(2002)

review by:

1-20-04

Written and Directed by: Shion Sono Starring: Ryo Ishibashi, Masatoshi Nagase, Yoko Kamon

After 54 girls jump in front of a train, teenagers start killing themselves left and right. If the rash of suicides wasn't weird enough, a mysterious girl called The Bat leads police to a website which seems to tally up the suicides...before they happen. Oh my holy crap. This movie is one of the most pants-wettingly disturbing films I've ever seen. The reason it's so freaky is because it could really happen; there's no monster, there is no curse or superhuman slasher, just a contagious desire to commit suicide. From the first scene to the last, the viewer is caught in the same state of mind as gawking at a bloody car crash. Sweet Beejeezus is this movie strange, and oh so great. The opening scene shows 54 happy schoolgirls counting off with a smile as they jump in front of a train. Later on, a mother is chopping onions in front of her daughter, but doesn't bother to move her hand out of the way. Suicide Club has some deeply disturbing scenes and images, most of which are performed with a smile. On one level it's a disgusting, depressing movie, but on another it's both cautionary and somewhat elegant. So, what do you do to stop a rash of suicides? Hell, I don't know. But Detective Kuroda and Shibusawa have the happy task of getting to the bottom of everything. They do, however, have the help of The Bat. She leads them to a website which displays dots for every suicide, before they occur. Their best clue, however, is a roll of 200 sections of skin, a disgusting "Flesh by the Foot" delivered to them in a bloody handbag. As the mystery unfolds things get more and more suspenseful, like when they know when and where 50 people will die, but don't know how. The writing and direction of Suicide Club are great. The acting is also terrific. The real star, though, is the atmosphere. That same sense of foreboding and forbidden curiosity Miike gave us in Audition (also starring Ryo Ishibashi) is present here, but a little more apparent. So, you liked the scary writhing sack from said movie? Well, Suicide Club has six of them. There are other similarities, but chock that up to the Japanese knowing how to scare excretory substances out of Americans. If you want to be truly disturbed, rent Suicide Club. The people seem real, so the death, for once, seems real. We knew we'd found a unique film when our group sat in silence once the credits had finished rolling (except for GameSlave, who I suspect is a robot). However, if you're extremely impressionable, or a die-hard fan of Spice Girls-like pop "bands," maybe you'll want to stay away from this one...

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