YAKUZA APOCALYPSE
BloodFellas
released 2 MAY 2015 | 18 | Blu- ray/ DVD
Director Takashi Miike Cast Yayan Ruhian, Mio Yûki, Rirî Furankî, Kanata Hongou
Because Takashi Miike’s oeuvre is so wildly varied, individual projects are hard to predict. Are we getting Audition, 13 Assassins, Fudoh or Zebraman? In the case of Yakuza Apocalypse, it’s all four. And then some.
It follows a low- level Yakuza, Kageyama, who’s promoted when his dying boss turns him into a vampire. The boss was kindly, insisting on targeting fellow gangsters and protecting civilians where possible. But when Kageyama starts breaking the rules, all hell breaks loose…
The first 20 minutes feel like Miike’s playing it relatively straight, with vampiric elements present but minimalised. Then a new character’s introduced, and all bets are off.
Featuring a lead antagonist who looks like Kermit crossed with Big Bird, a henchman Kappa goblin with a green beak and bad BO, and The Raid’s Yayan Ruhian as a geeky tourist with kung fu skills, it veers between po- faced seriousness and wide- eyed mania.
You’ll either adore or abhor the tonal inconsistencies, but if The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires is in your DVD collection, this might be your ultimate Miike movie.
Extras Trailer. Sam Ashurst
Miike introduced Apocalypse at Cannes in 2015. Dressed in geisha drag, he promised to retire from violent films.