Crazy Lips

Rating:
Summary: Headache-inducing Deviation
Review: Bought this DVD since the description was interesting, as well as recently having watched Versus, Pyrokinesis, Uzumaki, etc. has carved a respect from me to watch Asian Horror movies post the popularity of Ringu. I thought this movie would have some substance and at least some art put into it, but none, nada, zilch kaput of anything near my expectations.

This movie has NO plot whatsoever, it does not even accomplish anything that is remotely "thrilling", and if you are into gore (I am not), this movie doesnt have any of that. If you are into necrophillia, perhaps. There is a scene here that was downright DUHHH, when the evilly hypnotized mother and her daughter hang a dectective while the detective is an arousal state. Then these two force the other daughter (our protagonist) into having sex with the now-dead detective. Now what was the point of this scene? Nothing.

And then in the end when the relationship between the protagonist and the long lost brother is revealed, I wonder if the writer was suppose to wow his audience by irrelevant revelation. At this point, I didnt care anymore. I wished all of them were dead so I can turn off the movie.

I think what made me held on to the movie to the very end was absolute denial that I was watching something as stupid as this movie, and then later on vaccillating if I hung on out of morbid curiosity that the story would get any stupider.

One last note, I thought the Asian (being an Asian myself) had gotten rid of the "girl singing in the middle of the movie" parts? Here is something you dont see in Western movies that the Asians seems to have a copyright on. Can you imagine Kate Beckinsdale singing right in the middle of Underworld with music in the background? This cheesy tidbit Asians throw in never assimilated with the West. Well, in this movie, you get a taste of it. Happy fast forwarding!


Rating:
Summary: Japanese Allegory
Review: Crazy Lips is certainly an entertaining film. Probably I would never have watched it except that Tomomi Kuribayashi is such a doll. I was actually hoping to see her totally naked, but no such luck. The film was, nevertheless, well worth watching. Although filled with disgusting and degrading sexual violence (is there any other kind of human violence?), there is of course a method to the madness. The film is an allegory about the violent rape of Japan by warmongering militarists and then by the corrosive "help" of Western influence under occupation by the United States. I found the implication of American complicity the most disturbing aspect of the film, both because the imputation carries some truth and because the portrayal implies such ineptness. One of the most telling scenes in the film is when a female psychic medium (who represents Japanese power mongers) scalps a woman "FBI" agent (who, before this bloody makeover, weirdly goes about singing the Star Spangled Banner and indiscriminately firing an M-16 while speaking what is supposed to be English--guess who she represents). The psychic, who with her male counterpart through malevolent manipulation has taken control of an ostensibly innocent family, then dons the agent's scalped hair like a wig, effectively assuming a virtually identical appearance. Take a clue from that transformation and see where the film goes for you. The movie is full of these garish allegorical nuances, and they are not hard to read. The final scene not-so-subtly suggests a nuclear explosion. In this bizarre milieu, all of the killing, blood, and sexual domination (subversion via forced seduction) underscores the film's apparent message that Japanese society has been an innocent and then a willing victim, its best possibilities having been subverted by a quest for power and an innate cultural incestuousness. My guess is the "power" of the psychics is supposed to represent an economic materialism that has successfully squelched the spiritual roots of the Japanese kokoro (the supposedly peculiar Japanese ethos). The family's loss of control via seduction and incest in the film reflects, I think, Japan's subversion by commercialism and a willful and naive insularity. Okay, so maybe it is just another sex and violence exploitation film . . .

Rating:
Summary: Deliciously demented...
Review: Holy smokes, this is a warped movie, certainly original as well. There are so many combinations of styles from horror to comedy to kung fu, even a musical number. It's almost a retro homage and works totally. Each character has a different flavor and you will never guess what they end up doing. The craziness never ends here. Another aspect that held my attention was the fact many parts caught me completely off guard. To name a few surprises- rape, incest, necrophilia, just watch and enjoy...

Rating:
Summary: Vile and Nasty
Review: When I say this is a vile and nasty film, I'm saying that as a recommendation. For what I perceive to be a very polite and mannered society, the Japanese certainly crank out some of the nastiest and ugliest horror films you (n)ever wanted to see, and this one is no exception. This one, however, has some comedy to it, and it's not exactly slapstick but a couple scenes come kind of close, in a twisted way. A family is plagued by reporters and police because supposedly the son is a serial killer, and one girl enlists the help of some psychics to help find the real killer, because she knows he's innocent. However, the psychics turn out to be psychos too, and subject the family to all sorts of indignities, which is putting things rather mildly. There are some goofy FBI agents (in Japan?) and some headless zombie girls wandering around, not to mention a bunch of way nastier things that go on. One girl even sings a song while she's being tailed by Lucy, the blond Japanese FBI agent....most weird. At any rate, if you love the new wave of weird Japanese films out there then this is truly worth checking out, it'll mess with your head.

Rating:
Summary: This Movie Has Warped My Fragile Little Mind
Review: With the decline of good American-made horror movies, I've been delving into the Japanese and Chinese films. Crazy Lips starts with a family in crisis. The older brother has been accused of murder and is on the run. The two sisters and mother are hounded and harassed by the press and the police. They have rocks constantly thrown through their windows. As a last resort the youngest sister goes to a psychic medium to help her locate her brother. This is where things get strange. When you see the scene with the corpse you know that horror movies have risen from the grave. How warped that scene is! How twisted, and yet refreshing to be freaked out by a horror movie again. The end is amazing. It's about 15-20 minutes of martial arts, with axes.

Rating:
Summary: Cult cinema at it's finest!
Review: Writing a review for 'Crazy Lips' is so hard, because the movie is practically indescribable. It's the kind of hyperactive weirdness that only the Japanese can make.

It starts off like a serious horror film...but grows progressively strange as it moves on. Lots of sex, gore, kung-fu and off-key musical numbers are thrown in. Normal characters turn completely insane and do wildly unpredictable things.

It's a fun, shocking ride...but definately not something everyone will enjoy. If you like exploitation or just plain offbeat movies, then you won't do better than this little gem.