Japanese Psycho (Horror): THE COMPLEX くクロユリ団地 @ Fantasia, 2013

As paralyzing and hair-raising, as some expression of horror may be, those scares tend to diminish when faced with he passing of time. Many of the innovations that sprung out of Japan, be them original or just executed masterfully, and most strongly associated with films like Ring by directed by Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-on, are not likely to have the same effects on viewers who took in those earlier films, aghast, when seeing the same tricks employed again. So, it stands to reason the long haired emaciated figures of death, weird guttural sounds, and doors creaking open and shut that occasionally phase into being in THE COMPLEX (also by Hideo Nakata) bring few true feelings of fright. In fact, throughout a large part of its first act, it seems intent on delivering only a vague sense of creepiness.

            It almost feels like the film’s hand is being revealed too fast. Asuka, about to begin studying at a nursing school, who with her family has just moved into the old and rundown apartment building bearing the movie’s Japanese title (Kuroyuri Danchi), befriends a little boy who plays alone way too late at night. It feels like a clear giveaway that she has some communion with spirits of the no longer living.  And at the same time, the dread induced by a spindly, lurking, and seemingly corporeal next-door neighbor also seems to be coming to an anticlimactic head too soon.

Yet, there are little signs that things are amiss. The only kind of affective scares are mixed in with offbeat, even slightly humorous touches, like the alarm that keeps waking Asuka up or the repetitious, déjà vu inducing conversations of her parents. The arrival of a cleaner, whose job it is to clear out and purify the dilapidated dwellings of deceased individuals who went unnoticed, and the bond he forges with Asuka is the first strong suggestion that THE COMPLEX will take seemingly conventional horror into some unique and intriguing places. Altogether worth the somewhat lumbering start to get there.

As Asuka’s afflictions of terror persist and take on a more inward quality, the film delves into issues of loneliness, grief, and guilt…manifestations of horror that are far more real and for that, perhaps far more relatable to audience members that feel something akin to what Asuka is going through. It ends up evoking far more of an emotional response than the horror genre is wont to do. And in a time where cases of depression and discussions of mental health seem to be on the rise, it is admirable to see such issues dealt with head on.

So too is the challenge it poses to longstanding concepts of the nature of hauntings and the supernatural. Rather than focusing mainly on the unresolved feelings of the supernatural beings in question, it draws its horror in large part from the mental state of those being haunted, and typical symptoms of terror manifest in surprising ways, bearing resemblance to addiction, obsessive…behaviors that are not out of line with psychological disorders.

Instead of choosing one road or the other, the phenomenon is expressed as a strange flirtation between the presence of entities from the spirit realm and the victims’ psychological state. As there are few hard and fast rules that apply to genres dealing with the supernatural (as there are with say, zombies) there is a lot of flexibility in the proceedings, which can be frustrating if trying to pin a logic on the movie’s critical confrontations. Or it can be dizzying fun if you’re willing to just enjoy the ride. It involves an enraptured, blood splattered séance and a tug-of-war between realms that reaches a frenzied, clawing conclusion with confinement to a complete and utter isolation at stake. It is unexpectedly, breathtakingly terrifying, and the true finale to the film, although the flame filled sequence that follows is so vibrant in its excess, it is fun to take in all the same.  

            THE COMPLEX is nothing if not bold for its incorporation of real life issue horrors – it joins several other Japanese films in dealing with themes of loneliness – into a backdrop of traditional scares. Atsuko Maeda (of AKB48 fame) and Hiroki Narimiya inject a sense of sincerity into their characters that make their struggle seem that much more urgent.

THE COMPLEX plays the Fantasia Film Festival on July 26 at 4:45 PM. Visit the site for details.

Me on twitter = @mondocurry

Kitano Takeshi Takes the Lethal Gangster Lifestyle One Step Beyond: Outrage Beyond (アウトレイジ ビヨンド) review

                       
After flooring audiences with OUTRAGE a Yakuza film that walked a fine line between traditional gangster tale and modern, perhaps even critically aware, storytelling, Takeshi Kitano has returned to take things a step further with followup OUTRAGE: BEYOND. I had the good fortune to get an early look at this second chapter when it was included in a select but powerful Midnight Movie sidebar in this year’s New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center. Should the series extend to a third installment, which I highly anticipate being the case, this may very well be series’ ‘Empire (Strikes Back),’ a more somber, downbeat followup to its action-packed precursor.

