Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya 1) (2001)

Posted : 1 month ago at Oct 20 14:02

This is one of the goriest films I can quickly recall. It's known worldwide for the gore and violence in it. But it also is one of the most hilarious comedies I've seen in quite a while. Ichi works on two levels: A sick, twisted movie with violence and nudity in it brought together by a relatively meaningless plot for some. This works for the casual viewer, and if that person isn't an old lady with a wig, s/he will propably enjoy it aswell. But then there's the other level: Ultra dark comedy. It is occasionally far too hard to see beyond the visual feasts we're presented with on-screen, but if you manage to do so, you can see that below the surface this movie has a hilarious overtone to it. One of the best examples would be Ichi's self-claimed master, an old man called Jijii. In the last t...Read more

Rating : 8/10

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago at Feb 6 23:59

To me, the core idea of this movie is the absurdity of violence. There's no point to any of it beyond people deceiving their selves or being deceived and manipulated by others. That's the only message I can get from this film; although, it's also good for a laugh if you've got a very black sense of humor.

Rating : 7/10

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago at Jul 29 15:51

I know nothing of the backstory to this film. I think there is an anime of it, I'm not sure if the film or the anime came first but... I don't think it makes much difference to my overall impressions. This film just seems to be senseless violence, or rather, just a gory bloodbath with not enough senseless violence to go with it. Couple of timess you just see an aftermath of a huge fight between Ichi and a hapless bunch of henchmen. In between these masacres is a vague story about a weak and feeble nerd who has been conditioned into the ultimate killer. The feeb is being hunted by a sadist mobster because said feeb killed his boss. Cue a vaguely humerous cat and mouse chase which culminates in a non-sensical final showdown and more and more blood. I think this is probably a movie to...Read more

Rating : 6/10