Lesson of the Evil (2012)

Its almost inevitable that the topic of violence is bound to make an appearance whenever Takashi Miike’s name is mentioned. Despite the fact that Miike has proven himself capable of many different things behind the camera, it seems as if Miike was destined to become known as a purveyor of extreme violence and gore. That’s not to say such a reputation is baseless. After all, when Ichi the Killer (2001) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, promotional barf bags were doled out amongst the crowd. So while Miike’s penchant for violence cannot be disputed, its interesting to compare Miike’s approach to violence with one of his biggest influences, Paul Verhoeven. Much like Miike, Verhoeven has long been critiqued for his heavy use of violence yet both filmmakers attitudes towards violence has never been singular. Verhoeven has presented violence in an unflinching, brutal manner ala Flesh + Blood (1985) and Hollow Man (2000) as Miike has in Audition (1999) and Imprint (2006), yet the unrelenting splatter seen in the likes of Verhoeven’s RoboCop (1987), Total Recall (1990) and Starship Troopers (1997) and Miike’s Full Metal Yakuza (1997) and Ichi the Killer easily cross over into over-the-top comic book absurdity, becoming hilarious in the process. Then there’s a film like Lesson of the Evil, Miike’s first full-on horror film since Imprint, which finds Miike combining both approaches, resulting in a sadistic, blackly comic masterpiece.  

Envied by his colleges and loved by his students, English teacher Seiji Hasumi is the most popular teacher at his high school, however one of Hasumi’s fellow teachers, Tsurii, isn’t as enamored with Hasumi as everyone else is, finding something suspicious about his demeanor. Tsurii’s suspicions aren’t without warrant, as Hasumi’s friendly and outgoing personality mask a murderous psychopath who’s true nature surfaces after Hasumi uncovers a bullying problem within the school and several trusting students confiding in him about another student being sexually abused by a gym teacher, forcing Hasumi to put an end to the school's troubles in his own unique manner.

Although much different in tone, its difficult to not compare Lesson of the Evil (Aku no Kyoten, 悪の教典) to Audition in the sense that, much like Miike’s breakout horror film, Lesson of the Evil finds Miike taking his time, slowly building up to an utterly jaw-dropping conclusion, dropping hints of what’s in store along the way. Essentially split up into three sections, the film begins with Miike establishing Hasumi’s reputation within the school, his rapport with the students and also spending some time with the students themselves, Miike’s reasoning coming into play later on. What’s especially interesting about the films first act is Miike’s early revealing of Hasumi’s true personality with his engaging in a sexual relationship with a student, setting in motion the direction the film will eventually take. Its during the mid-section of the film where things begin to grow darker in tone with Miike digging into Hasumi’s past and literally getting into his psyche, giving way to some memorable surrealistic sequences. Its during the final third where the film takes its most drastic turn, with Hasumi putting his warped plan of cleaning up the school into action, leading to one of the most barbaric bloodbaths ever committed to film. What’s more, Miike manages to sprinkle in bits of his thoroughly morbid sense of humor at certain points during Hasumi’s indiscriminate massacring of teenagers, namely Hasumi killing to the catchy tune of “Mack the Knife”, a decision that’s sure to take some of the most jaded horror viewers back a bit.

Although the film gives a fairly in-depth presentation of Hasumi’s past, the same year the film was released a TV mini-series prequel was produced, appropriately titled Lesson of the Evil: Prologue (2012). Leading man Hideaki Itô who played Hasumi in the film was also the star of the prequel, Miike however did not direct. It should also go without saying that in a filmography already filled with staggeringly audacious films, Lesson of the Evil is nonetheless one of Miike’s most brazen cinematic smacks in the face due to the film being made in an age where mass and school shootings are more or less a monthly occurrence so its really no surprise that a film featuring a teacher turning a shotgun on high school students wasn’t going to go down so well with certain people. Not to mention that the film also incorporates both homo and heterosexual relationships between teachers and students and Miike gleefully injecting his macabre comedic sensibilities into some of the more violent proceedings. Not that it mattered much to Miike. After all, he’s never exactly been one to cater to the hypersensitive needs of politically correct zealots. Given the cultural climate where said PC zealots run rampant in various forms of art, a film like Lesson of the Evil is gift and further proof that when it comes to cinematic transgressions, Miike is still one of the reigning kings.

