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Kichiku Dai Enkai: Banquet of the Beasts - 2 disc Special Edition Directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri Released by Artsmagic DVD Review By: Matthew Dean Hill Ya' know, I watch a lot of horror films...I watch more than a lot of horror films. It's safe to say that I watch more horror films than even die hard "film-buffs" watch non-horror films. So, in watching a lot (a fucking lot) of horror films, I come across, from time to time, a horror film that truly lives up to the moniker "horror". Obviously, "horror" is a term that is rather open to interpretation; what is "horrific" to one person might just be bland and flaccid to another viewer. However, upon watching "Kichiku Dai Enkai: The Banquet of the Beasts", I can say without reservation that here we have a film that is truly horrific...in no uncertain terms. In fact, after having watched it twice (once about two weeks ago, and again the night before writing this review), I just cannot shake the dirty, depressed, and horrified feeling that has washed over me as a result of watching "Kichiku". This review, you will shortly discover, is not going to really be about "liking" versus "not liking" this film...you'll just have to see it for yourself and come to your own decision about whether or not you "like" the film. No...this review is going to focus on how effective "Kichiku" is in relaying its story, in building tension, and in totally horrifying the viewer. Let me try to explain... The synopsis... During (what is implied as) the mid 1970's, Japan was experiencing a time of great political upheaval. The cities were dotted with tiny, fringe, extremist political groups, whose members consisted mainly of disenfranchised angry young people. Like many similar groups in the USA during the late sixties and early seventies, the organization, size, effectiveness, methodology, and even the mental stability of these groups varied immensely. Often, the groups were effectively "lonely hearts" clubs, and were merely an outlet for those individuals who had no other true form of kinship or social release. As such, many of these groups (in Japan as well as the USA) used their "group meetings" as an excuse to drink heavily, experiment with drugs, be sexually promiscuous and in general conduct themselves in wild and sexually unihibited ways. 'Kichiku" focuses on one such group, whose leader, an enigmatic fellow named Aizawa, has been locked up for some nameless offense. Clearly, Aizawa is the organizing force in the group, which has fallen deeper into a state of debauchery and disorganization since Aizawa's capture. Making matters worse is that Aizawa's quasi-girlfriend Masami has more or less "taken over". Even from the beginning we can tell that Masami is a less than stable individual. In fact, the first time we see Masami, another guy in the group (and Aizawa's main "rival" within the group) is giving her a bit of the old in-out, in-out. Fucking, we soon learn, is not only one of Masami's favorite pasttimes, but is also chief amongst the tools that she uses to manipulate the members of the group (who, other than Masami, are all guys). We follow the ins and (mostly) outs of the group for the first hour of the film, watching the tensions build, the paranoia and distrust increase, and the insanity spread. Things aren't helped at all when the group learns of Aizawa's death...he goes bonkers and commits hara-kiri with a homemade shiv in his jail cell, thus plummeting the already unstable organization of the group into total chaos. Soon, a shunned member of the group (Masami's "partner" from the opening sequence) returns and starts making wild boasts about not only having joined a rival political movement, but also about possibly ratting out his old "friends" to the police. The clearly power-mad (and just plain crazy) Masami gets all kinds of pissed off and orders her remaining "followers" to take the traitor into the mountains to be dispatched. Now, more than halfway through the film, things really start to get...umm...a bit messy. Tied to a tree, the traitor alternates between begging for his pitiful life and trying to convince the other members of the group that they shouldn't listen to a clearly wacko whore like Masami. The relatively subdued violence of the film's first hour suddenly gives way to a veritable bloodbath. Actually, there's nothing "veritable" about it...it's a messy, nasty, grim, and unrelenting display of sheer violence and insanity. The final movement of the film, wherein the remaining group members slaughter each other in increasingly vivid and disgusting ways, is without a doubt one of the most disturbing, sickeningly realistic, and downright depressing pieces of film this reviewer has ever witnessed. Take everything you know about the relatively conservative values of Japanese society and turn them completely inside out. It's been said that "Kichiku" is something of a "final word" on the disintegration of traditional Japanese values, as well as the total abandonment of a generation by its government. I gotta agree with that analysis. To add a closing "exclamation point" on that particular issue, "Kichiku" closes the only way it can...with a bastardization of what once was considered the ultimate act of loyalty through self-immolation, a Samurai-like suicide. Whew... That sure is a heady brew. You won't hear me say this very often, but "Kichiku" should not be watched by easily offended people. Normally, I wouldn't give a flying fuck what the wussies think, but in this case, there is precedent. In Japan, this film received the kind of backlash that "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" received here in the USA. In fact, they are quite similar films on a certain level. They both are presentations of what can only be summed up as "slow, horrible death and the descent into madness". Whereas "Chainsaw" is nowhere near as viscerally violent or gory as it's often accused of being, "Kichiku" is everything (and more) that "Chainsaw" is accused of being. Furthermore, it's probably even more shocking and depressing than both "Irreversible" and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer". This film stays with you, folks...and it ain't pleasant. "Kichiku" was made for about $30,000 by a film student as his senior thesis project. Holy shit! In the States, if someone submitted something half as disturbing as "Kichiku" to their professor as a senior project, people from the funny farm would be beating their door down by the next morning. Clearly, director Kumakiri knows what he's doing, and he knows how to stretch his budget for maximum effect. When it comes down to it, the vast majority of this film takes place in two or three locations, none of which could have been very expensive to secure (a feature that "Kichiku" shares in common with "Resevoir Dogs", along with the themes of alienation, paranoia, and distrust erupting into total unrestrained violence), thereby increasing its effectiveness by keeping it simple. I wish more filmmakers had this kind of savvy...I think Kumakiri is going to go on to bigger things as a director. However, nothing he could do would ever equal "Kichiku" either in terms of sheer power and social relevance, or for unadulterated violence. There isn't much more I can say about this film. It really does earn its place as "required viewing", and therefore I give it the "Atrocities Cinema Essential" Award. Like I said at the start of the review, I can't tell if I "liked" this movie or not. That ultimately doesn't matter. This is not a simple "entertainment" or "popcorn thriller", and to qualify it as such would be to diminish the effect it had on me, and still has on me. The excellent presentation we have here from Artsmagic DVD is certainly fitting, though somewhat surprising, given the nature of the film. The film itself is presented in its original 4:3 "full screen" aspect ratio, and the print, while being far from perfect, is true to its 16mm roots, with only as much graininess and dust as can be expected. The sound quality is good, though the 5.1 arrangement is proabably unnecessary, given that there are few dynamic sound effects to give your surround speakers any kind of workout. The second disc contains the special features, including a "making of" documentary, interviews with the principals and filmmakers, and a special introduction by Japanese Film expert Tom Mes. The cast interviews are especially entertaining and, well, relieving. I say they're "relieving" because after watching these folks very convincingly go apeshit and tear each other to shreds for nearly two hours, it's comforting to see that they are, in fact, relatively normal, good-natured people with the proper perspective and sense of humor necessary for participation in a project like "Kichiku". I'm giving the Artsmagic DVD 2-Disc Special Edition of "Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts" the highest possible recommendation. Keep in mind that many viewers might not "like" this movie, but no one will be able to deny, or indeed escape, its remarkable power and inensity, as well as its overwhelming presence of dread, torment, and social upheaval. The Atrocities Cinema Scoreboard Movie: DVD: Overall: c o n t a c t / i n f o