Shûdan satsujin kurabu (2003)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Hitoshi Ishikawa

Writer:

Haruyo Moriyoshi (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror

Cast

Kenichi Endo		(as Ken'ichi Endô)
Riko Kurita
Makiko Moro
Megumi Okada
Manami Saiki
Misato Tachibana

Also Known As:

Shûdan satsujin kurabu 1 (Japan) (series title)
The Big Slaughter Club (International: English title)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

KSS

Movie Connections:

Followed by Shûdan satsujin kurabu: Returns (2003)

Why Japan Rules

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Shudan Satsujin Club starts with scenes of high school girls acting raucously in public, or getting into trouble shoplifting, or selling their used underwear to perverts, or even selling themselves to middle-aged salarymen for a quickie in the Love Hotel. We are then introduced to (a case in point) the young high school girl Hiroe, as she sits sullenly in an overly decorated room within a Love Hotel with the rather strange and insecure middle-aged man Takezo. Takezo's inferiority and dysfunction virtually oozes from him, and Hiroe, sensing this, dislikes the situation even more.

After failed attempts at small talk (and some really bad dancing) Takezo asks if he can take pictures of her in cute (dressed) poses. She agrees and he so over-excitedly digs through his bag to find his polaroid camera that Hiroe has to do a double-take. A few snapshots later, Hiroe is bored again and suggests that she take pictures of Takezo instead. This eventually involves Takezo wearing thick lipstick, rouge and eyeshadow while sobbing tears of joy over Hiroe's comment that he looks "cute" all prettied up. (?) The sobbing Takezo turns violent, however, when Hiroe stumbles upon a small tattered scroll in Takezo's gym bag. In the ensuing struggle, Takezo is thrown against a coat hook and impailed through the back of his skull. Hiroe looks on in horror as Takezo stares at her with glazed eyes, hanging from the coat hook. Hiroe quickly calls her friends and explains everything that has happened. They seem hardly phased by the dilemma and quickly meet up with her in the love hotel room, where they conjure up plans to dispose of Takezo's body. After great effort and execution, including the insertion of a tampon into Takezo's gaping neck hole, they drive the body to a remote forest for burial. Throughout the entire process, these 5 high school girls remain deftly calm and calculated. Cold, calculated devils in knee socks and school uniform skirts.

Back in the city, Hiroe sees her photo posted throughout the neighborhood on little advertisements for guys looking for a good time (ie, a "real high school prostitute"). Even more shocking is the fact that the photo is one which Takezo took, photos she ripped up and discarded. As she is ripping the flyers off the wall of a phone booth, the phone rings. She hestitantly answers it and hears Takezo calmy declare, "Hiroe, I am still here." Sensing she is being followed by an ominous force, she flees. While trying to call her friend on a cell phone, Takezo's picture displays on the phone and she can hear his voice scorning her.

Its here where the girls bring out the sharp, powered garden tools and attempt to ensure that Takezo is down for good. Despite their best efforts, however, Takezo returns again and again in an ultimate game of cat and mouse. And here, the mice get pulverized by the cat.

I've watched quite a few Japanese films and TV dramas, but I must confess that I have not seen anything from Japan that quite resembles Shudan Satsujin Club. This is part shlocky slasher and part bizarre comedy. In some respects Shudan Satsujin Club strongly alludes to the comedic horror style of Evil Dead.

Shudan Satsujin Club was if anything entertaining. In many instances, the entertainment derives either from the totally unbelievable, over-the-top nature of the story itself, or from the intentionally comedic camera styles. One the surface, this film is rather light fare and clearly hopes to come across as a comedy (horror). This was definitely fun to watch, and is worth the viewing simply to experience the cinematic experimentations, some of which are quite effective