Kishu Izuchi Movies
Combining yakuza, science fiction, and vampire elements may sound like an outlandish recipe for campy excess in the United States, but former pinku eiga director Takahisa Zeze plays things remarkably straight in this truly unique effort from Japan. In the near future, a group of desolate citizens spend their days and nights in Mallepa, a large refugee community located in the "Asian Special Economic Zone." Though brothers Sho and Shinji survive on the streets with a little resourcefulness and the help of friend Toshi, an encounter with wounded vampire Kei forever changes the course of their lives. Soon after taking Kei back to their hideout so that the desperate vampire may recover, an angry gangster shows up to reclaim a stolen briefcase full of cash. Although Kei is quick to make dinner out of the angry gangster, his efforts to keep his trio of friends from harm is too little too late when the determined gangster fires a fatal bullet into Shinji. When Sho and Toshi plan to rip off a rival gang a decade later, Kei follows and the team soon meets up with similar-minded Chinese troublemaker Son (Wang Lee Hom) and his sister Yi-Che (Zeny Kwok). Soon stalked by the revenge-thirsting rival gang, the trio lose track of their bloodsucking friend in the ensuing melee. It's not long before Sho and Son have a falling out and end up in rival gangs, but can the re-emergence of condemned vampire Kei be enough to bring the two old friends back on the same side of the fence again? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hideto Takarai, Gackt Camui, (more)
- 2000
In this startling psychological thriller from Japan, Mami (Hijiri Kojima) is a teacher who meets Tomo (Koji Chihara), a psychotic criminal with a short temper and no visible means of support. Amour fou blooms between them, and a year later they're living together, with Mami taking part as Tomo abducts, tortures, and kills one of their neighbors. Eventually the cycle of crime goes too far for Mami and she leaves Tomo, but several years later, he arrives at her home to disrupt her life with her new husband. Hysteric was directed by Takahisa Zeze, who previously received critical acclaim for the film Kokkuri. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hijiri Kojima, Koji Chihara, (more)
Co-scripting with Kishu Izuchi, director Takahisa Zeze based this film on a 1970s Japanese teen cult which led schools to prevent students from holding supernatural rituals. This teen interest in spiritualism still surfaces decades later on some radio programs. As dramatized by Takahisa Zeze, three schoolgirls, Mio (Ayumi Yamatsu), Hiroko (Hiroko Shimada), and Masami (Moe Ishikawa) listen to a teen DJ on the nightly "Bluebird" radio show which conjures up the spirit Kokkuri in seances. When Kokkuri foresees death for one of the three by the age of 17, it creates tensions among the impressionable trio, pitting the girls against each other and setting in motion a series of alarming events. Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ayumi Yamatsu, Hiroko Shimada, (more)
