Exte (5 Stars)

If you've seen Sion Sono's films, you'll know horror is rarely his main goal. Even when he's dealing with mass suicide, cults or psychological collapse, he's more interested in social satire, surrealism and existential questions than simple scares. That's what makes "Exte" such an oddity. It's the closest Sono has ever come to making a straight horror film.

The premise is gloriously bizarre. Hair removed from the body of a dead woman and used for hair extensions begins to grow and develop a murderous life of its own. It sounds ridiculous, and in less capable hands it would have been nothing more than an extended joke. Instead, Sono embraces the absurdity, mixing grisly body horror with moments of black comedy and genuine unease. The result is Japanese horror at its most eccentric, where beauty and revulsion become impossible to separate.

The film's outstanding star is Chiaki Kuriyama. She's best known for playing the deadly schoolgirl Gogo Yubari in "Kill Bill", but "Exte" is the film in which she delivers the finest performance of her career. As Yuko, a young hair stylist suddenly burdened with caring for her neglected niece while battling a supernatural nightmare, she's completely believable. She brings warmth, vulnerability and determination to a film that could easily have collapsed under its own outrageous concept. Even when giant masses of living hair are attacking people, she keeps the emotional core firmly grounded.

"Exte" may not have the spiritual depth of "Suicide Club", "Noriko's Dinner Table" or "Strange Circus", but that was never Sono's intention. He's having fun with horror conventions while still injecting enough eccentricity to remind you whose film you're watching. It's outrageous, inventive and frequently revolting, yet surprisingly heartfelt beneath the gore.

For fans of Japanese horror, "Exte" remains one of the strangest films of the 2000's and a reminder that even when Sion Sono sets out to make a conventional horror film, he can't resist making something wonderfully, gloriously weird.

Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Oops I did it again. I went to see "Kill Bill" for a second time in two days. When I bought my tickets it seemed necessary, because it was claimed it would never be released on disc. Quentin Tarantino has  changed his mind, fortunately. But it was still good to see the film again.

One recent change to the complete film that wasn't in the 2011 version shown at the Cannes Film Festival is a 12-minute after-credits scene, called "Kill Bill: The Lost Chapter". It's a fully animated sequence featuring Gogo's sister Yuki. It doesn't really belong to the film, especially not at the end. When I own the film on disc I'll probably watch it separately, not tagged on to the end.

One thing that amused me tonight was the man sitting in the seat next to me. I always respect people who go to the cinema alone, like me, not with their partners or friends. It shows that they take films seriously. This man was different. During the fight scene in the House of Blue Leaves he covered his eyes every time a head or an arm was chopped off. Someone should have warned him that it would be so violent.

Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Finally! I've waited 22 years to see this film. "Kill Bill" was originally released as two films in 2003 and 2004. Quentin Tarantino re-edited the two films into a single film in 2011, but it was only released in Japan. In December 2025 it was finally shown in America at a few select cinemas and minor re-editing. Conflicting statements were made, possibly deliberate misinformation to raise expectations among film fans. First Tarantino said the film would only be shown in cinemas and not be made available for home viewing on disc or streaming. That was depressing. Then it was said that it would be released on Blu-Ray, but not streaming. Ideal! For me, at least. Then I was surprised to see that it was dropped onto Amazon Prime today, without prior announcement.

My local cinema was only showing the film twice, today and tomorrow. I bought tickets for both days. Then, last Monday, they announced that it would be lengthened to four days, probably because both days were sold out.

The main changed are

1. Oren Ishii's origin story is lengthened.

2. The fight scene in the House of Blue Leaves is in colour throughout, not partially black and white.

One small change that I noticed immediately was that the Klingon proverb was missing from the opening scene. I've read theories why Tarantino edited it out, but I miss it.

The official name of the film is "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair". Giving it that name makes it sound like two films that have been stitched together. I prefer to call it "Kill Bill", which emphasises that it's a single film that was chopped in two.

Blade of the Immortal (4 Stars)

Takashi Miike’s Blade of the Immortal (2017) adapts Hiroaki Samura’s long running manga into a bleak, violent jidaigeki that uses genre spectacle to question the value of revenge, immortality and moral absolutism.

The film opens in late Edo period Japan. Manji is introduced as a feared samurai whose life has been defined by killing. In the past, he slaughtered a group of men he believed to be criminals, only to discover that they were honorable samurai defending their lord. When Manji realizes his mistake, he also understands that his actions have destroyed any claim he had to righteousness. His sister Machi, horrified by what he has become, has become nad with grief. Shortly afterward, she is murdered by bandits, leaving Manji broken and suicidal.