But don’t be mistaken; the first OUTRAGE is nothing less than grim. It took viewers on a deliberately paced tour of shady deals, heated arguments, and acts of intimidation, all adhering to a code with an inner logic nearly impossible for outsiders to fully comprehend. The further the film progressed, acts of violence became more frequent and more brutal, particularly those carried out against Otomo (played by Kitano) and his gang, the Otomo group, whose prowess made them both a weapon and a target of the most powerful Sanno Kai Yakuza clan. As each member fell like dominoes, those waiting for a burst of retaliation would be left cold. The string of violence was presented in bleak business-like fashion, with one betrayal leading to another to another until a new regime would be left calling shots from the inner circle.

The violence here is also colder, more functional. There are less of the morbidly inventive, cringe inducing scenes of violence that pepper the first movie (though a few will brand themselves upon the brain, one of particular nastiness involving a batting range). But they are just as savage. This serves to breathe an even greater sense of realism and for that it is all the more ominous.   

Part 2 also arguably trims some of the fat found in the first movie. Take for instance, its segments where the Otomo group tricks and blackmails an African diplomat into doing their bidding and essentially being under their thumb. They may add some humor and may even be based on real life events. But for the most part, they distract from the rising tensions between the various players as they jockey for positions of power. There is nothing like that in ‘BEYOND. Instead it maintains a sustained note of dread and build up to the grisly fates that await much of the cast.  

Without a doubt, Keiichi Suzuki’s ice cold original soundtrack score drives home this sense of uneasiness. Used to even greater effect than in the first Outrage, it feels as though it could have been lifted from an ‘80s horror film. It will no doubt tickle the fancy of those who appreciated the retro leaning soundtracks of films like Drive and Beyond the Black Rainbow.   

If the first Outrage was an elegy on disloyalty, then Outrage: Beyond is a steely eyed vision of comeuppance, the wheel of karma turning to crush those who would discard honor to feed one’s own greedy ambitions. This could not have been made any clearer than in the film’s startlingly abrupt, head on conclusion. Characters, both new and familiar from the first film are faced with the seeds sown by their treachery, as all the while a new power structure is brought into the picture in the form of a rival criminal organization based in Osaka.

As before, Otomo stands out as an anomaly. Dirt in the eye of the established power structures, causing them to rub and scratch in irritation.  Unlike the first film, where this was caused by his over the top viciousness and flouting of typical mobster ambition, ‘BEYOND finds an Otomo that is weary of the game and unwilling to play the pawn-like role other powers that be have in mind for him. He is introduced into the sequel, having been believed to be dead after a vicious stabbing, being released from prison early. This arrangement is made by returning police officer specializing in organized crime Kataoka, whose plans for Otomo are no less manipulative or acidic than the criminal organizations rankled by the fact of his existence. He hopes that Otomo’s release will lead him to lash out against those forces that had led to his downfall, as well as those who are vying for control of the local crime syndicates. Otomo has other ideas on his mind, though.

The shifty cop Kataoka has a more prominent role than in the first OUTRAGE. He and other returning characters, as well as a few new ones have caricature-like personas that would fit perfectly into a Coen Brothers film. Standing out most, perhaps, are the Osaka-based crime boss Fuse’s two right hand men, Nishino and Nakata. The intensity of their pronounced speech as they bully about those that come before Fuse has an offbeat comedic element, something that is probably a hallmark of Kitano being at the helm of the production.

Also noteworthy is the stark absence of female roles in the film (the poster above gives an accurate sense of this). Even the first had very few women, and then they were placed in only the most cursory supporting roles. But I do not think I would be off in my estimation that female characters have less than a minute total onscreen time in ‘BEYOND. Here it is as if Kitano wants to increase the authenticity of his product. This Yakuza world is ruled and kept running by old, provincial men and, like it or not, that is exactly what we are getting with Kitano’s film. Or perhaps it is an insistence on distilling only the most essential components of this karmic tale. This stands in contrast to a vast collection of Yakuza tales directed by Takashi Miike, whose films include female characters as little more than victims and sexual objects, yet do little to evoke empathy or call for a critical look at the situation.

