riki Fudoh has his underage crime syndicate running like clockwork. His team features child assassins and women who shoot vaginal blowgun darts and the usual assortment of misfits. But to claim control of Kyushu island, he must off his father who is the leader of the controlling Yakuza. Fortunately, this can only be achieved violently with as much bloodshed as possible.
Based on a Manga. Gratuitous beheadings, acid burning and hermaphrodites (God bless those sexually gifted freaks) are always appreciated.
I'm picking Vampire Girl in 7 death matches. Wow now that's a fuckin trailer. Give it up to the Japanese who made the subgenre of arterial/splatter gore films into a blockbuster juggernaut.
All this is brought you by Yoshihiro Nishimura, the man who brought us Tokyo Gore Police which I gave a stellar 4 spinkicks too.
[We're going to the vault for some rewind reviews. I've got two short ones for you courtesy of Insano Steve's warped mind. The infamous Guinea Pig series. Nothing gloriously long or in depth. Just a tidbit of the grossness and utter disgusting of what appeared. Enjoy!]
Pseudo-snuff film is missing any semblance of plot. The horror equivalent of a gonzo porno.
Woman endures torture from multiple assailants. Torture includes slapping, kicking, plier amputations, severe noise, chair spinning, Indian rope burns, hot oil burning, maggot eating, and the absolute ultimate in eye trauma.
Basically, this lady gets fucked up in much the way you'd expect in a snuff film, if such thing existed. There's a counter displaying the quantities and qualitites of her pain.
Has already inspired some psycho in Japan (of course) to emulate the film in his real life murders. Perhaps the sickest movie ever made though it's kind of a stretch to call this a movie.
So fucking depraved, you'd never forgive yourself if you miss this.
Lonely artist gets inspiration for his latest work in a sewer where he finds a pus-spewing dying mermaid and takes her back to his bathtub.
Surprising enough, he doesn't rape her but instead draws her using her multicolored pus so ass tobest captures the theme of his painting. Luckily for him, mermaid girl is spewing pus from every orifice (this girl has a lot of pus!!!)
Twisted as fuck tale is something like a Twilight Zone Japanese style which is to say it's really wierd and extra extra fucked up.
Allegory to man's imbalance with nature but mostly the story of a girl and her pus. Artistic gore at it's finest.
Actually it should probably be in the top 5. But alas, what's done is done. I can't go ahead and change the list. I mean I'm one of those people that once its posted, its set in stone.
Let's just have TGP and Machine Girl as co-#7's. Cool?
I'm giving TGP 4 fuckin spinkicks. It's 100 times more awesomer than The Machine Girl even taking a crack at it during the movie.
I went into seeing TGP as maybe another Machine Girl. But my expectations were blown away (like many heads). This is the Japanese equivalant of Hong Kong's the Story of Riki Oh, filled with the splatter and gore so over the top, so gushingly gratuitous, so arterial spraying magnificent that one can only wonder if this will EVER be topped.
It works on so many levels. We've got Ruka the hot police officer killing some mutant ass, a plot that actually made sense and the title definitely living up to the flick.
My thing is I've seen the Ichi, Machine Girl, Tetsuo and other crazy Japanese cinema. I'm as jaded as they come when it comes to the Japanese underground flicks. So when I say I was thrilled by everything in TGP, seeing more totally weird and fucked up shit every few minutes, it's saying something.
It's saying this was insanely insane with an atomic bomb of insanity.
Good times.
Boring Plot-O-Matic Set in a future-world vision of Tokyo where the police have been privatized and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the "cutter" demographic, this is the story of samurai-sword-wielding Ruka and her mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad who's mission is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as "engineers" possessing the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.
Awesome Review-O-Matic
Tokyo Gore Police will draw comparisons to Robocop. Both have the central plot points of a police that has been privatized and a criminal element that has taken over the city. Also, TGP squeezes in some hilarious "pro" Tokyo Police Corporation PSA's and commercials.
All show up randomly throughout the flick and are great ha ha's during the 110 minute gorefest.
Ruka (Audition's Eihi Shiina) is our beautiful, sexy, wristcutting cop whose job is to track down "engineers", mutant humans who once they get sliced or diced regenerate the missing limb into a bioweapon.
And people do lose limbage. Part of the joy was to see what weapon their missing appendage would regenerate into. The prosthetics and home grown rubbery latex may be cheesy, but I'll take that over CGI any day.
