Lumberjack the Monster

I saw this movie with no idea of the plot. I just read some people online telling that it was a good movie by well loved director Takashi MIke. I like many movies that he did. And I had expectation. And well the movie is not a horror, it is not scary. Does it have blood? Yes. Crazy people? Yes. Is it funny and entertaining? Well not that much. Here is where the issue is for me. When the movie finish I thought "is this all?" that Meh feeling. No real drama or tension or big surprise. Everything move in a smooth way, And as somebody else already wrote, yes very good opening scene, and then you think, ok ok something good will come.

I have no idea of the book or comic this is based on. So maybe the story was all already there with not so much room to change things.

This is a very cool and unusual thriller out of the Japanese film market. From the very beginning it will have you engaged in its creepy feel and disturbing imagery. The movie has many elements involving modern scientific and biological experimentation and their dangers- a modern day Frankenstein's tale, if you will. The acting and cinematography are very engaging. The characters are strong. The story is good, but there are elements that are a little hard to follow. The pacing and action are good. I really like the films of Japan. They have their own sensibility and sense of originality. Worth seeing.

It's not a mystery if everyone can see it coming

It's not a thriller if there's nothing to be excited about

Blander than eating paper-the movie features subpar acting, student-grade editing, and a horrible library of soundtracks (ie: there's basically none).

The movie banks it all on a detailed mask for the villain, and a flimsy dive into "modern" scientific concerns-but other than that it is empty.

Psychopathy in this movie is so horribly represented, stereotyped into emotionless "shocking" actions which the characters perform mechanically.

Agreed with a previous reviewer that it may be better watching paint dry than this movie.

Skip it and save your time.

And it is meandering. It starts about one thing. Then it's another thing. And another thing. And another thing. And another thing. And before it winds back to being how all this things are connected, it just becomes exhausting and a big so-what.

It's not Seven. It's not Silence of the Lambs. It's not Zodiac. And it's not good.

If it was just about the Lumberjack figure and the lore, it probably would have been much better. But, instead, it has to be twenty-five different genres with a hundred unlikable characters and seventy-three thousand plot threads.

By the end, I just didn't care anymore.

Lumberjack the Monster: The prolific Takashi Miike who brought us Audition, 13 Assassins and Blade of the Immortal directs this serial killer film which definitely enters horror territory. At least 3 serial killers figure here, the Lumberjack tracks down nasty people and smashes their heads in with his ax. He has already dispatched a Ponzi scheme organizer and a violent criminal but his third victim, Akira (Kazuya Kamenashi) turns out to be a bit tougher and fights him off. We've already seen Akira murder a man who was attempting to blackmail him and we've met his doctor friend Sugitani (Shota Sometani) who carries out lethal experiments on living patients. Akira must now track down and kill the Lumberjack if he is to survive. There's also a profiler Ranko (Nanao) who takes an interest in Akira and a driven detective (Kiyohiko Shibukawa) who is obsessive in his pursuit of murderers, none of these are stock characters, they are fully fleshed out. Some really disturbing scenes of heads being crushed, jugular veins slashed and scenes of existential horror. I won't describe the latter as it would give too much away, similarly I can't name the actor who portrays Lumberjack. There is also a conspiracy stretching back 30 years and a few interesting plot twists. Good performances from the main cast. Directed by Takashi Miike, Screenplay by Hiroyoshi Koiwa, based on the 2019 Mayusuke Kurai novel of the same name. On Netflix. 8/10.