"MASTERS OF HORROR: TAKASHI MIIKE’S 'IMPRINT'"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Billy Drago as CHRISOPHER Youki Kudoh as WOMAN Michie as KOMOMO Toshie Negishi as MAID Not Rated Studio: Anchor Bay Releasing Directed by: Takashi Miike Back to DVD Review Home |  |
When it comes to horror films, having a movie banned from anything is a badge of honor. Of course, being banned from theaters in a Bible-thumping town in Tennessee is one thing. Being banned from Showtime is something else entirely. For Japanese horror shock meister Takashi Miike, the fact that his installment of the “Masters of Horror” cable series wasn’t even allowed on cable television is a badge of honor.
My first introduction to Miike’s work was the film “Gozu,” which I saw at a horror marathon several years ago. It was one of the few films that not only silenced a group of rabid horror fans, but caused some of them to actually leave the theatre. The only other films I had seen do that were “Ilsa She Wolf of the SS” and “Cannibal Holocaust.”
In some ways, it seems that Miike sought to offend with “Imprint.” If you’re a fan of his work, this is probably a good thing. It delivers like you might expect from the director of “Ichi the Killer” and “Audition.”
The film follows an American tourist (Billy Drago) in Japan as he searches for his true love in the brothels of a small island. He ends up staying with a disfigured prostitute (Youki Kudoh) who explains that she knew his love (Michie) while she worked there. The prostitute tells him a gruesome story of how his lover was accused of a crime and then horribly tortured to get her to confess.
If you’re familiar with Miike’s work, you’ll see a lot of his style, flavor and trademarks all over this piece. He handles traditional Japanese subject matter with a gentle touch, up until the point when he shocks the hell out of you.
The last Miike film I saw before this was his installment in the film “Three...Extremes.” The funny thing about that film was that it wasn’t Miike’s story that shocked me, but rather Fruit Chan’s “Dumplings” that made my stomach turn. Miike’s segment was actually the softest of the bunch and actually was somewhat heartwarming in a chilling way.
Whatever softness Miike approached “Three...Extremes” with, he’s gone in the totally opposite direction with “Imprint.” In fact, he seems to respond to the “Dumplings” use of abortions by peppering his own “Masters of Horror” show with plenty of dead fetuses. To add insult to injury, he milks the torture scene as much as he can. Trust me, this is hard to watch, even for the die-hard horror fan.
While “Imprint” isn’t the greatest horror film, in or out of this series, it is interesting nonetheless. And fans of Asian horror cinema should enjoy it quite a bit.
Like the other episodes in the “Masters of Horror” series, the DVD comes with a strong list of special features. There are several behind-the-scenes documentaries focusing on the making of the film and Miike’s work in general.
There’s also an audio commentary in English by Chris D. and writer Wyatt Doyle. These give a cogent commentary, which turns more into a critique of the film rather than a behind-the-scenes look at the production. They do quite a bit of complaining that the film should have been shot in Japanese instead of English with Japanese actors. While I agree with them wholeheartedly on this point, it does get a bit old in the commentary track.
Specifications: Digital Stereo Sound. Widescreen (1.77:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions.
