Hakkyousuru kuchibiru

When Michio Kurahashi is suspected of being a serial killer and goes on the run, his pretty sister Satomi hires a psychic in a desperate bid to prove his innocence. And precisely what happens after that is anyone's guess...

I usually jot down notes whilst watching a film to help make life easier for me when it comes to writing a comment, but about half an hour into Crazy Lips I put down my pen and paper, for accurately summarising the plot to this insane movie was clearly going to be impossible and all the scribbling in the world wouldn't help me to express my feelings about it.

So I'm going to wing it, sans notation; bear with me...

In a world where most mainstream cinema has become dull and predictable, I can always find time for the completely demented and bizarre, and Crazy Lips is just that—a depraved, off-the-wall piece of Japanese cinema that defies simple categorisation. Supernatural horror, mystery, music, soft porn, and martial arts are combined by director Hirohisa Sasakito to produce a messed up piece of work reminiscent of movie maverick Takashi Miike's offbeat output, only one lacking that director's unique narrative skills, sense of style and intelligence.

But although Sasaki might not be a real threat to Miike when it comes to confrontational cinema (Takashi still holds the title 'King of Japanese Weirdness' for producing monumentally effed up movies like Visitor Q and Fudoh), Crazy Lips is still the only film I have ever seen to feature the wandering spirits of decapitated girls, a pair of FBI agents who keep an eye on proceedings through the screen of a television set, a scalping during intercourse, and a woman being forcefully double teamed by an evil psychic's assistant and a hanging corpse with a hard-on.

All of which must surely count for something.

Crazy Lips is every sick and twisted thing you could possibly fit in a two hour movie, jumping from genre to genre without missing a beat, and it's all the better for it's apparent senselessness. It's billed as being "from the makers of Ringu, Juon and Audition", but don't expect a haunting ghost story. This film defies classification, and must be seen to be believed. My only warning is that this movie is very graphic and perverse. I recently held a screening of this film for some friends, and though many walked out before the end, those who stayed laughed hard and long. If sick and twisted are adjectives that have been used to describe you, be sure not to miss Crazy Lips.

I would have to say the most bizarre movie I've seen to date is Shinya Tsukamoto's "Tetsuo" (1988), but "Crazy Lips" comes in a close second. Writer Hiroshi Takahashi, director Hirohisa Sasaki, and producer Takashige Ichise all have a hand in piling genre upon genre in the making of this uncategorizable film. There's something for everybody here, and no hint as to what direction the movie is headed from one scene to the next, so just sit back and enjoy the ride. The only American-made films I've seen that come even remotely close to this amalgamation of forms are "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" (1984) and "Six-string Samurai" (1998). If you like either of those, or even if you don't, then this movie is worth catching. Rating: 6/10.

I'm still trying to figure this movie out, was this supposed to be a horror movie? turns out to be more of a comedy. When I saw this movie in the store and read the box it said "Made by the team that brought you Ringu, Ju-on, and Audition." now those are three great powerhouse movies and I thought that this movie would be the same, Boy was I wrong! This movie is more cheesy than hunk of Limburger and smells about the same.It kind of reminds me of all the videos you find on the internet these days, the ones where a bunch of college aged kids are trying to make a horror movie but all they end up with is a low budget soft porn with blood. This movie also reminds me of movies they showed on MST3K, on the plus side for this movie is the good looking actresses and nudity and the fact that it wasn't boring, maybe because your mind is asking you "are we really watching this?"

It seems that every bozo who's written a comment for this movie has eventually come to a point and admitted that they gave up with trying to follow the plot. But not me! I stuck it out, and I'll now tell you exactly what transpired in Crazy Lips.

Nah, I'm messing with you. I gave up as well. I did. Here's a quick glimpse into what Crazy Lips has to offer. The flick starts off with a family being bombarded by news reporters who want answers about their possible murdering brother. They hire some crazy psychic broad who can remote-sense through telephone lines, then there's her boob squeezin' obsessed side-kick. Then you find out one of the sisters has some type of super mind control power that she uses to kill people with, then the psychic chick orders 'ceremonies' on the entire family that basically just rapes them.....I can go on and on with the whackiness on display here. And it only gets weirder. You want incest and necrophilia? Okay! By the end it turned into a action flick with fights all over the place, and there was even some type of monster 'thing' supposedly on the loose. And there was even a song in the middle of the movie.

Okay, Crazy Lips is nuts. It's that simple. But it's also entertaining. And if you dig any type of weirdness with elements of exploitation, then this should be right up your weird ass alley.