Manji attempts to end his life, but his death wish is interrupted by Yaobikuni, an ancient crone who possesses supernatural powers. She infects Manji with kessen-chu, blood worms that regenerate his body and make him effectively immortal. Any wound heals, even decapitation. Yaobikuni condemns Manji to live until he has atoned for his sins by killing one thousand evil men. Immortality, rather than a gift, becomes a punishment that forces him to endure endless pain and moral compromise.

50 years later, Manji is living as a wandering outcast, hated and feared. His path crosses with Rin Asano, a teenage girl whose parents were brutally murdered by the Itto-ryu, a radical sword school led by the charismatic and fanatical Anotsu Kagehisa. Anotsu seeks to overthrow the established dojo system, which he sees as corrupt, stagnant and tied to feudal hypocrisy. His methods are extreme; he annihilates rival schools, including Rin’s family dojo, in order to force a violent rebirth of the martial world.

Rin asks Manji to become her bodyguard and executioner, promising to end her own life once her revenge is complete. Manji accepts, because Rin looks identical to his sister Machi. He even calls her Machi at first. Together they hunt the members of the Itto-ryu. Their journey is episodic and brutal, with each confrontation revealing different shades of cruelty, idealism and despair. Manji’s immortality allows Miike to stage extreme violence; limbs are severed, bodies impaled and Manji himself is repeatedly torn apart, only to regenerate. The spectacle emphasizes suffering rather than power fantasy.

As the story progresses, the line between good and evil becomes increasingly blurred. Some Itto-ryu members are sadistic killers, others are tragic figures driven by loyalty or survival. Anotsu himself is not portrayed as a simple villain. He genuinely believes that only destruction can clear the way for progress, even if it means becoming a monster. Parallel to this conflict, government agents and rival factions attempt to manipulate both Anotsu and Manji for political ends, suggesting that institutional violence is as ruthless as personal vengeance.

Rin grows increasingly traumatized by the bloodshed carried out in her name. Manji, despite his vow, tries to protect her from becoming consumed by hatred. In the climactic battles, alliances collapse and nearly all major characters meet violent ends. Manji finally reaches the symbolic threshold of killing one thousand evil men, though the exact morality of that number is left deliberately ambiguous. Rin ultimately abandons her quest for revenge, choosing life over endless hatred. Manji, having guided her away from the path that destroyed him, is released from his immortality. He walks away alone, mortal once more, carrying the weight of his memories.

Miike uses Blade of the Immortal to dismantle romantic ideas of the samurai, revenge narratives and even immortality itself. Violence in the film is relentless and ugly; it is meant to exhaust the viewer rather than thrill them. By making Manji immortal, Miike removes the heroic stakes usually associated with sword fights. Pain has no release through death, and killing solves nothing permanently.

The central message is that revenge is a self-perpetuating cycle that consumes both victim and perpetrator. Rin’s journey demonstrates how easily moral certainty turns into dehumanization. Anotsu’s ideology, though grounded in real social decay, becomes monstrous once it justifies limitless slaughter. Miike refuses to offer a clean moral hierarchy; institutions, rebels and lone warriors all participate in the same machinery of violence.

Immortality functions as a metaphor for historical and personal guilt. Manji cannot escape his past through death; he must live with it, confront it and guide the next generation away from repeating it. Redemption, in Miike’s view, does not come from righteous killing but from breaking the cycle and choosing compassion over ideology.

In the end, Blade of the Immortal argues that progress and honour built on blood are hollow. True change is quiet, painful and often invisible. By letting Rin live and allowing Manji to become mortal again, Miike suggests that accepting fragility and moral uncertainty is the only way out of endless violence.

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Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Today I watched "Kill Bill" with my friend Alex and his girlfriend Anna. It's always a pleasure to watch films in a group of like-minded film fans.

There's nothing I want to add to my previous reviews, apart from a few words about the film's two four-year-old girls.

Nikki, the daughter of Vernita Green aka Copperhead, is played by Ambrosia Kelley, who was seven years old at the time. She appeared in a few television programmes after "Kill Bill", but her acting career fizzled out in 2012. I haven't been able to find out what she's doing now.

B.B., the Bride's daughter, is played by Perla Haney-Jardine. She was five years old at the time. She's had a more successful acting career, including films like "Spider-Man 3" and "Steve Jobs". I hope to see a lot more of her in the future.

As you can see, some child actors have success that continues into adulthood, others don't. An early start in acting isn't an automatic guarantee for a long career. There's no replacement for talent and hard work.