Detective Story (2007)

With an exhaustive body of work covering every genre imaginable, Takashi Miike’s name is synonymous with many things to many people. When Miike’s films began gaining traction in the west in the late 90’s, Miike quickly became celebrated as a master of excess and with the likes of Audition (1999), Ichi the Killer (2001) and Visitor Q (2001), Miike’s reputation as a master of graphic horror with a penchant for shock was set in stone. Of course, Miike is far from a one-note filmmaker as his filmography clearly indicates and along with the excesses of Miike’s more well known works, another aspect of Miike’s unique vision that played a major hand in his gaining a following was the irreverent, oftentimes bizarre sense of humor inherent in his films, with the over the top nature of his films crossing over into comedic territory, be it the unique bodily functions on display in Fudoh: The Next Generation (1996) and Visitor Q, the later which is essentially a comedy at heart, the out of nowhere ending of Dead or Alive (1999), the innumerable surreal absurdities found in Gozu (2003) or the entirety of The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001), a zombie comedy musical! Made for the Japanese video market, Detective Story is yet another instance of Miike flexing his genre bending muscle, fusing elements of horror and mystery along with his typically bonkers style of humor.

While moving into his new apartment, businessman Raita Takashima meets his new neighbor who also happens to be named Raita, Riata Kazama, a private detective. When a potential client of Kazama winds up murdered, the evidence at the scene points to Kazama. Soon more victims turn up, each missing a different organ and Kazama becomes the prime suspect, despite his innocence. In a desperate bid to clear his name, Kazama enlists the help of the other Raita to find the real killer with various clues leading them to Yuki Aoyama, a eccentric painter who’s creative process involves the use of very peculiar materials.

Despite the DVD cover making the film come across as something akin to the Saw or Hostel franchises, fear not as Detective Story (Tantei monogatari, 探偵物語) is anything but. If the film could be compared to anything, it actually shares more in common with something along the lines of Sergio Martino’s loony giallo/poliziotteschi/comedy hybrid Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975), another film dealing with some rather dark subject matter but its oddball fusion of genres leads to some pretty strange changes in tone. With Detective Story, Miike takes a premise that in the wrong hands could have wound up being a pedestrian affair and injects it with a plethora of quirkiness, morphing it into an offbeat tale which ranges from disgusting to hilarious and oftentimes both at once. Its not that the central murder mystery isn’t enough to hold the entire film together as the mystery itself is wonderfully executed and the way Miike incorporates the painter into the proceedings makes it all the more interesting, not to mention grotesque, but the oddball touches Miike peppers the film with are what make the film stand out, such as the ridiculous wig Kazama wears as a disguise and the eccentric behavior of Kazama’s employee Mika who is responsible for one of the films more random, bodily fluid influenced gags. Miike even manages to include bits of sadness that he often incorporates into his horror films which incredibly doesn’t clash with the films other moods, even when the film is changing tones at breakneck speed.

One of the more curious aspects regarding the film is Miike’s smearing blood on the camera lens during certain scenes were the victims bodies are displayed, “blurring” some of the gore. This appears to be Miike having a bit of a laugh at Japanese censorship practices where normally genitalia is fogged while when it comes to violence and gore, most anything usually goes. Interestingly, there are moments in the film featuring un-obscured full-frontal nudity making the blurred gore seem all the more unnecessary which again, seems like a case of Miike taking the piss. Its also worth pointing out that actress Harumi Inoue has a role in the film. Inoue of course was the star of Takashi Ishii’s revenge masterpiece Freeze Me (2000) and was utilized by Ishii again in A Night In Nude: Salvation (2010) so appearances in films from the two most brilliant Takashi’s can be on her resume! Again, the film was originally made for Japan’s direct to video market (V-cinema), yet managed to get a limited theatrical release in Japan. Two years later the film made it to the States on DVD and surprisingly flew under the radar which is odd considering Miike’s cult following. Detective Story is certainly an oddity and although those not used to Miike’s idiosyncrasies will likely walk away from it perplexed, Miike fans who may have overlooked the film should find plenty to love.

