Film: Cold Fish Year of production: 2010 UK Release date: 27th June 2011 Distributor: Third Window Certificate: 18 Running time: 144 mins Director: Sion Sono Starring: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Tetsu Watanabe, Hikari Kajiwara, Megumi Kagurazaka, Denden Genre: Drama/Thriller Format: DVD Country of Production: Japan Language: Japanese
Review by: Daryl Wing
Inspired by the Saitama Dog Lover Serial Murders that came to light in 1993, involving the exploits of Gen Sekine and his ex-wife Hiroko Kazama, who would breed then sell rare hounds, killing any buyer that felt robbed by their extortionate valuations, the latest offering from cult Japanese writer-director Sion Sono (Love Exposure) swaps the lovable mutts for tropical fish. So is Cold Fish the compelling thriller it claims to be, or will we be tossing it back from whence it came? Shamoto is struggling to run a small tropical fish shop with his second wife, Taeko, and his troublesome daughter, Mitsuko. When Mitsuko is caught shoplifting at a grocery store, they meet a friendly man named Murata, who helps to settle things between Mitsuko and the store manager.
Since Murata also runs a tropical fish shop, Shamoto establishes a bond with him and they become friends. Mitsuko is offered work by Murata, who suggests she stay with him and his wife at their beautiful home, allowing Shamoto to rebuild his relationship with Taeko.
All seems well, but Murata hides many dark secrets behind his friendly exterior. Selling cheap fish to his customers for high prices with his artful lies, if anyone suspects fraud or refuses to go along with his moneymaking schemes, they’re murdered and their bodies disposed.
With Mitsuko a seemingly willing hostage at Murata’s home and Shamoto fooled into becoming a business partner, it isn’t long before the mild-mannered shopkeeper has to take a stand in order to save his family - and himself...
Director Sion Sono cleverly invests so much time in establishing his (mostly likeable) characters and their inter-relationships in the hope that when he starts snuffing them out, there’s far more gravity to their deaths than you’ll find in many films of similar ilk. And the opening half hour is arguably the most entertaining, introducing us to Shamoto, a man who never amounted to much, his wife, Taeko (her knockers would question her worth to the story while her fans will argue they’re are all that matters), and his brat, Mitsuko, untroubled by Murata’s overfriendliness, as in fact, oddly, they all are.
The quirky opening act pulls the viewer into a simple world, and thanks to strong performances by all the leads, we quickly empathise with Shamoto, a man as wet as the weather, and his family, as they struggle to face up to their problems. At the same time, we fall for the smooth-talking, charismatic Murata, and his beautiful wife, and we’re hoodwinked by his successful business, but we’re also suspicious of their motives and keenness to befriend such a disillusioned protagonist when surely they don’t need the inconvenience. Although by now he’s a little creepy, it isn’t until Murata takes Taeko to one side that we realise this offbeat family-drama is not all it seems, and it’s also the point in which Taeko finally shows promise – her character’s interesting desire to be dominated, however, is sadly never explored further.
And what happens next is disappointing to say the least. Padding out most of the running time with lessons in how to dismember a body, intercut with dodgy double-crossings, passionless poisoning and repetitive threats to make people “invisible,” Sion Sono fails to find a spark for the majority of a lengthy second act. Uneventful in the extreme, it’s only worth watching if you plan on becoming a butcher. Even then, it would probably be quicker to partake in an Open University course of similar study.
The film also suffers from an extremely negative portrayal of its female characters, whether it be Taeko’s untold hankering for a high-handed partner (the perfect excuse to give her impressive globes an airing - no doubt what attracted her star-gazing husband in the first place); Murata’s indecisive wife, who gets her kicks from entrusting herself to no-one, as long as she gets what she wants (a good excuse to get it all out); the ungrateful daughter who apparently hates her family, yet hardly utters a word in disgust; and six other teenage disciples that work for Murata at his enormous fish emporium, with no hint of back stories (a good excuse to have a bit of girl on girl action). All in all, their lack of depth is bound to leave most female viewers dumbfounded. Having said that, our planetarium-obsessed male lead is hardly blessed with any either.
With all of its horrific activity confined to the final third, Cold Fish is, therefore, hard work for the most part, and when it does finally indulge in the red stuff, including a fantastic struggle through slippery entrails, you’ll still be slightly surprised by Shamoto’s sudden transformation from lifeless loser to complete fruitcake. Considering the film drags on for two-and-a-half hours, that’s some statement. Still, the opening act looks very pretty, even if budget constraints confine the movie to limited locations and rather bland camerawork later on, but the effects are top notch, and this DVD release does at least offer a more interesting special feature on the true events that inspired the movie.
Cold Fish starts promisingly but loses its way during the bloodless flimsiness of its second act, which refuses to end, or in fact add anything remotely interesting until the ruthless finale that lacks originality and isn’t as clever as it thinks it is. To quote our leading man, “life is pain, and it doesn’t get much more painful than watching this.” DW
The latest feature from cult Japanese writer-director Sion Sono (Love Exposure).
Inspired by and loosely based on the real-life exploits of serial killer couple Gen Sekine and his ex-wife Hiroko Kazama (the perpetrators of Tokyo’s notorious 1993 “Saitama serial murders of dog lovers” killings), the film is a psychotic cavalcade of sex, violence and comedy that has been hailed by Variety for its “gleeful humour and dare-you-to-watch aesthetic.”
