Ichi The Killer Reviews

hard to follow

this film is foreign and although it has subtitles they only cover about 20% of the film! therefore i found it impossible to follow!!! unless you speak the languge i wouldnt bother even trying to watch it.

This is the censored version too!!!!!

This is a very violent Japanese gangland film (read other reviews here for plot etc), but if you think this one is very gory, remember this is the heavily censored version. And it is still very very gory. The Dutch and the Australian versions are uncensored and make this look like Playschool. I have seen both, and if you like hardcore violence, try to get a copy or rent one of those versions, then compare to see how tame this one was. Good luck for those with strong stomachs.

Pointless

This film is devoid of ANY plot or direction, the gore being the focus of this piece.

From the moment a shot (no pun intended) of semen hitting a concrete floor and forming the title of the film in extruded Japanese glyphs - I knew I was on to a loser.

Really - this film has no attraction whatsoever - not even the sexy Paulyn Sun (playing Gangsters moll Karen) was enough to redeem this waste of time.

Avoid...

[Highly rated reviewer]

Please Read Carefully...

This film is based on a Manga comic book which is so nastily violent this seems tame in comparison. You have got to realise though that a lot of the violence is not intended to be taken seriously and if some of the special effects at times look dodgy, they are supposed to. There is even an element of slapstick to a couple of scenes. But please don't rent this if you are even mildly shockable - this is not for you! This film is for people with an open mind and not just an all out gore fest. There is a very good story in here but it sometimes becomes difficult to follow because the director Takashi Miike has had to fit so much in. I truly love this film which some people might find strange but i defy you to find a cooler bad guy then Kakihara. I own the Dutch version so know this one will be tamer but the film is not as bad as the trailer suggests - scared the life out of me - search the net and you will find it. Please don't watch the dubbed version. Subtitles are always the best! For those of you that feel ready - enjoy.

Violent but meaningful

I think a lot of people who previously reviewed this film didn't understand exactly why the violence is so important - it's about the director provoking a reaction in the audience. I wouldn't recommend this film to everybody - from torture and rape scenes to blood-spurting throats and characters getting sliced in half, this really is very graphic. I doubt many people will want to see a sliced-off face slide down a wall or a man cut off his own tongue, so if you are one of those people, avoid this film. However, the film covers some important themes, from the reality of violence to the nature of manipulation. It's not as if the film is just gratuitous - although at times it may seem like it - because the consequences of such acts are shown.

An interesting film to rent, but I don't think I'd buy it.

Shocking, gory fun

Based on the apanese Manga of the same name, Ichi The Killer focuses mainly on Akihara, a sadistic masochist who, with the help of his gang, search for their missing Yakuza boss Anjo, and the 100 million Yen that disapeared with him.

Kakihara's methods of gaining information from people are a 'little' EXTREME, as shown throughout the film. For example in one disturbing scene he has someone hung from hooks by the skin of their back, before pouring burning fat over them.

Ichi is perhaps the most intriguing character in the film, in that we don't get to learn a lot about him for most of it. We know he is a killer, and a gory one at that, but we don't know why. The story does drag it out in the end, but it seems to take a bit too long to reach that point.

The film remains engaging throughout, although you may find your interest start to wane near the end. Overall however, Ichi The Killer is a great film with an interesting plot and some insane special effects. I'll be sure never to punch someone in the face again...

Oh dear! Loads of gore and loads of action, thats what we were hoping for though wasn't it? In that respect we weren't let down! However the dubbing is absolutely abysmal and the action is pretty much amateurish to say the best. The gore is fine if u really believe that the innards of 10 cows equates to the innards of 1 human being lying across a room. This film is so over the top in its gore that it becomes totally unbelievable and laughable. There is one scene where a 2 inch blade protuding from a shoe manage to cut a person in half. Its totally farcical. I know there are fans of this genre and I do apologise to them, but this is really the best comedy I have seen in ages! By all means watch it, but be prepared for a laugh rather than a shock!

No point

When we found out that film was censored we decided not to watch it, I personnally think if the film is rated 18 and you are way over this age we should decide by ourselves whether or not we want to watch it. All we need is a warning on how gory it would be.

Ichi The Killer is Extreme Cinema at its best. For sure, the movie is not for everybody - it features scenes of brutal torture, rape, BDSM and much blood. This is no popcorn movie (indeed, no food is recommended as you may struggle to keep it down!) and there are no signposts to guide you through. Utmost concentration is required and you will need to have your brain in top gear if you are to keep track of the plot. Ichi is a complicated movie and takes time to get going. If you are prepared to give your time and efforts however, you will be richly awarded. It is difficult to describe the storyline without spoiling the plot, but the movie is basically a story of a man who was bullied as a child (and also witnessed a brutal rape) and sets out to rid the world of all bullies. His chosen method is to slice the bad guys open using a lethal blade concealed in his shoe. The effects are very comic-book in style (indeed, there is an anime version of the movie also available) but at the same time very real and disturbing. I would not recommend this film to anybody who has never seen any Extreme Asian cinema before or to anybody who is not familiar with the narrative tools of foreign and/or extreme cinema. If you like your violence Hollywood style, stay away from this movie. The same applies if you are not prepared to work hard to appreciate Ichi The Killer. It is worth the brain power and is a film that you will keep coming back to - not least to try and work out what on earth was going on! You have been warned :)

For all you Weirdo’s

I like manga, but this is sick stuff for the sake of it, The people who like this film are sick in the head (I hate sweeping statements, but this disserves it) or are the type of people who eat extremely hot curries when they had a few drinks suffer extreme discomfort and sweats but swear they enjoy it, its not cool its pathetic, I am open minded but this is silly sick, films can be sick but have a meaning and a good story (see 6mm or 8?). So if you get off on extreme violence, rape and sadomasochist then you may like this, but please don’t try and justify why you like this with long tales about acting (sure he very convincingly rapes a woman),the story (this is a weak story and plot some manga plots are amazing but this is not one), and I have in even heard someone say its was beautifully shot!!! How you can shoot a beautiful rape scene is beyond me. So this film is for those sad weirdoes who like extreme violence , rape etc, I just wish people didn’t think this was cool.