Suicide Club (2002)

A wave of unexplainable suicides sweeps across Tokyo after 54 smiling high school girls join hands and throw themselves from a subway platform into an oncoming train. Detective Kuroda (Audition's Ryo Ishibashi) and the rest of the police force are baffled as the bloodbath triggers a wave of suicides across the city. When a cryptic phone call tips off police to a strange website that appears to be tracking the suicides before they happen the question becomes are they really suicides at all? This outrageously bizarre wicked social critique in the form of a creepy and enigmatic detective mystery examines the despair of the disaffected Japanese youth and the influence of pop culture on their lives. From international film festival favorite to cult sensation Suicide Club is a study of contemporary morality that is gruesome darkly comic and vividly original.System Requirements: Running Time 94 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: NR UPC: 807839000580 Manufacturer No: TLA049 Product Description

One of the Best Japanese Films I have seen in a Long time!!!!

This film suprised me greatly being that it was one of the first Japanese films i have watched where the acting, the story and the entire presentation were up to par if not exceeding that of American film. I had seen a lot of other films from Japan and am pleased to say that if you love Japan, a good horror movie with plenty of both blood, guts, and a meaty story line that will have you thinking for years to come, this is a film for you!
One of the most iconic opening sequences i have ever seen in a film; 54 Japanese school girls jump in front of an oncomming train only to have blood, body parts, and just plain gross launched at Everything and Everyone in the station. After getting over the vast amount of shock one feels after seeing the opening scene, the story picks up and sucks you in, always making want more. The basic story synopsis is a slew of mysterious suisides rave Tokyo and the surrounding areas of Japan, and a lone group of detectives devote their lives and sanity to try and solve the case. Time and Time again, its seems the "club" is always one step ahead of the police, always leading to yet another horribly bloody and enjoyable (and even sometimes completly unexpected) suicide. While this film may not be for everyone, if you love everything Japan, J-horror, almost laughable and over the top blood effects, as well as one of the most contraversial plots to ever hit the big screen, you will most deffinately LOVE this picture. Please Enjoy. also, if you liked this one, i highly reccommend Noriko's Dinner Table, the second in Sion Sono's Suicide Club series.
July 14, 2008

A horror movie with meaning

*If your looking for a plot review, check out some of the other reviews*

Overall I though it was a pretty good movie, and one I plan on keeping. This movie takes one turn after another, that keeps you guessing until the end.

PROS: A refreshing idea, a thoughtful moral, constant twist that keep you guessing.

CONS: Some of the acting is bad, the dialogue is pretty basic, the blood scenes are either too much blood or complete fake looking.

WARNING: To all pet lovers, not to spoil the movie, but there is a short scene where a guy kills a dog & cat. You don't see the animals, but you can hear them. (I doubt the animals were really hurt, but it's enough to make you squirm)
May 24, 2008

Impressive but Gory Commentary on the Power of Pop Culture on the Public Psyche.

SUICIDE CLUB (aka. Suicide Circle, Jijatsu Saakuru) is a bleak and dark satire that effectively masquerades as a horror film. Directed by Sion Sono (Strange Circus), this film is a shocking commentary on the effect of pop culture on a country's young population (and in general). Sion Sono is at his top form here, it has been said that the director decided to make this film after the true-to-life suicide of a close friend. With its shocking and disturbing imagery, it somewhat threatens to obscure the effective message that concerns the media manipulation of the population's moral system. Having the similar themes of sadness, desperation and frustration similar to films like "Battle Royale" or others by Takashi Miike and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the film is one effective blend of gore, horror, dark comedy and a social commentary.

54 Japanese schoolgirls seemingly await to board a subway train. They hold hands and in unison, all 54 girls jump off the platform in front of an oncoming train with a smile on their faces. The resulting blood-splattering event may push even the most reasonable man to be driven insane (a horror fan will take notice). A bag is left on the scene, with a roll of patches of human skin, stitched together. Soon after, unexplained suicides are occurring all over Tokyo, more bags with stitched up human skin are found, and the authorities appear helpless to do a thing given the nature of the deaths, opening a murder case is a challenge by itself. Questions and more deaths arise, What is the purpose of the bag with stitched up skin? What does a supposedly innocent band and a website have to do with the suicides? The country is on the verge of social anarchy as the police turn to a cyber jockey called "The Bat" to shed some light on the mystery.

