Seriously Japan, what the hell? It never ceases to amaze me what sort of films come out of the Island of Japan. Typically we usually get the fanfare of scary movies that deal with creepy pale women or children with hair covering their faces, though sometimes we do get a film that this both frightening not only because of the imagery, but because of the message it is trying to say. Japan has always had this way with controversy and the film Suicide Club seems to court that controversy with a badge of honor. Suicide Club takes a sledgehammer to your chest and gets you to pay attention, either with morbid curiosity or an analyzing eye of subtext, to a film that is screaming to be talked about.
This dark horror film begins with the grisly spectacle of 54 Japanese schoolgirls jumping in unison into the path of an oncoming train. This is only the first in a wave of mass suicides that sweeps across Japan, baffling the police and panicking the populace. The two police officers assigned to the case have to piece together such mystifying clues as a website seems to be predicting each wave of deaths, a coughing child who periodically calls them with enigmatic tips, and a coiled rope stitched out of human flesh. All of it may or may not have to do with a prepubescent all-girl pop group whose latest hit single seems to have hypnotized the nation. ~ Tom Vick, Rovi
Suicide is a bold film that aims to bring to light a lot of social commentary about the youth of Japan and this “honorable” history of suicide that is rooted in the culture and upbringing of Japan. A times, it’s message gets lost in all the viscera that splatters across the screen in the most cartoonish way possible. The film sets to make a statement right out the gate, but it is up to you to decide what it all means. The mass suicide of 54 people in a metro station is the catalyst for a rash of suicides that take place in the film, but the way it is conducted makes it seem so common place and unsettling. All the death and violence seems so out of place in the movie (and there is a lot of it) that you almost question if there is something to it all.
I can’t pretend to understand the message of film or why this visceral use of entrails and fountains of blood has to do with the overall tone of the film. Watching the each scene that follows the initial suicide just spirals out of control and there is no clear answer given in the film as to why it is happen or what might be the cause. There is a bit of truth in the films proceedings as Japan was hit with a wave of young people entering into suicide pacts where youth got together online and found people to engage in group suicide. It was baffling to people and even today why the youth were reaching out to one another for death assistance. One commentary, that I have been wrestling with, is that the suicide pacts and the acts depicted in the film are a commentary about the alienation of the youth culture. In the film, the youth are lashing out from a society that champions unity and group think, but those that try and go against the grain find themselves alienated from society. Even when like minded people are together, the feeling of despair and alienation is too strong that it pushes them take control of their lives. Thus leads into the act of suicide which is documented well in their culture and seen as honorable. It is a way for them to take control of something in their lives, but they need a society of like minded people to help them along.
It’s a lot to think about in a movie that flaunts the violence and subtext of the film to an almost hubris like quality. It throws so much visceral imagery at you that you become desensitized in a way and the story and message is lost. I think I have a love hate relationship with the film, where the message is powerful, but the revelry in violence and suicide leaves a bitter taste to the film. When I think about it more though, the violence and images on the screen are enough to get me to reflect on what they wanted to talk about, but never fully finished.
It’s a rough movie to watch to say the least. If you are fan of horror, you will just sit in utter amazement at the violence on screen. For the lay person, you won’t get much out of it, but if you can sit through the images you can get a scathing look at a harrowing culture of disenfranchised youth and alienation.