Fiction begins to bleed into reality for actors (Ebizô Ichikawa, Ko Shibasaki, Hideaki Ito) as they rehearse a stage production of a classic Japanese ghost story. Release date: 23 August 2014 (Japan) Director: Takashi Miike Music by: Koji Endo As we mentioned last week, Miike is not only a prolific director, but one who has worked across a multitude of genres over the years. I’d personally argue that in terms of international appeal his horror movies as well among the best-known – maybe Yakuza and samurai films just don’t travel quite as well beyond Japan. Last time around we looked at the brilliant Audition, which was a rewatch, but Over Your Dead Body is entirely new on me. And while this wouldn’t necessarily by the most violent of Miike’s films, there’s a massive amount to like here regardless. Over Your Dead Body centres on the cast of a play, Yotsuya Kwaidan, a classic-style Japanese ghost story centring on a samurai character who disgraces his wife, a character who is ultimately destined to return as a vengeful spirit. The play within the film is gorgeously presented and is something you’d probably be more than willing to watch as a piece in its own right. However, the main conceit of the film is that, while the play is going on, the actors find themselves drawn into a real-life scenario that bears a starting similarity to the fictional content. The star of the play, Miyuki, manages to land her lover Kosuke a leading role despite him being a relatively unknown actor. But soon enough Kosuke and Miyuki find themselves the focus of attraction of their co-stars, and a dark story of twisted romance and betrayal begins to spin out into real life also. The plot isn’t that easy to summarise, because the movie deliberately blurs the lines between fantasy and fiction, and there’s every bit as much focus on the play as there is the real-life horror starting to play out. Both elements are equally fascinating, and of course the two threads come together very closely in a really unsettling finale. It has many of the tenets of a classic Japanese ghost story, but it does have that distinctly Miike styling, with some graphic scenes along the way and some non-traditional narrative elements. It’s one of those strange offerings that I have to say I didn’t fully grasp but still enjoyed mightily nonetheless – it feels like it might well be something to warrant a rewatch to try and fully understand all its layers. There are some very strong acting performances here, and visually the whole thing just feels dreamy, or maybe more nightmarish, with lots of darkness throughout punctuated with only limited amounts of light. The costumes are gorgeous too, and that all adds up to a really heady mix in the hands of a master director. There is a sort of stylistic similarity to Audition here, in that we begin very slow-burn before really going full-tilt as we head inexorably towards the finale. There are also some similar themes here, and the two do make a ‘piece’ quite nicely – although I certainly can’t claim to be the first to make that comparison. It’s a very fine addition to the Miike cannon, and it’s very much haunted me ever since I watch it – if you’ll excuse the pun. I’m sure those of you with a finer grasp of Japanese culture will get even more out of it than me as well. RATING: 9/10. This one is certainly more subtle than some of the director’s other work but loses nothing for it – Miike seems to be able to turn his hand to virtually anything and still achieve remarkable artistic and critical success. Part old-fashioned Japanese ghost story, part true-life interpersonal horror unfolding to a shocking climax, this is a fascinating blend of two vastly different things and a very worthy take on both. It’s also very intricate, and I suspect I’ll be coming back a second time to try and really pick up on all its nuances. Despite that, I was pretty blown away by the time this one came to a close. If you’d like to check it out, it’s up to watch for free on Amazon Prime, and I’d suggest going for a look! TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE YOU’RE NOT ALONE IN THE DARK: PART 2 BY EUGENE M. JOHNSON [FEATURE] the heart and soul of horror movie reviews |
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