A standout feature of both OUTRAGE films, but especially ‘BEYOND, is that they in no way glamorize this violent lifestyle or make it seem cool. Not even a little. Those in power are calculating, lacking in empathy, and seem immobile, as if they’ve burrowed themselves into their powerful seats and are too set in their ways, or fearful of their downfall, to move. At the outset Kato (usurper of the Sanno Kai) and his number two, Ishihara (who betrayed the Otomo group in the first film) in control, the direct result of their double crossing transgressions in OUTRAGE’s conclusion. Any so-called honor or respect goes out the window as they are shown putting the older members of the group on notice: if they do not get with the times and learn the ways of the modern (re: economic) con, their days are numbered. It adds an interesting theme of generational conflict to the already blackened vision of a landscape where there is virtually no honor amongst thieves.

With this festival screening coming right around the same time as the film’s native Japanese release date, there is no telling its future quite yet. Let’s hope the success of the first film and fresh take on a classic genre will add some speed to OUTRAGE BEYOND’s path toward these shores.

Violent Eye Report 1: 1-on-1 Showdowns

Before the 2012 New York Asian Film Festival crashed the summer, bringing with it Choi Min-Sik and an impressive host of his movies, a concept was established: The Violent Eye Party.  While none too clearly defined, here are some of its proposed tenets:

- movies from the back catalogue watched in marathon-like progression.

- movies picked, ahem “curated,” by one of the Violent Eye’s rotating collective, with a theme in mind,and if possible, an international scope.

- comparisons, connections welcomely explored.

- focus on and appreciation for portrayals of violence in movies, primarily (for the time being at least) Asian.

This is a report on the first Violent Eye event, which took place before attention and activity turned to Choi-Min Sik’s films and his appearance at NYAFF 2012.

This first set of movies was the preferred triple feature programmed by the Violent Eye’s resident conduit to the physical world, Mondocurry.  Its theme, or at least attempted theme, was one on one showdowns.  The movies shown were LIKE A DRAGON (2007), THE CHASER (2008), and DOG BITE DOG (2006).  They came from Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong respectively.

If there was anything that proposed a challenge to the theme (hence the ‘attempted’ remark earlier) it’s Japanese cinema.  The genre pool is filled with movies flying the masts of horror, sexploitation, and Yakuza (gangster) dramas.  The last of these was surely the most promising to select from, but mostly involve drama and to-be-expected complex interactions between various characters of different rank and gang affiliation.  Fight choreography is often a minor feature.  (Should you, reader, have any fitting suggestions you feel was missed, please do share them).  And so came about the odd choice of LIKE A DRAGON, a Takashi Miike adaptation of a Yakuza themed video game.  That Miike’s name came up is no surprise, as he seems a director most readily associated with contemporary Yakuza themed action films.  One of the considerations for a different Japanese film was one of the three parts in the quite uneven Dead Or Alive trilogy, which he also directed.

Yes, LIKE A DRAGON did promise a showdown: On one side, recently released from prison gangster with a heart of gold, Kiryu Kazuma, and opposite him, erratically behaving gang boss Majima Goro, whose knowledge of Kazuma’s release registers a remembrance of some kind of grudge that bears repaying without wasting a single minute.  Before you strap yourself in for a fast-paced back and forth battle, know that this situation is surrounded by at least four others (some connected and some not), and bounces between them with a severe case of attention deficit disorder.

The fights between Kazuma and Majima are frenetic, but bear a tone of silliness.  Perhaps owing to being in “video game mode,” Miike chooses to embellish battles with cartoonish effects (fast spinning bats, neon electric charged “power up” punches). It does make for some fun.  Majima is quite a colorful caricature of a villain, patch on one eye, carrying a golden baseball bat which he uses to bash away liberally at rival gang members and one of his own lackeys.  The Warriors-inspired concept is taken to cartoonish heights as Majima tosses baseballs into the air only to smack them at the targeted heads and abdomens of his opponents.  As conclusions draw near, a hotel battle between the two finds Majima batting baseballs that ricochet from wall to wall at an angered Kazuma.  With Majima, Miike also takes a page from “exhaustion action” trends, with the patch-eyed slugger fairing worse for wear in all of his battles with Kazuma across a neon imbued Tokyo; yet, he continues to drag himself off the floor and stagger to the next battle.  Meanwhile Kazuma is all righteous indignation-fueled strength that has him convincingly (with a little suspension of disbelief) fending off hordes of gang members singlehandedly.

