Hanadama

I am as big a fan of bizarre Japanese horror as the next guy, but I did not know what to make of this one. First, imagine if the rape scene in I Spit on Your Grave lasted 75 minutes. The tormenting of these kids seemingly never ends. And yes, there is a rape scene in there (it IS Japanese, after all), two or three depending on your definition, as one of the many forms of abuse. No privates are blurred, pixelated, or cleverly obstructed. That was a surprise.

I've read this is supposed to be darkly humorous. The only "comic relief," as it were, comes in the form of Mizuki's parents, who have some sort of strange relationship and fetishes. Ok, this is supposed to be a revenge movie... Eventually... Mizuki, one of the bully-ees, sprouts a flower on top of her head, then blood starts to spill. How? You've got me. A couple scenes in this movie seemed very real to me, and are done in extreme close-up. One is the cigarette burn to the thigh, and two is the first cut in the blood oath. What, does this guy think he's making The Bunny Game? If you want to be baffled and shocked, I suppose this accomplishes that much.