This wildly energetic and outrageously violent comedy about turning a yakuza mob war into a movie spectacle will certainly not be for all tastes. The plot is pure fantasy: a mad collision of gang war, teen runaway tale, revenge movie, star-crossed romance, wrong man nightmare, and movie club dream come true. The characters, who have a cartoonish quality, include the dubiously-talented but enthusiastic film club members who are devoted to making "the movie of a lifetime”; mob boss Muto (Jun Kunimura), who is determined to make his daughter, Michiko (Fumi Nikaido), a movie star; and rival gangster Jun (Shinichi Tsutsumi), who is infatuated with Michiko—a spoiled, reckless girl who takes pity on an innocent guy her father wants to make into an example. All are driven by obsession and emotion, which is why the gang leaders agree to dress their yakuza soldiers as samurais and fight it out with swords while a young director films it all with multiple cameras—giggling with delight as they cut one another to pieces. Writer-director Sion Sono stirs in some hearty dark humor as the blood spurts in geysers and the limbs fly (at one point a Bruce Lee knock-off in a Game of Death yellow tracksuit is seen swinging a sword and windmilling his nunchucks). A pure midnight movie celebrating and satirizing the love of film, this over-the-top effort will likely appeal to fans of Quentin Tarantino and Japanese genre movies. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)
Why Don't You Play in Hell?
Cinedigm, 129 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: $29.95, Jan. 27 Volume 30, Issue 2
Why Don't You Play in Hell?
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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