Those familiar with Japanese existential themes will no doubt be at home Sion Sono's impressive and disturbing "Lynchian-like" mind-bending satire. The director tackles the effect of popular culture head-on with a truly bleak vision as to how the media can affect how people dress, what to think and exactly what to watch on television. So why not have the media portray suicide as the "in" thing to do? So it is far-fetched, and quite an unlikely scenario; but one thing that cannot be denied is that "Suicide Club" certainly gets its point across. Sono seems to be saying that people has to learn to think for themselves, do what you believe is best and to not allow what TV and magazines decide what's "cool to do" and what's "hip" at the time. While the film has a very valid advice, it executes the message in a truly surrealistic manner, that it almost seems to unfold in a parallel reality where the bizarre and the macabre are not just a way to present the gory events but serves as a social commentary.

Numerous explanations for the suicides are suggested in the film; subliminal messages, a cross dressing Marilyn Manson wannabe, a curious website, they may all be the causes of the deaths but it never gives a clear explanation as to why. It borrows some elements we may have seen once before, but it still couldn't be denied that the film presents a very odd way of getting its message across. It is this lack of explanations that will definitely attract fans of Lynch-like films and the imagery will attract the fans of Takashi Miike's unorthodox style of execution. However, while this may be the film's greatest asset, it may also prove to be its greatest weakness. The lack of solid explanations will undoubtedly alienate and frustrate a lot of viewers looking for solid conclusions. No easy answers are presented, but keep in mind that the film also has a METAPHORICAL style, the effects of the media in America are quite powerful but not as intensely felt as in Japan.

With all this mayhem and disorder, a sympathetic and likeable detective named Kuroda is played by Ryo Ishibashi. Detective Kuroda is a very fortunate man with a beautiful wife and two wonderful children. However, the things that are unfolding may serve to destroy all he has in a very horrifying way. The film's cinematography definitely gives the proceedings a surrealistic and eerie approach that presents the gore in a partly distorted fashion. The overdose of blood and gore can be quite depressing to watch, after a few minutes, you may feel like you have to pause and watch something else. I experienced this same feeling when I watched Sion Sono's "Strange Circus" (the 2nd film I saw directed by Sono), I'm not exactly sure why I'm repulsed but at the same time drawn to this director's work.

While "Suicide Club" may not be a perfect film, horror fans will be drawn to its bleak and bloody premise. It is clever and insightful on what it is trying to tell the audience. The film is not for the squeamish, and a strong stomach is definitely required. The film is very graphic that makes it unsuitable for young teens which is such a shame, since the film does encourage young people to think for themselves, be independent rather than to just follow a crowd; youngsters are the most vulnerable to commercialism. But with the film's bloody and graphic sequences, it would be ill-advised for young teens to watch it.

"Suicide Club" is Sono's cry to move away from the brink of social collapse and a subtle commentary on the spiritual death of a society embodied by suicidal behavior. Quite ironic that youngsters are the ones to serve as martyrs as well as the adult's tormentors.

Recommended! Timidly, rent it first. [3 ½ Stars]


April 14, 2008

This is one of the most brilliantly awesome and twisted movies ever made

The movie begins rather inauspiciously. Japanese school girls jump in front of a train together. You don't know why. You don't know how. The social commentary is a slam on the Japanese tradition of conformity. In other words the answer to the question "If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you jump off a bridge?" is "If you're Japanese, of course."

However, the movie doesn't begin and end with suicide. After a harrowing scene in which a bunch of Japanese kids on a roof all laughingly talk about how they should form their own suicide club and then in a series of small dares actually kill themselves, the movie twists and turns. After 40 minutes there's a rape & murder scene but set to a glam rocker music sequence.

And then it gets weirder.

By the end of the movie, you really don't know what's going on. Japanese people are conformists. YOu got that. But what is it with these creepy kids and their phone calls? And why am I watching 10 year old girls singing happy songs over the credits? And how did that come to be the creepiest part of the movie?

This is one of those awesome Japanese movies that can never be made in America because it just flies in the face of the cult of Individualism we have here. But it's really disturbing and funny and just weird. So you have to see it. No you do. April 6, 2008

I dont get it

I don't really know how to explain with this movie. It was just plain weird. The beginning of the movie was great; The first scene was like "Holy sh**! Brutal stuff!" After that, the next 20 minutes or so it had an eerie feel to it. During the middle of the movie however, I began to fall asleep as it started to slow down. Everything after the first 30 minutes of this movie I was like "Huh? What? Ok...I think I get it now.." and as the movie ends, i'm back to "What? I dont get it". Yes, i know sort of confusing -- which is what this film was to me. Part of me(and I think most people here in America would agree) that a bunch of kids getting together to commit suicide for the hell of it is just plain stupid. I think the writers and directors tried to go beyond something so simple, but I dont think it went very well.

At best, you'll think this movie is "O.K.". The ratings for this movie stand true, it deserves no more than 3 1/2 stars. February 3, 2008

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