ICHI THE KILLER

Okay, this is not a kung fu film. But it has some kung fu in it. Ichi the Killer will have you cringing with disgust thoughout the picture, but like a car wreck, you will not be able to look away. Alot of the kung fu involves our anti-hero "Ichi" who wears a Guyver-like rubber superhero outfit, with blades on the end of his shoes. He slices and dices victims like a human blender. The gore flies in such quantity, it rivals the Peter Jackson zombie opus "Dead-Alive".

The film is a celebration of sadism and masochism to the extreme. Yazuka enforcer "Kakihara" vows to find out who killed his boss and will torture anyone along the way to find out. This includes himself. If you can look past all the gut wrenching violence here, there is a story about pain and how much people can endure it. Kakihara enjoys inflicting pain on himself and others. Ichi is aroused and horrified by the pain he can cause to others as well. These two sick and twisted individuals face off at the film's climax.

The film is stylishly directed by Takashi Miike, and is generally well acted. The special effects range from brutally realistic to CGI stylized gore. Although every Yazuka gangster has a loaded gun here, no one dies from a single bullet. It would be too neat in this messy blood soaked nightmare. This film has garnered a large cult following and will stand along side "Story of Ricky" as one of Asian Cinema's most extreme films. Reccomended, if you have a strong stomach.