Welcome to the mad world of terribly tortuous Takashi Miike (Ichi The Killer (DVD))

Member Name: hewhoisme

Product:	Ichi The Killer (DVD)
Date:	28/05/09 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gore, gore, and yet more gore

Disadvantages: None, depending on how strong your stomach is

For those of you who've seen Audition, you already know exactly what Takashi Miike is capable of. If you haven't, well, be afraid, be very, very afraid. Ichi the Killer is a brutal stomach-churning torture-fest from the twisted director of Audition and Gozu, with no other purpose then to let us watch the destruct-testing of the human body at the hands of insane Yakuza mobsters. Of course, that is hardly a bad thing.

Ichi the Killer follows the life of Kakihara, a sadomasochist Yakuza enforcer with a panchant for pain and mutilation, self-inflicted or otherwise. However, he is a monster on a mission. One day his boss Anjo is horrifically murdered by a wanna-be vigilante called Ichi, a mentally distrubed young man in a makeshift super-hero outfit, complete with concealed razor blades. Determined to hunt down his missing boss, as well as 300 million yen, Kakihara goes on a no-holds barred spree of violence and somewhat unorthodox methods of interrogation, aided by some of his equally colourful compatriots.

This film is certainly not for the faint hearted, or even the strong hearted for that matter. On one side we have Kakihara, a man who would happily cut off the end of his tongue just to prove a point, and another side Ichi, the supposed hero, who is about as balanced as an elephant on a sew saw. Part of the charm of this movie is that the plot isn't clear cut. There are no bad guys and good guys, just two very bad guys who can look good depending on your perspective. Take that, and throw in a generous helping of tendon ripping torment, and you have one hell of a movie.

Over the years I have come to expect a certain standard from Takashi Miike, whose ground-breaking techniques have caased much controversy within the film community. Needless to say, Ichi the Killer does not disappoint. Between stringing up mobsters and scalding them with boiling fat, and chewing the flesh off a man's hand, Miike creates a thoroughly revoluting, but entertaining cinematic experience. One of the movies most unusual scenes is the opening, in which the title rises out of a pool of semen...real semen. Miike actually got the actor/ Tetsuo director Shinya Tsukamoto to fill a bucket, along with the help of three other crew members. I know, it's kinda gross. But hey, that's Takashi Miike for you.

Summary: Come on, it's Takashi Miike. You know what to expect