Rating of
2.5/4
"Yakuza Apocalypse" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 10/10/17
Upon his murder, the trusted lieutenant of a well-liked local crime boss discovers that he was a vampire and sets about avenging his death with the powers he bestowed upon him from beyond the grave.
The Japanese master of the macabre turns his hand to schlock-horror in this Manga-esque genre hybrid that follows in the tradition of his earlier western/crime mash-up Sukiyaki Western Django. Yakuza Apocalypse is easily one of the most off the charts, batshit-crazy films I have ever seen! The film begins as you would expect, with the usual high octane bloody action common to most of Miike's films and there are some laugh out loud moments as the cocky mobsters are out-gangstered by the motley collection of ordinary people who are transformed into Yakuza vampires. As the film goes on and it gets more and more bizarre, leading to a beaked goblin gatecrashing a retired Yakuza knitting circle, a mob captain trying to grow civilians in a greenhouse using the milk that erupts geyser-like from her own ears and a showdown between an assassin dressed as a giant frog and a fairground lorry fitted with twin mini guns. This all becomes rather counterproductive, as I spent the finale in a state of slack-jawed bemusement rather than feeling genuinely entertained.
I'm sure there are cultural references that went straight over my head but as a whole, Yakuza Apocalypse is rather too out-there bonkers for its own good.
