This movie desperately needs a sense of purpose. What is the point, what's the message? Where is this film taking it's audience and why? The story involves some guys who remove organs and sell them of the black market. But no one will judge you if you fail to even extract that much from the muddled plot. Like many J-horror films, everything is served with a side order of super-weird.
Social metaphors are laid under the film, but they are never particularly clear and thus aren't all that compelling. Every scene is needlessly surreal; it's obviously meant to be dream like (or nightmare-ish if you will) but it comes off pretentiously instead. Some good, quality violence could have at least made it a gore pic, but not even that happens; whether you see the violence as to artsy or the art as too violent, it just doesn't work.
Credit has to be given for the visuals, they are indeed imaginative and unique (the cocoon birth stuck with me for a bit). And while the actors failed to leave an impression, they were never a hindrance either.
Hardcore J-film fans should check it out, if just to see something different. Just don't expect to be entertained.
4/10
Social metaphors are laid under the film, but they are never particularly clear and thus aren't all that compelling. Every scene is needlessly surreal; it's obviously meant to be dream like (or nightmare-ish if you will) but it comes off pretentiously instead. Some good, quality violence could have at least made it a gore pic, but not even that happens; whether you see the violence as to artsy or the art as too violent, it just doesn't work.
Credit has to be given for the visuals, they are indeed imaginative and unique (the cocoon birth stuck with me for a bit). And while the actors failed to leave an impression, they were never a hindrance either.
Hardcore J-film fans should check it out, if just to see something different. Just don't expect to be entertained.
4/10