GOZU (2003)

The latest offering from prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike is a variant on the Yakuza theme that combines black humour, horror and the sublimely ridiculous, and does so with such style that many viewers will feel compelled to bow in respect to the power of his filmmaking. From the opening scene, in which Ozaki (Sho Aikawa), a paranoid and delusional Yakuza mobster beats a Chihuahua to death when he suspects it to be an assassin (!), to the incredible birth scene at the film’s climax, Gozu grips you simultaneously by the throat and the funny bone, and simply won’t let go.
The story is based on the strange adventures of Minami (Hideki Sone), a young Yakuza man who is ordered to kill his disgraced and dishonoured brother Ozaki by his sex crazed boss. However, after Ozaki’s death in a car accident, the corpse disappears and Minami has to enlist the aid of a strange and disfigured Yakuza man called Nose (Shohei Hino), to search a small and backward Japanese town for his brother’s body. At the same time, he begins to receive visits from a mysterious spirit called Gozu (meaning ‘cowhead’) in his dreams, whilst being baffled and terrified by the behaviour of an aging couple that own the local hotel he is staying in.

As the tale unfolds, Minami begins to suspect their involvement in his brother’s disappearance until he meets a beautiful woman (Kimika Yoshino) who confides to him that she is his brother reincarnated. Together, they contrive a plot to seduce and murder the Yakuza boss who ordered Ozaki’s execution and then the film takes on an almost Freudian complexion, as Minami struggles to decide whether or not he should give up his virginity to this beautiful woman, who is also his brother!
Certain scenes of the film will have you laughing out with sheer joy, and the more unsettling parts blend well with the humour, in a manner similar to a David Lynch movie. It’s difficult to go into too much more detail without ruining some of the film’s surprises but suffice to say that this is a piece of film making by an excellent director that is ambitious, well executed, stylish and, most importantly, a lot of fun to watch.

Released in the UK on Tartan Video's 'Asian Extreme' DVD label, the film comes complete with a nice transfer thanks to the anamorphic 1.85:1 presentation and the option to listen to the sound track in either Dolby 2.0, 5.1 surround or DTS 5.1surround. You might have expected a few interesting features, commentary tracks or perhaps an interview with the films director or cast but unfortunately all you get is the original theatrical trailer and a section dedicated to some of Miike's previous cinematic triumphs. Despite this, it will be the film proper that draws you here and no matter how 'light' the film is on extra's, you will be in for one hell of a freaky ride.

Score

7 / 10