Success Rate:  + 3.6

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Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #15

Even though it was released in two parts, I consider "Kill Bill" to be one film. I've heard discussions whether "Kill Bill Volume One" is better than "Kill Bill Volume Two", but I refuse to compare them. It's just one film. It's perfect as it is.

The story's chronology jumps backwards and forwards, but it's never difficult to understand. The Bride's numbered Kill List tells us what order things are happening, even when a scene isn't explicitly marked as a flashback. I once asked myself the question whether the film would be better if everything were shown in chronological order, and I eventually came to the answer No. Things are ordered just as they should be to tell the best possible story. I'd prefer a single four and a half hour cut as a single film, omitting the recap at the beginning of the second part, where the Bride speaks directly to the camera. That's the only change I'd make. Quentin Tarantino promised a complete cut 15 years ago, and I'm still waiting. I'm sure the film studio has blocked it as financially unviable. I'm hoping that the 4K remastered release will have a single cut, when it's finally released.

I mean a single cut of the official films. I'm not talking about the Japanese version, which has several differences to the international version. It would be interesting to see the two versions side by side, but they'll never be released in a single box set, because a different studio holds the rights to the Japanese version.

Beatrix Kiddo, usually called the Bride, was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. It's never stated what their aims were. Mercenaries for hire? Probably. Their leader is a man known only as Bill. When she found out she was pregnant, she spontaneously decided to quit, even though Bill was her child's father. She didn't tell him she was leaving, she just went into hiding. She changed her name and fell in love with a record shop owner in El Paso, Texas. Bill located her and took revenge by executing her and everyone else invited to her wedding rehearsal.

From left to right.....

Elle Driver (code name California Mountain Snake).

 Vernita Green (code name Copperhead).

Budd, Bill's brother (code name Sidewinder).

O-Ren Ishii (code name Cottonmouth).

Sofie Fatale wasn't a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, but she was trained by Bill, and she was present at the El Paso massacre as a witness.

The Bride (code name Black Mamba) survived the massacre and lay in a coma for four years. When she woke up the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad had broken up, so she had to search for the former members. She set out to take revenge on the four assassins and Bill himself. She spared Sofie's life, merely cutting off her arms.

The Bride was also carrying out revenge for the death of her child, but she discovers that the baby was born while she was in a coma. The girl called B.B. is living with her father.

The Bride becomes the Mother. And they all lived happily ever after.

Success Rate:  + 3.6

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Azumi (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #89

For this place in my list I'm combining the films "Azumi" (2003) and "Azumi 2" (2005) into one film. I believe that it's justified. Despite being made two years apart, they tell a single story. At the beginning of the first film Azumi is sent on a mission to kill three warlords. She kills two of them, and she faces the third warlord in the second film. The second film shouldn't be called "Azumi 2", as if it were a sequel. More correctly, it should be called "Azumi Part 2".

The film is based on a Japanese comic book series that ran from 1994 to 2014 and begins with the events of the first issue. As a small child, Azumi's mother dies, leaving her homeless. Azumi is adopted by a man who's training warriors to bring peace to Japan. He wants to put an end to war, which he thinks he can do by assassinating warlords. Azumi is one of 10 children that he's adopted, all approximately the same age. Their training is complete after 10 years. In the comic their training is completed when they're 12 to 13 years old, but in the film they're closer to 15, based on the ages of the actors playing them. The ruthless master prunes the assassins by putting them in pairs and telling them to fight to the death. The five who remain are the worthy assassins.

Azumi and her four friends are sent out to kill the three warlords who are planning a new war. One by one the assassins are killed in battle, until Azumi stands alone against seemingly unsurmountable odds. In the final scene she has to face an army of 200 soldiers, but she doesn't hesitate, swinging her sword through them. Interestingly, she doesn't have any ability in hand to hand fighting. She's only able to battle with her sword.

This is an amazing film with non-stop battles. There's a lot of soul-searching, because Azumi is constantly plagued by doubts that her mission is futile. Can war ever be ended? As soon as one warlord is killed, another rises up and vows revenge. Added to that, the warlords may have noble intentions, intending to end war by putting themselves in control.

It's a shame that no more films were made in the series. It's time for a reboot.

Exte (5 Stars)

This is my 12th horror film in November 2019. It's a 2007 masterpiece by my favourite director, Sion Sono. This fits well, because I recently decided to rewatch all of his films, but still haven't started. Almost all of his films have horror aspects to them, but they're not pure horror films. There's more of a psychological thriller aspect to them. "Exte" is his only film that can be unreservedly classed as horror, an example of Japanese supernatural ghost stories. In fact, it slots so perfectly into the Japanese tradition of female ghosts with long hair that it can be accused of being a parody of the genre.