Whatever the source of their beef, the battles between the two never go beyond surface level aggression.   As for the other goings ons, they range from a pair of incompetent robbers holed up with their hostages in a bank, a girl and boy on an impromptu crime spree with an incident from the girl’s past looming over their heads, and a Korean assassin who is targeting a major criminal organization for unclear reasons.  Meanwhile, when not fending off Majima’s attacks, Kazuma is helping a little girl to find her mother who is somehow wrapped up in said organization.  Miike successfully creates an atmosphere where an Indian summer has everyone itching and squirming and making rash decisions under the pressure of the heat.  But all these loose threads hardly come together into one coherent package.  The ending explosion leaves a giant question mark hanging in the air.  It may be a successful adaptation of a video game, but its way of operating does not come close to translating into narrative logic.  Along the way are some other hallmarks of the typical Miike-helmed Yakuza film that make this fail to stand out from the rest of the pack. One is the inclusion of 80s-like squalling guitar solos throughout the movie.  For whatever reason, Miike has chosen this many times over as the sound of modern gang conflict suspense.  To me, it is more of a distraction than a mood builder.  While the movie does take some impressive strides toward combining intense action sequences with a gang related drama, it draws attention to a definite demand for new voices calling from the director’s chair to add some diversity and maybe even a little one upmanship into this genre.

Considering the order the movies were watched in, having THE CHASER in the middle position, we could liken it to the main course.  It fit exactly what was being sought: a story of two individuals trying desperately to destroy one another. The mood is consistently grim as director Na Hong-Jin unfolds a tale of bad vs. worse -- a disgraced cop turned prostitute tracks down a trail of missing prostitutes to a detached serial killer.  The pimp, Joong-ho is as reluctant a hero (if such a term can even be used) as one could find; his attitude about the girls’ disappearance is filled with cynicism, at first insisting that the missing girls had run off with money he is due.  When the truth comes to light, his drive to take down the elusive Yong-min stems from a combination of seeking comeuppance for trouble caused, the slight bit of redemption that will come from saving the last girl to disappear with the murderer, and sheer stubbornness in the face of a police force who are tied up in political games to the point of complete inefficiency.    
 
The story is more about Jong Ho and a dysfunctional police force’s pursuit of Yong-min, while meanwhile, he wants primarily to escape and continue his murderous ways.  Their final exchange is a nasty,artless tumble, including attacks with a hammer and chisel and bodies hurled into fish tanks.  Leading up to it is an awkward suspense of missed opportunities and local naiveties that conspire together to make Murphy’s law that anything that could go wrong will go wrong come to life. It not only kicks, but stomps down repeatedly on the audience’s gut.

Characteristic of many dark Korean films is a strong voice of social commentary and the ability to summon gallows humor in the midst of even the most terrible situations. A running gag on cell phone tags leads to the ensnared prostitute’s daughter referring to -- as he is labeled in its memory: filth. What stands out in this all around masterful first feature for the director is the dynamic between Jung-ho and Yong-min.  Jung-ho is all red hot rage and bluster to Yong-min‘s ice cold, near impenetrable demeanor.

The two leads, Yun-seok Kim and Jung-woo Ha would later trade roles of vice and relative virtue, appearing opposite one another in Na Hong-jin’s second feature, The Yellow Sea.  While a less perhaps a less perfect battle than the one found in CHASER, that film’s scenario of an individual brought into a metropolis from a nearby economically disadvantaged country, thereby wreaking havok on, and in effect destabilizing a more advanced yet corrupt society mirrors what happens in our third feature, DOG BITE DOG (directed by Pou-Soi Cheang).