The movie follows Ruka as she eliminates these engineers eventually leading her to battle the leader called"The Keyman". The Keyman is key (sorry I couldn't resist) to the plot of who our true mastermind behind the mayhem is.
In a nod to Kill Bill, the keyman explains the real deal through comic storyboards. It's a clever way to reveal the motives and get that pesky plot out of the way so we can get to more splatter.
But lets face it, it's the gore and splatter than dominate. TGP is non stop. I mean freakin non stop when it comes to scenes of arterial spraying, sword slicing and blood on the lens. It's so frenetic that every scene was pure, magnificent Grade A carnage. And the splatter wasn't just a slice and dice every time. Each bloodletting was a little different, a little unique from the others.
Each scene was a carefully constructed artistic piece of splatter and gore. A gunshot blasting open a head, a chainsaw to the face, sword play cutting a body in two, a metal pole thru the mouth and in one glorious piece of gore-ific cinema, Ruka cuts a subway groper's hands with her sword and his arms arterial spray in Matrix-like slo mo as Ruka walks away, under umbrella as it rains blood.
So awesome. So fuckin awesome. And it keeps going. More scenes of wickedness. We see a brothel full of freaky hookers. All are engineers and all are mutantly delicious. I was hoping the 3 breasted hooker from Total Recall was there. This concludes in a golden shower of epic proportions.
Un-fuckin-believable.
Later, we view a penis gets ripped off, leading to a geyser of blood. A prostitute gets gunned down and regenerates her lower half into a croc like mouth. A cop turned engineer develops a "money shot" mutant cock.
Need I say more?
Yes? OK I'll keep going.
The corporate police, go all police statey and wreak havoc on every citizen. Innocent civs are gunned down and Ruka's bartender friend gets ripped apart medieval style. There is even an homage to The Machine Girl during a fight scene between a rogue policewoman and a Sailor Moon uniformed engineer schoolgirl.
So fuckin cool.
The ending has more limbs, flying fists and concludes with some rocket flying arterial spraying. Just fitting to a movie that went into the stratosphere of gore movies.
Tokyo Gore Police is a little long, but there isn't any lull in the entire movie. It's one non stop splatter scene after another. Honestly, what movie can claim that?
I have the poster hanging right above my computer, having grabbed it at the NY Comic Con. And it was always on the back of my mind to watch it. I can't believe it took me this long to see this gore-tastic movie.
There is a point where you get in the mood to see a mindless manga come to life. When you enjoy watching real life NC - 17 cartoony violence. Ichi the Killer and Kill Bill use arterial spraying to fit its universe, but movies like The Machine Girl and TGP make arterial spraying and gore the norm.
This could only come from Japan, where the crazy is the norm. I can only imagine if I ever visited Japan that while looking at ladies panties in a vending machine, some dude gets his arm sliced off and arterial sprays an ocean all over the place. I'd scream out "Oh shit!, This stuff happens for real here!"
Gore-ipedia (if you want to be shocked don't read)
So much to list it would take too long. Most of the good shit is what I wrote in the review.
Nude-ipedia (because you like boobies)
Mutant boobies
WTF moment
The torture Wii game Slo Mo arterial spraying subway molester punishment
The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis
Some fun facts. Yoshihiro Nishimura did all the makeup and special effects for The Machine Girl, Sukeban Boy, Meatball Machine and Suicide Circle.
As the credits roll, keep watching. There's even a proclamation of "More Gore Coming Soon!".
You really have to be in the right frame of mind to see continuous arterial spraying, blood, gore and splatter. But once you are, this movie will hit all the pleasure centers of every gorehound's brain.
Tokyo Gore Police is artistic gore at its finest, a frenzy of weirdness and carnage that is a testament to this new subgenre of mutant weapon appendages.
This is a millennial cult classic that will only be topped by Nishimura's next splatterfest.
Private detective Kazama Raita (Nakayama)’s new neighbour is a dude with same name, Takashima Raita (Maki). From the moment he moves into the apartment next door, Takashima finds himself being tailed by the shady Kazama. One night, a female client of Kazama’s is found dead minus her liver, followed by a second and a third victim, one with their kidneys ripped out and the other sans lungs. The two Raitas attempt to uncover the truth, which has something to do with a tragic genius by the name of Aoyama Yuki…
The good ole Japanese film industry keeps churning out some really, good interesting creative horror. And when you think we've stop stealing from them, Hollywood is ready with their checkbook.
The next movie in line for a horror remake is Death Note.
Plot-o-matic:
A battle between the world's 2 greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.
The original Japanese trailer is below (with English subs!)
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