Living Hell/Iki-jigoku (2000)
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Yasu is a wheelchair bound youth who lives with his brother, Ken, and sister, Mami. Their dad is occasionally at home but works out of town. Seems that 2 relatives are gonna stay for a month or so but this not exactly a welcome thing for this family. Mami & Yasu are wary about their new guests: Yuki, a mute girl same age as Yasu along with an older lady named Chiyo. However the fun starts once Yasu is left along with the 2 ladies and they aren’t about to let that time be wasted. These 2 ladies put off an image of being senile & “not all there” but don’t let that fool you…they’re downright insane. With the rest of the family off to work or out for the day, Yasu becomes a constant victim of emotional and physical torture and regardless of what he does, he can’t escape Chiyo’s clutches. Ken & Mami don’t buy the stories Yasu tells of his experiences and Yasu realizes there is no hope. But he’s not alone in this world…a newspaper reporter is on the trail of these 2 ladies and he’s got some information he needs to share. But it might be too late.
Overall: Ok folks…you want "subversive" cinema? You want “cinema with an edge”? You want a very “dark or disturbing” film? You found it with this film. Although made 4 years ago, this is the first release in the U.S. and it’s everything it claims to be. And it’s a damn right scary movie too. And unlike other Asian films such as “Ichi the Killer,” the scariness is not in the blood and guts. This film does a lot of “indirect” scares. It’s not that gory in comparison to others but its trying to scare you and disturb you without stepping down to the level of being purely gross. This film is the vein of Tarantino’s scene in “Reservoir Dogs” where the cop loses an ear. It’s a really decent film that holds onto the twists & turns and trust me, when you find out what’s going on, it will make sense. If I had to point out a flaw, and I do, it’s that it’s hard to buy the idea that Yasu can’t fight back. He has plenty of opportunities to do and never does, constantly taking the torture and doing little about it. As the ending takes place, more stuff makes sense but as the film proceeds I can totally see the audience screaming… “Take the darts out of our chest and stab Chiyo with them.” Overall though, I still enjoyed this movie and do recommend it to others looking for a good score. Comparison: The Ring meets Misery |
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