Gunji Yamazaki is a morgue worker with a dark secret. He's a tricophile. In case you don't know what that is, it's a person who's sexually aroused by hair. I suppose that's a less harmful fetish than a lot of the other -phile words, but it does have an effect on his job. He cuts the hair off dead women and takes it home with him.

One evening a dead body is found abandoned in a dockyard. She was kidnapped, and her internal organs were cut out to be sold. The strange thing about her is that her hair is still growing after her death. This excites Yamazaki so much that he steals her body and takes it home with him. The hair is growing so fast that he cuts it to sell it to local hairdressers as hair extensions.

This brings him into contact with Yuko Mizushima, an apprentice hairdresser in a salon called Gilles de Rais. I know that French sounds exotic to the Japanese, but did they really have to pick that name? Gilles de Rais was a notorious 15th Century serial killer who was accused of killing hundreds of children. I suspect this name was meant as a subtle joke by Sion Sono.

Yuko is played by the stunningly beautiful actress Chiaki Kuriyama. I used to have a poster of her on my wall when I lived in England. She doesn't have a typical beauty. It's more of a distant alluring look that makes me want to stare at her face in an attempt to figure her out.

Yuko has to adopt Mami, the daughter of her abusive sister. She's been psychologically damaged, and she's been convinced by her mother that she's a bad girl. Yuko has to help her regain her self confidence.

Mami is played by Miku Sato, aged eight when she made the film. She was a wonderful actress, considering her age. She appeared in several films until she was 12, but hasn't been heard of since. She's now 21, so it's not too late for her to return to acting.

You're probably wondering by now why "Exte" is a horror film. It's because the hair of the dead woman is possessed. Women who wear the hair extensions see visions of the woman being raped and tortured before she was dissected, and then the hair extensions kill them. Yamazaki finds this exciting, so he attempts to distribute the hair extensions as widely as possible.

I know that "Exte" is a horror film, but the lasting impression it leaves on me is Chiaki Kuriyama's beauty. Can you blame me? Yamazaki is fascinated by her as well. He says her hair is beautiful, and he has to touch it. At least I'm not that creepy.

I'll end this review with a small photo gallery of Chiaki Kuriyama. I hope you'll enjoy the photos of this beautiful young woman.

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Kill Bill (5 Stars)

This is doubtlessly one of the best films ever made. Whenever I watch it it stuns me. I just watched the two parts back to back in a four hour session, which is the best way to enjoy it. In Japan a slightly different cut was released as a single film. I don't know why this version still isn't available in the rest of the world.

I watched the first part in the cinema in October 2003. Like all fans, I couldn't wait to see the second part. The UK release date was 23rd April 2004. About a week before this date my friend Pete told me he had bought it on DVD for £2 (approximately $2.75) from a nearby video store which was well known for its under-the-counter offers. He invited us to his apartment to watch it.

We watched it with Pete and his friend Bob. It was nasty. It was a DVD that had been recorded in a cinema. The picture was dark, and the the voices of the people in the audience frequently drowned out the film. The volume was so low that it was difficult to hear even when the television set was cranked up to maximum. Added to this, Pete and Bob were talking all the way through the film. At the end I still didn't understand everything that had happened.

Never again!

Lucy Liu will cut off the head of anyone who watches pirate DVDs.

Chiaki Kuriyama agrees.

So does Julie Dreyfus.

This is probably Quentin Tarantino's best film, but it's difficult for me to decide. I always prefer whichever film of his I watched last.

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Azumi 2 (4½ Stars)

The story of Azumi continues directly from the first film, taking place a few days after the assassination of the warlord Ieyasu. The pace slows down as Azumi begins to have doubts about her path. She was trained all her life to kill individuals, the leaders, in order to prevent wars. Now she looks back on the hundreds of people she's killed and asks herself whether she herself has become a bringer of death. She has to face the army of the warlord Sanada. What's the difference between an army being slaughtered by another army and an army being slaughtered by her personally? She no longer has the moral comfort of one on one battles.

(This is manga, so read from right to left).

After the death of her master (at the end of the first film) she turns to the priest Tenkai for guidance. He impresses on her the importance of her mission, so she continues undaunted. For a while, at least. She meets the fighter Kozue, a member of the Uego clan which has sworn to protect Sanada. Azumi asks Kozue why she killed her friend Nagara, and the answer is simple: "It was my mission". A mission can save lives, but a mission can also cause death.

The two Azumi films form a whole. I strongly recommend that you watch them back to back for the fullest enjoyment.

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