Imprint

I spend way too many hours reading reviews on movies (and shows) on this site. Yet, I am addicted to it and thus continue on. Normally, I feel that good, bad or indifferent, any review is a good review as long as the reviewer actually watched the film. This short film was pretty good in my opinion, and enough has been written about it where I don't feel I can contribute any more on that level. however, I am disappointed that more of us are not outraged that Showtime commissioned Miike to make a show, then ban it. Showtime is a paid premium network (read ADULT) I could understand if it were broadcast television, which has strict guidelines because children shouldn't see graphic stuff like this. But as an adult in an adult situation, I am absolutely anti censorship and think it is total BS that Showtime could lame out... Nobody should watch any of the Masters of Horror series at all if you can't handle disturbing imagery!!! For the sake of movie fans that are responsible adults, let us make our own decisions regarding censorship, I am absolutely certain that plenty of people out there who are unfamiliar with Miike films shut off this story before the half way point, nice, neat and tidy self censoring. Thank you for not bowing to the interests of lame corporate sponsors.

The story itself is about an American returning to an island in Japan to rescue his true love from a life of prostitution only to find out she's dead. He listens to the story from another prostitute to find out what happened.

I myself can't go into too much detail because the story is all over the place. I think it would have been better if for one thing if with the exception of the prostitute telling the story to Billy Drago it should have been in Japanese with subtitles. You can tell the rest of the cast didn't have a good grasp of English. Billy Drago is a much better actor than he is here because he really over acts. And there are too many images that are a little too disturbing for me, oddly it is not the famous torture scene. But I can see it as true horror is not monsters in the dark, but what people really do to each other. One more thing, the reveal at the end was really cheesy! So to some it up I gave it a 6 because there is a good story here somewhere. And I have to give a shout out to the actress who was being tortured because she really sold me on that! On the DVD extras she said she really enjoyed filming that and the only injury that she got was a headache from being hung upside down. So that took some of the edge off of this to remind this is a movie. The Godzilla movies aside, this is my first taste of J-horror and I think I'll be back for more.

IMPRINT is Takashi Miike's entry into the cable TV series MASTERS OF HORROR, and the one entry to be banned from transmission (in the US that is). Its certainly an impressive entry. The story follows an American man as he travels to Japan to find the prostitute who he fell in love with and whom he made a promise to, to take back to America and marry. He meets another prostitute who recounts the story of the women he is looking for and what happened to her fate. Told in flashback the story takes a rashomon-like approach as the womens story becomes steadily unreliable, until she reveals the true side to her tale. Cue scenes of torture, abortion and also hints of incest and child abuse and general weirdness, that those familiar to Miike will expect. Its a generally well made, and beautifully filmed tale, though at times it felt like a sumnation of the best bits of Miikes work, mainly the excessive extreme films, such as ICHI, DEAD OR ALIVE and AUDITION. Though Miike is always an interesting director to watch and his entry into this otherwise excellent series, stands out as one of the best. In some ways you can see why it was banned from television!

In Director Takashi Miike's IMPRINT, Christopher (Billy Drago) returns to a remote island brothel in search of a woman whom he believes is the love of his life. Instead of his dream girl, he meets a seemingly shy prostitute with an incredibly disturbing story to tell.

Simply put, this is a movie about agony. The agony of loss, torture, and death. There is no hope in this film, so, if you're looking for something uplifting with a happy ending, you're doomed.

Miike has created a gruesome, demented abomination that shows us things we were probably not meant to see. He's so damned good at this sort of material that we watch it in spite of ourselves.

Highly recommended, but certainly NOT for the queasy or easily offended. This one leaves a mark...

I'm surprised at how bizarre this is. However, this is a Takashi Mike film, and this is the 4th movie I have seen from this man, the three others being Visitor Q, Ichi the Killer, and Audition. I am completely lost to what happened in the ending, however, the movie sure is well made. The torture scenes are extremely unique, there's nearly no gore, but the movie still manages to make it work. The acting is pretty good, what kinda made this movie go lower, was the hand thing, that puppet or effect looked weird, and out of place. We had this serious plot, and then the hand comes out and it completely pulls you and drags you out of the movie. I can't tell if was Komomo killed by the American or by the other Asian chick. Does the Asian chick even exist in the first place? The movie sure brings tantrums and makes you feel upset, confused, weirded out, and kinda shocked at angles. I also have to applaud them for not making this a short flick, and not dragging it out.

Has nothing to do with the movie: But I was engaged in this movie, and then I had to pause for reasons... I think that kinda broke the movie for me.

If you are a fan of Japanese Shock Horror stuff like Naked Blood, Mai-chan's Daily Life, Guinea Pig films... You'll enjoy this. Personally, it was kinda likable and confusing, but it was a fun watch.