Yakuza Apocalypse, 2015.
Directed by Takashi Miike.
Starring Hayato Ichihara, Yayan Ruhian, Denden, Riko Narumi, Shô Aoyagi, Reiko Takashima and Lily Frankie.
SYNOPSIS:
When Kageyama is bitten by his dying vampire boss, he must get used to his new powers before seeking revenge.
Controversial film-maker Takashi Miike has divided audiences over the course of his 25 year career. To western audiences he’ll be most known for cult films like Ichi The Killer and Audition (and more recently, 13 Assassins). His films have often been accused of being exploitative, grotesque and trashy, but at the same time, fans relish the strange beauty in his best works. He’s been nothing if not prolific in his output and his latest film to drum up some interest from the Western world is Yakuza Apocalypse.
Under normal circumstances, such a title might leave one assuming this is some cheap as chips, horrendously bad shlocker that is normally released by companies like Asylum. You know, things like Sharknado without the irony. However it’s not, it’s the latest film from the weirdly intriguing mind of Miike. A Yakuza boss, who also happens to be a vampire (unbeknown to his crew) is killed by rivals muscling in on his turf. He passes on his vampirism to Kageyama, one of his crew. Kageyama, initially unable to control his urges then starts off a vampire plague where every victim doesn’t just become a vampire, but a yakuza vampire. If I had to try and intricately explain the plot here I honestly couldn’t and it would take all day.
Needless to say the film is utterly bonkers. It’s not as extreme as some of Miike’s previous works (though it’s still incredibly violent) but it’s perhaps one of his most gleefully insane. Things just happen with little explanation. Quite why a villain appears at the end dressed in a frog outfit is anyones guess, or why one villain seems to have mutated into a mixture of a tortoise and a duck (they should have had Man-bear-pig in this).
It really shouldn’t work. It’s silly without being overtly comic. With some of the bizarreness this could be some kind of Will Ferrell experiment. It’s just incredibly daft but there’s such sincerity to the performances that it kind of works. The film is wildly inconsistent but there’s enough nuggets of head scratching gold to keep you amused as well as some brutal and expertly executed fight scenes. This is a hard film to explain. It’s just one you have to see for yourself. You’ll either go with it and have fun, or want to switch off half way through. I don’t think there’s a middle ground here.
The film looks fantastic. It’s beautifully shot by Miike, as per normal and the cast are also invested in the film and very engaging. The steadicam work during the fight sequences is particularly good as in the modern era of martial arts cinema, the camera is as important a part of the choreography as the actual fighters themselves. Furthermore the editor (Kenji Yamishata) cuts the fights with precise rhythm. It’s not balletic or beautiful but these are short, swift and brutal.
In the end, this is a flawed, ever so slightly messy film, but it’s certainly engrossing, particularly as any moment your interest begins to irreversibly wane, something downright bonkers happens to grab you by the short and curlies and pull you back onto the ride.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
Originally published January 5, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
