Haze (2005)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The first must-see film of the year.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A man wakes up in an endless black maze, with only a few inches of head room, forced to crawl around fruitlessly, all with no idea where he is or how he got there. The only respite from this is the torment he receives from various booby traps and his brief glimpses into chambers in which torture, dismemberment, and various unspeakable acts are committed upon other hapless victims by unseen agents. Yes folks, the word "grim" doesn't really even begin to describe this one.Tsukamoto brings us a punishing, claustrophobic nightmare on film that defies explanation, including the obvious one that the characters are dead and in hell. While the "person wakes up in room with no idea who he is or how he got there" device is well worn, it remains so effective simply because it can be a metaphor for almost anything. Rarely is it used as well as it is here, despite the absence of easy interpretations.I've never been great at speculating about the "true" meaning of a film like this, but I will say that it seems to involve the aftermath of an altercation of some kind in which the man and a woman in his life both receive stab wounds to the abdomen. We don't learn much more than that, but the last 5 to 10 minutes completely open the possibilities, and surprisingly, provide something resembling an upbeat conclusion. Well, sort of. Intriguingly, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" is not quite the sign posted here.Speaking of the afterlife, if that's what this is, this particular vision of damnation is astonishingly similar to the one that has haunted me as long as I can remember. Being forced to crawl around in a dark, extremely tight space for all eternity is apparently the very personal conception of hell that I in fact share with many others, or at least with Tsukamoto. If you're one of us, then consider this a warning or, if you like, an invitation to watch. Suffice it to say, this is not for all tastes or moods. But if you want something that makes Cube seem like a cheerful, feel-good film, this might just be the one for you.

The thing about Haze... First I have to say that the DVD costs about 20€, that's a bit expensive if you expect a full movie and in the end only get a short-film, BUT, the director once again creates a dark industrial set with a bit of organic flair. Just the way I like it! It's not as horrific as Tetsuo or Brutal as Tokyo Fist, it has more from his last movie Vital mixed with the craziness of his early films. In an interview he says himself that in his eyes the movie is between Tesuo and Tokyo Fist and I think thats not the worse description. All in all it's worth a look, but before you buy it for a high price better check out your next DVD-Rental-Store and have a look for yourself. About the German DVD release from rem (RapidEyeMovie) I can say that it has a beautiful but for the Label standard made Box with a Poster. The Extras on the DVD are okay, I think about 6 Trailers and an Making Of and an interview with the director ('bout 15 min). So Dude's check it out and have fun!

This movie, although only 40 minutes long, sends Saw and Cube back to kindergarten, making it look stupid, shallow and pointless. Once again Shinya Tsukamoto proves that he is one of the most challenging, thought-provoking and original directors of today, absolutely not afraid of pushing boundaries in terms of what might be shown on celluloid. And he knows pretty well what scares us, oh yes. It's like your worst, fever-induced nightmares come surprisingly alive, and I'm not talking about waking up in a completely darkened, concrete maze. It might be a parallel for war, genocide or just totally painful, desperate loneliness... or just a statement that, after all, we are nothing more than a piece of meat which happened to have a tiny spark of life inside... This movie raises so many questions... and even if most of them remain unanswered, it is worth to feel really uncomfortable for this 40 minutes. Some people will probably start having nightmares like this, but for me it was more like a relief that Tsukamoto and his protagonist lived it for me...

This Japanese low budget horror movie is a true piece of postmodern eclectic movie-making. Instead of using Japanese movies as a source of inspiration (Like: the Ring, Grudge, Kill Bill), this movie consists of American horror movies. The movie starts with a scene of a wounded man who found himself in a very small place (ref. Cube). Soon this man finds out he's trapped in a maze and 'may be' used as a victim in a game of rich freaks (ref. Saw, My little eye). After this short introduction, the pain begins. If you have ever seen American History X (and you probably have), then the scene with the black man biting in the pavement, while Edward Norton kicks him to death, will still be in your memories. You can expect something like this, only ten times worse. Eventually he meets a woman and with her, he tries to find his way out. It won't take much of your time, since the duration of this movie is only 50 minutes, so you should watch it. If it is only for the homage (did the director ever seen that movie?) to American History X. A nice short horror masterpiece.