Shamoto runs a small tropical fish shop. His second wife, Taeko, does not get along with his daughter, Mitsuko, and this worries him. One day Mitsuko is caught shoplifting at a grocery store. There they meet a friendly man named Murata, who helps to settle things between Mitsuko and the store manager. Since Murata also runs a tropical fish shop, Shamoto establishes a bond with him and they become friends; Mitsuko even begins working for Murata and living at his house. What Shamoto doesn’t know, however, is that Murata hides many dark secrets behind his friendly face. He sells cheap fish to his customers for high prices with his artful lies. If anyone detects his fraud or refuses to go along with his moneymaking schemes, they’re murdered and their bodies disposed of by Murata and his wife in grisly ways.
Shamoto is taken in by Murata’s tactics, and by the time he realizes that Murata is insane, and a serial killer who has made over fifty people disappear, he is powerless to do anything about it. But now Mitsuko is a hostage at Murata’s home and Shamoto himself has become the killer’s unwilling accomplice. Cruel murders gradually cripple his mind and finally the ordinary man is driven to the edge of the abyss.
Not for the squeamish or those easily offended by graphic images of sex and violence, Cold Fish is a compelling, slowburn thriller, peppered throughout with unexpected twists and surprises.
Film: Cold Fish Release date: 8th April 2011 Certificate: TBC Running time: 144 mins Director: Sion Sono Starring: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Denden, Asuka Kurosawa, Mugumi Kagurazaka, Hikari Kajiwara Genre: Drama/Thriller Studio: Third Window Format: Cinema Country: Japan
Film: Samurai Zombie Release date: 19th July 2010 Certificate: 18 Running time: 86 mins Director: Tak Sakaguchi Starring: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Issei Ishida, Tak Sakaguchi, Airi Nakajima, Shintarô Matsubara Genre: Horror/Action/Comedy/Fantasy Studio: MVM Format: DVD Country: Japan
George Santayana, the Spanish-American philosopher, once famously said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Tak Sakaguchi, martial artist, stuntman, actor and now director, has a high standing for taking every opportunity as it comes. Samurai Zombie, his second film as director, shares the same aphorism as Santayana’s, so why, considering his rapid rise to success, did he deliberately choose an angry reanimated corpse with military nobility as his next step?
A happy family take a trip to the country when their vehicle is apprehended by a pair of bank-robbers intent on escape. Having already seen the criminals dispatch a stranger in front of them with merciless precision, they concede defeat and are lead to an abandoned village, picketed by a defunct samurai who hasn’t lost his talent for killing.
When the father is brutally murdered, the remaining family must join forces with the convicts, overcoming their differences if they are to defeat the zombie and ultimately win through…
Samurai Zombie is a splatter film with more in the way of plot than it has in blood, guts and bloodshed. Sadly, this isn’t a compliment, because it also lacks the former, too. Buoyed by an impressive performance by the young child actor playing Ryota, Samurai Zombie offers little in gore, action or originality. Opening with a bizarre and rather pointless scene in which a man talks to the camera about fate and how the audience will soon know what his is (he gets decapitated), Samurai Zombie is plagued by annoying characters that aren’t given the punishment they rightfully deserve (the guy obsessed with his own demise the only exception).
With all of its horrific, albeit briefly entertaining, activity suffocated by bloated and almost redundant scenes, the film feels like a pretty standard splatter movie for much of its running time with very little to say. Considering the team behind it delivered Versus, whilst providing valuable contributions to movies such as Tokyo Gore Police and Vampire Girl Vs Frankenstein Girl, you would expect a lot more, and that’s possibly the biggest criticism. Despite it only being Tak Sakaguchi’s second feature, it still feels like a step back in his career. Yes, a samurai zombie is a very good idea, but after watching the superior Norwegian splatter-fest Dead Snow, involving Nazi zombies, this effort seems rather tame and a missed opportunity.
To be fair, the first act offers an interesting opening. Empathy for the main family is quick in coming; a car journey in which the conversation questions fate and how the mother and father met, with its obvious and delightful consequences (the children), is executed to encourage a pleasant liking for all those sat in the car. Then the tyre explodes.
The vicious thugs that attack them for no reason, taking them hostage, are also welcoming, and the journey onwards to Eight Spears Village in order to swap vehicles adds intrigue and conflict (the male convict’s, played by Sakaguchi, interest in the young daughter a seedy highlight). Sadly, then it all goes terribly wrong. Having said that, the ghostly old hag warning them of their impending doom, the father who kills himself for no reason and the children who suddenly become psychic are thankfully interrupted by bank robber Lisa getting her fingers ripped off.
There’s also a twist ending that never quite works – its arrival is far too late to sustain any kind of interest. Therefore, the two police officers introduced during the second act, supposedly offering humour and back-story, deliver little other than a smirk-inducing scene involving guns and playground hilarity.
Visually, the locations work but the special effects reek of computers. This is fine when a scene focuses on the surreal; the swarm of bats and digit-dropping segment commendable, but relying on technology to supply the film with all of its blood is unforgivable. What’s wrong with pig’s blood or, dare I say it, red paint – is it really better to produce the image on a computer rather than use other traditional, and much more realistic techniques? As for samurai zombies, the only kick the audience gets is from the finale – less is certainly not more.
The leads do offer solid performances, and though the low budget proves obvious, at times, the film does offer moments for most to enjoy. Despairingly, there is maybe about twenty minutes of story (and that’s being generous), whilst even less is dedicated to characterization and plot, but a couple of set-pieces and an intriguing opening sequence keeps the viewer hoping for better things, and the ending at the very least offers something to make the journey worthwhile.
Sadly less than engaging after the opening gambit, Samurai Zombie is likely to be appreciated the most by seasoned splatter-horror buffs, whilst newcomers to the genre will be looking elsewhere for their gratuitous entertainment, wondering what all the fuss is about. DW
