(1991)
Dir - Ching Siu-tung
Overall: GOOD
With two of the previous actors returning and playing different characters, (Joey Wong and Jacky Cheung, respectably), plus director Ching Siu-tung still on board, A Chinese Ghost Story III, (Sinneoi Jauwan III: Dou Dou Dou), is perfectly in line with each entry that came before it. Set a hundred years after the first film and resurrecting the tree demon from its century-long slumber, the story follows a similar trajectory of said, initial installment. A sheepish monk and his wise, no-nonsense Master hide out in a haunted temple with a spell-casting mercenary at their side, only to encounter beautiful ghost succubi and do battle against otherworldly forces which take the form of a ridiculous, androgynous madame spirit as well as enormous puppets that spring right out of the cursed earth. The tone is still hyper kinetic and light on its feet with silliness, yet there is a competitively stronger emphasis on naughty seduction, mild nudity, and severed body parts that itch this one closer into adult territory than straight goof-ridden fantasy. While some could argue that the plot is merely a rehash and ergo too derivative to keep things together, the grandiose set pieces fly at the screen at a mile a minute and are arguably the most inventive and fun in the whole series.
(1995)
Dir - Shinichi Fukazawa
Overall: MEH
With a title like Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell, one would go in with some unshakable expectations and for at least half of the running time, Shinichi Fukazawa's only movie of any kind delivers on its promised ridiculousness. A Z-rent, SOV Evil Dead knock-off, it was originally shot in 1995, yet decades went by before it garnished any form of release, making this sort of a long lost gem that hardly anyone knew about for most of its existence. Running only sixty-two minutes, it takes eighteen of them until anything happens and even then, things only fly off the rails for the second, claustrophobic half where Fukazawa, his girlfriend, and a psychic get trapped in a tiny, tiny house to do battle, with the latter two getting possessed by stop-motion/papier-mâché goo that looks like a combination of red Play-Doh, spaghetti sauce, and ground beef. The "special" effects are laughably appalling, (which is a large selling point of course), and Fukazawa has the charisma of a soiled rug, that is until he Hulks-out of his shirt in the last few moments and delivers some groan-worthy one-liners that even Bruce Campbell would be embarrassed by. Derivative, painfully cheap, and fifty-percent boring as shit, it is still eventually worth one's time when it stops messing around and delivers the stupid.
(1999)
Dir - Takashi Miike
Overall: GOOD
Takashi Miike's first venture of many into horror with Audition, (Ōdishon), also doubled as his most lauded work in the genre, particularly across the Pacific where its torture porn finale was met with wide arms amongst exploitation fans. An adaptation of Ryu Murakami's novel of the same name and put into motion by the company that produced Ringu the previous year, its gradual tonal shift is masterfully handled by Miike, presenting the first act as something that more resembles a light romantic comedy before unveiling a dubious mystery which finally sets up the brutal last act that is hardly the stuff of easy consumption. It can be argued that Miike goes too far with the torture scene, yet it actually "only" takes up ten minutes of screen time and is bookended by surreal dream sequences that both offer the viewer a break and tap into the psyche of Ryo Ishibashi's protagonist whose unassuming chauvinism and smitten obsession has led him right into the arms of Eihi Shiina's avenging, feminist angel of death. The fact that Shiina plays her with an icy, porcelain doll calm is perfectly disturbing, subverting the docile Japanese woman stereotype while making Ishibashi's character come off as both a buffoon and a victim at the same time. It is ultimately a film that can be appreciated more than it can be enjoyed, but it is also more chilling and artful than obnoxiously brutal.
No comments:
Post a Comment