In an alternate universe of my devising, instead of being famous for a computer filled with photos of sexual exploits, lead Edison Chen would be most recognized for his ultra aggressive turn in this film. He truly captures the essence of the mad dog killing machine archetype. In one very quick and efficient setup, we find Pang (Chen’s assassin) whisked across the sea from Cambodia towards a high society target whom he instructed to put a bullet or two into. In a fast and bloody scene of jolting adrenaline, he dispenses with his (somewhat disturbingly) elderly victim, turning his attention thereafter to evading the local cops and making his way back overseas. His every action is about survival -- from using his hand to shovel handfuls of food into his mouth to pushing back the police using hostages whose lives only last as long as it takes him to grab the next one. In keeping with the tradition of its Hong Kong action predecessors, the story does not dwell much on plot intricacies. Little is made of the reason for the contract killing. Rather, we follow the fugitive as he escapes to a junkyard of fetid towering heaps of trash where he finds a girl living a secluded life of abuse at the hands of a repugnant father figure. Pang frees her from this reality making the two allies in a bid to escape to a Cambodia that now seems less savage than Hong Kong with its corruption and people abusing power.  From here, instead of worrying only about himself, he has a vested interest in protecting this girl, who in turn becomes something of a leverage point for the cops in pursuit.

The assassins nemesis comes in the unlikely form of Sam Lee (an actor who appears in many actions films, but rarely as the lead) who plays Inspector Ti Wai. The combination of family drama in the background -- his father, a troubling combination of inspiration and disappointment having been charged with drug related corruption is hospitalized -- and the cold blooded efficiency with which his comrades are maimed or killed leads the young police officer on an obsessive course towards bringing in the killer or annihilating him in the process.  

There is a point in the film where it could have ended somewhat elegantly and with a contemplative image left to sink into our consciences, if not in the most conclusive fashion. However the film insists on going forward, beyond restraint or good taste. Like the film’s introduction, a flash forward to Cambodia begins and speeds through significant events like a ticking bomb is strapped to its back. The couple, thrown together by a struggle-filled fate,settle down with an expected child and a life free of violence. Then, in a move that is just shy of defying time and space, Detective --- appears, transformed, having put himself through the trials of a brutal underground fighting ring.  Things spiral quickly into a violent climax with a tragic turn of events.    

The film does leave us with a final, striking image but this one is meant to shatter. Like in CHASER, the intent is to leave jaws dropped and emotions drained. It may have done so more effectively if the final stretch was not so far fetched a turn of events, but the Cambodia sent the movie straight over the rainbow. Even sonically...In the background of the final battle (taking place among beautiful temple ruins) a syrupy rendition of the song ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ plays, which sent the New York Asian Film Festival audience with whom I first watched it into unintended fits of laughter. It clearly did not have the intended dramatic effect on Western audiences who are too familiar with the tune. Beyond that, the director was trying to make a grand statement but it ended up as overkill, since the images of what happened were sufficient enough in  driving its message of cyclical violence home.  This film has some of the most tightly wound fast paced action sequences around. It could have gone down as a tight suspenseful exercise in violence, and for most of the film it functions as just that. But the over the top ending will probably have it going down in most memories as an overblown attempt at social commentary.

While South Korean and Hong Kong cinema both have a wealth of talent dedicated to portraying physical action, Japanese productions don’t offer it as much or perhaps there is just more interest within the serious film market in horror and drama. Most of the Japanese movies that come to mind with a major focus on action are from Miike and Nishimura Yoshihiro. Both make movies that contain varying degrees of cartoonish elements. While genre director Ryuhei Kitamura comes to mind (with a movie that is perfectly titled VERSUS!) his work was usually centered around science fiction or fantasy and delivered action, but with very little that could be taken seriously beyond the choreography. While this installment’s Hong Kong representative has thrilling action, it was not presented in a way that was conducive to serious consideration of society’s ills. Finally, the South Korean film combined intense action between two compelling individuals with a story that drags several aspects of society through the mud. It’s a film that is hard to watch without feeling devastated afterwards.

Winner? THE CHASER  

Some acknowledgments:

Unseen Films for inspiring me to document my impressions on film and providing me with a respectable home from which to do so.

Planet Chocko Zine with its intensive reporting on all things rising up from the underground, including (but not limited to) films, music, art, and whose cast of characters throw their support and hats in the ring for intense screening marathons like this one.

CineAwesome whose cleverly titled podcasts on genre film double features are filled with witty banter and an encyclopedic knowledge on cool good and cool bad films. It’s probably more of an influence on the activity here than I’d care to admit.

Your comments are appreciated and will be answered!