I always approach Takashi Miike with apprehension. he can be extreme, like Ichi the Killer, and he can also put together a good musical comedy like The Happiness of the Katakuris. I was looking forward to The Bird People of China this weekend, but it will have to wait a few days.
What we have here is a return to his roots with blood and gore and maggots, but we also have a good detective story, and a healthy mix of comedy.
Raita Kazama (Kazuya Nakayama - Yakuza Demon) is a detective, and Raita Takashima (Kuroudo Maki - The Goofball, Buddies) is an IT professional. Never have two men been so different, but they live next door to each other, have the same first names, and are joined together in solving some particularly gory murders.
A victim that visited Kazama was found dead the next day with her liver missing. Soon after, another victim was found missing a kidney. Kazuma's pen was at the scene of the second murder. Another quickly follows with lungs missing, and his lighter at the scene.
Kazuma consults a serial killer he captured 15 years ago when he was a cop, just like The Silence of the Lambs. He then tricks Takashima into helping him.
The ending is surreal and gets pretty gory with fingers getting chopped off and a brutal stabbing.
Kazuya Nakayama was fantastic in a goofy sort of character. The humor made this less horror and more detective. Kuroudo Maki was also good in the limited time he had on screen.
