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Originally Posted by fresnelly
I'm not judging here but what exactly draws you guys to the "sick and fucked up" genre? How do you stomach it? What do you get out of it?
I couldn't even stomach a WRITTEN plot summary for the Audition. I'll take your word that his style is unique and that he's a master at what he does (this intriques me), but I just don't think I could get past the violence.
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There are several factors at play here that have to be considered when understanding just what we (generally) get from and enjoy about Miike's movies, as well as the others of that particular "sick and fucked up" genre, if you wish to call it that.
Firstly, when one recognizes that a film is just that, and nothing more, it becomes very easy to stomach much of the imagery. If it gets too bad, we can easily wake up for a moment to tell ourselves it is just a movie. Me, I've never really had to do this except for when watching
Session 9, which is neither a Miike film nor of the same variety, but the rule remains the same.
Secondly, when it comes to Miike's gruesome fare (
Gozu,
Audition,
Visitor Q), it is much like a roller coaster (an oft-used example, I realize) in the same way an action film is. It gets our hearts pumping, maybe gets us scared if we're lucky, and may even make us cringe. This is all part of one fun ride, which takes us from our normal lives and throws us into these peculiar situations.
Thirdly, it's human nature to enjoy a little blood and violence, and that in turn can relate directly to enjoying the bizarre and terrifying.
And fourthly, normality is boring.
That's why and how I stomach and enjoy the work of Takashi Miike and his ilk. Though it should be noted that much of his work is either without gore or uses it in a very stylized way (sort of like
Kill Bill, but more twisted), such as is the case in
Ichi the Killer and all three
Dead or Alive films, which have some of the best endings of all time, FYI.