Full Metal Yakuza (1997)

When Takashi Miike first began to blow the minds of western audiences at the dawn of the new millennium with Audition (1999) and several films that immediately became classics amongst cult and genre film fans like Dead or Alive (1999), Visitor Q (2001), Ichi the Killer (2001), The Happiness of the Katakuri's (2001) and Gozu (2003), the excitement of such an original and eccentric filmmaker probably led some to believe that Miike was a newcomer to the world cinema stage when in fact Miike was already an industry veteran by 1999. What's more, Audition was Miike's 31^st film, with Miike's prolific tendencies making themselves apparent early in his directorial career. Like so many directors who entered the field following the video revolution, Miike got his start in the direct-to-video market, or as its known in Japan, “V-Cinema” or “original video”. Not unlike the American DTV market, V-Cinema films were often genre based, as genre films were known to turn a quick profit and the films were shot quickly and for very low budgets. Another parallel with the DTV films from the US, although restrained by the budget, V-Cinema films often allowed directors free reign in terms of creative control which led to some pretty interesting films. One such film being Miike's Full Metal Yakuza, one of Miike's first forays into fantastic genre territory, a completely unhinged fusion of sci-fi, yakuza/crime thriller and comedy.

Hagane, a low level and cowardly yakuza worships Tosa, a veteran gangster about to serve a seven year prison sentence whom inspired Hagane to join the yakuza. Upon his release, Tosa is ambushed after being set-up by members of the crime syndicate he belongs to and in the ensuing shoot-out Hagane is fatally shot while trying to shield Tosa from the bullets. Left for dead, Hagane wakes soon after only to discover that he has been revived by Hiraga, a mad scientist who has rebuilt him by combining metal with the usable bits and pieces from Tosa's body, including his heart. Reluctant at first to live as a half-human cyborg, Hagane soon embraces his nearly invincible robotic powers and with Tosa's dragon tattoo grafted on his back, sets out on a campaign of revenge against those who betrayed him and Tosa.

As if the plot didn't make it obvious enough, clearly the biggest influence going into Full Metal Yakuza (Full Metal gokudô, 極道) is Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop (1987), with its mortal man shot dead then resurrected as a robot/human hybrid premise, however anyone thinking that Full Metal Yakuza is a shallow “homage” or “love letter” film would be sorely mistaken, as Miike takes the familiar set-up into some fairly uncharted, and at times sadistically violent territory. Obviously RoboCop also had a humorous streak, however unlike Verhoeven, Miike doesn't set out to make any sociopolitical statements with Full Metal Yakuza, the humor of the film is a of a purely absurdist nature, for instance Hagane's ridiculous dancing and prancing bullet deflecting technique or the running joke of one of Tosa's larger, lower body parts being grafted onto Hagane. Typical of Miike, the film has a tendency to shift from one mood to another, going from comedy to gangster thriller to hyperviolent splatter, yet it does all three so well. The humor works due to its sheer frivolity and Miike's acknowledgment of how asinine some of it is, the crime elements work due to the backstory of the betrayal of Tosa being rather intriguing and the violence and arterial spray is so over-the-top in spots it easily crosses over into farce territory. Miike even includes a potential love interest for Hagane which, all things considered, should drastically clash with the rest of the film yet incredibly Miike manages to make those moments seem genuine.

While discussing the origins of the film in an interview on the films North American DVD courtesy of Artsmagic, Mikke talks at great length about the freedom V-Cinema offered. For example, Miike hand picked the project himself after being asked what type of film he would be interested in making. Miike also emphasized the difficulties with shooting a direct-to-video feature due to the budget constraints and the fact that the film required a number fairly elaborate effects but assured that it never affected morale as everyone was enjoying their work. Miike also laments the fact that the days of making the types of direct-to-video films from the early to late 90's is more or less over due to the various changes in the Japanese film industry and how many aspiring directors learned the ropes in that environment, working their way up the ladder of various jobs on film sets. A pity, as it means there will be less visionaries trying their hands at outlandish material like Full Metal Yakuza. For Miike fans unfamiliar with his pre-Audition work, Full Metal Yakuza is a must-see film and makes for an even more interesting watch in the sense that it somewhat predicts later Miike films like Ichi the Killer with its comic book splatter and fairly similar (anti) hero as well as Yakuza Apocalypse (2015) which again saw Miike outrageously fusing the yakuza with the fantastique.