A Rundown of the 13 (+1) Best Horror Movies I've Seen in the Past Year
[10 of 13]
AKU NO KYÔTEN
(LESSON OF THE EVIL)
(November 2012)
(November 2012)
“And the shark, it has teeth,
And it wears them in its face,
And a knife, has Mackie Messer,
Of the knife, one sees no trace”
Based on the
novel by Yûsuke Kishi, Takashi Miike’s Aku
No Kyôten reunites the director with his Sukiyaki Western Django star, Hideaki Itô, who here, essays the
role of the charming, psychopathic high school teacher, Seiji Hasumi.
Centered around
and grounded by Itô’s commendable performance, Miike effectively highlights the
terror of inexplicable violence and the horror of betrayal by a trusted figure
of authority.
His familiar flourishes
of violence offset by bizarre notes of odd humour will be found here, and props
should also go out to him as well, for excellent usage of “The Ballad of Mack
the Knife”/“Die Moritat von Mackie Messer.”
Given that we
are treated to a “To Be Continued” by film’s end, I can only hope that Miike
returns for the sequel.
As I’ve said
before concerning Miike, I may not like all of his films, but there’s always
something interesting going on in each of them, and in Aku No Kyôten, he brings his innate Miike-ness to the table,
ensuring that the narrative content (basically a psycho who gets his bugf*ck
crazy on with his students) is kept involving and occasionally, rather bizarro.
Which is what we
really need, if we’re to keep this story going in any possible sequel…
For those
unfamiliar with the more ultraviolent entries of Miike’s oeuvre, be advised
that Aku No Kyôten becomes a rather
difficult watch by the time we hit the third act, particularly in light of the
current climate of school violence in countries like the United States.
You have been
warned…
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