A gory and disturbing semi-aquatic outing from the London Film Festival...

"Gore fans won't be disappointed by bodies diced up into tiny little cubes “no larger than chicken nuggets”, human foie gras and one victim's neck becoming part of a tug-of-war game"

Japanese gore director, Sion Sono (Suicide Club) serves up plenty of blood and guts to satisfy fans in Cold Fish, the ominously “true” story of tropical fish owner, Mr Shamoto's downfall.

An exceedingly long opening title sequence introduces us to the frosty Shamoto family as step-mum Taeko aggressively prepares dinner to the strains of battle music. With clearly no control over their daughter, Mishuko abandons dinner mid-way, and the Shamotos are later contacted when she's caught shoplifting. Meeting the extremely animated Mr Msurata, the owner of Amazon Gold Tropical Fish Centre, changes their lives...

Taking in Mishuko as an employee who shares a dorm room with an army of other young troubled female workers, Msurata soon suggests Shamoto becomes a business partner in a dubious venture.

A nervous and jittery man obsessed by the planetarium, Shamoto is wary, but concedes when his wife encourages the union. In very little time Shamoto has become an unwilling apprentice and accomplice, and the police approach him, interested in the growing number of missing-persons reports linked to Msurata.

Much of the humour in Cold Fish comes courtesy of deranged serial killer Msurata, who lives a flashy lifestyle and plays Hawaiian music to keep the fish happy and double sales. In the beginning his split-personality wife, Aiko, says her husband is “pushy” and “aggressive” and suggestively laughs when he's called a “nice man”. After his initial friendly observation “fate brought us fish-traders together”, his preoccupation with making people “invisible” is revealed and he's soon threatening Shamoto: “If you defy me - that's what you get.”

Having killed 58 people undetected, Msurata claiming “I am seasoned and skilled - stick with me and nothing can go wrong,” seems almost reasonable. Except Shamoto is forced into a series of brutal ritualistic killings following step-by-step instructions. Gore fans won't be disappointed by bodies diced up into tiny little cubes “no larger than chicken nuggets”, human foie gras and one victim's neck becoming part of a tug-of-war game. All the while our “villain” insanely giggles throughout.

Sono clearly explains Msurata's insanity by stories of his father going crazy and locking himself in a shack with an abused Msurata. Msurata's strange and sometimes comical reactions to events are another means of expressing his warped perception of the world. Msurata jovially sings as he showers a blood-drenched bathroom down and later says goodbye to the body parts of his victims: “until we meet again”. His wife is just as unhinged, calmly reading a magazine as he brags: “I know when a man dies, because I arrange that too”.

It's mildly entertaining o watch Shamoto being shown how to punch hatred into his fist, and trained how to convincingly lie to his victim's family. The biggest laughs come from the downright surreal and unexpected - Msurata energetically manhandling breasts like stress balls; the killing shack being covered in fairy lights, statues of Mary and crosses; the execution of a bizarre scene involving forced make-rape; girl-on-girl snogging action involving finger puppets and bold lines like: “We Japanese men do nothing that makes us feel guilty.”

Broken up into dates and times to show how quickly the action moves and their lives change, Cold Fish is full of hyperactive people, weird drumming beats and a musical score reminiscent of Tales Of The Unexpected that somehow aims to transform something ridiculous into a serious psychological thriller. Shamoto's final mantra of “Life is pain. Living your life hurts” can accurately be applied to watching Cold Fish – a film that pointlessly drags on for so long that it's difficult not to actively will an ending.

Director: Sion Sono
Writer: Sion Sono, Yoshiki Takahashi
Country: Japan
Running Time: 144 mins
Starring: Denden, Megumi Kagurazaka, Tetsu Watanabe, Asuka Kurosawa, Taro Suwa

We currently have no release-date information for 'Cold Fish'.

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