Jigoku no keibîn

Kiyoshi Kurosawa was blacklisted for four years by the Japanese film industry powers that be after turning in a film that was intended to be a nudie sex romp, but conveniently left out the nudie sex. The producers were not pleased.

THE GUARD FROM THE UNDERGROUND was his first venture on return from his exile. I've read that "GUARD" is Kurosawa's homage to early 80s American slasher films. I think this does the director, who also wrote the film, a disservice. I think saying "GUARD" is merely an homage neglects a great deal of Kurosawa's unique style and talent that is evident throughout the film. He manages to take a fairly straightforward story; a killer on the loose in a building filled with trapped employees, and makes it stylistically interesting. There is humor, some social commentary, and more then one intriguing death scene.

I know I'm reading more into the film then is probably there, but "GUARD" seems to touch on the styles of many films and genres. With the protagonist being trapped in an unfamiliar environment with a menacing hulking man stalking the halls, I was reminded of the old Universal horror films, most notably, FRANKENSTEIN. I think pushed a little further, and if shot in black and white, "GUARD" would have made a unique homage to that film period. Also, I thought of Dario Argento when the slow moving killer would make his appearances. Like Argento, Kurosawa is slow to reveal the face of the killer, even though his identity had been established early on. There are also many close ups of hands and shoes as the stalking menace makes his way to each victim. Unlike Argento, however, there is relatively little graphic violence and most of the killings involve the thuggish creature clubbing his victims to death. An exception to this is a unique scene involving a locker. I thought it was inventive so I won't reveal the exact nature of how the locker is used so as to not spoil it.

I think fans of Kurosawa will appreciate GUARD and enjoy seeing some of his earlier more mainstream work. The film shows indications of a style he would expand upon in his later projects. Non-Kurosawa fans might find GUARD a little slow paced and might enjoy some of his later work, like PULSE, as a good starting point, or the exceedingly brilliant CURE.

Kurosawa is one of those rare directors who always seems to present something interesting in his films no matter what the genre or subject. THE GUARD FROM THE UNDERGROUND, while not one of his best, is certainly another example of what a talented director can achieve with a fairly simple storyline.

The female main character, Akiko, works in a corporation for a Department 12 that apparently doesn't officially exists. She's a newcomer to the company, an art historian it seems. The story takes place in the building where Akiko is working. The building, even though there are people working there just like in any other company, has a very empty and desolate feel to it, which really sets the mood.

She is stalked by an huge-murderer-sumo-wrestler-declared-insane, working as the new security guard in the same building on the same day as Akiko.

The whole Department 12 thing is a funny affair. The newly formed Department itself is not really recognized as an official department of the company. The people that work there don't really seem to...belong the company. Neither do the head security guard and the new recruit.

Nothing really exciting happens until halfway into the movie. Until then it's mostly chilling suspense. The last 25 minutes or so really remind me of the ending in Night of the Demon (1980), albeit more stretched out of course. There's a scene with a locker that was so brutal and original I had to watch it twice. And I don't do that often. That scene was easily THE best scene in the movie.

A real Japanese B-movie. I loved the cheap, low-budget feel and atmosphere. The camera angles were just how I like them. The suspense was great. Soundtrack is just right. It's a cheap flick, but I happen to like a good ol' cheap flick as much as (and sometimes more than) high-budget films.

As a (huge) bonus, the girl playing Akiko was very cute. 9*

One of the contemporary masters of Japanese film, Kiyoshi Kurosawa here fashions a dark tale that is both a sharp satire of corporate life and a B-movie thriller. A former sumo wrestler (and here, the Western viewer is surprised to discover that not all sumo wrestlers are huge ponderous guys) now working as a security guard goes on a murderous rampage in the company that's employed him.

How did he snag the job with a prior charge of murder? How is it that the only way a surviving employee can get help is by telexing New York City?

As well, the juxtaposition of world-renowned art in commerce (i.e., how much can I buy and sell this Cezanne for?) with the obviously crude and horrible activity the guard engages in that dominates the story, give this film a unique feel.

Though not as well crafted as the astoundingly brilliant "Kyua (Cure)", this is nevertheless an interesting film.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who gave us Doppelganger, Pulse, and Cure, shows that he is a master of suspense and horror.

Some describe this as an homage to 80's slasher films, but I felt a more honest description might go further back to film noir. There was a slow pace and a steady creepy musical score throughout until towards the end when the bodies start really piling up.

To describe it as slasher is a slight misnomer as he usually uses a pipe.

It is almost a Godzilla-like thriller as the killer is huge. He is a sumo wrestler, but not in the usual way you think of them. He is extremely tall instead of being round.

The creative use of a locker may cause panic to all the geeks who got locked in one in high school.

And, you may not want to work overtime after seeing this.