Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest film deserves its place as #4 on easternKicks Top Ten of 2016, and here’s why…
Some of you may have read easternKicks writers Andrew Daley and Theo Howe’s reviews of Creepy back in July and October. It was given four stars by Andrew and only one and a half by Theo. Judging from the difference in opinion here, in subscriber comments, and from speaking to many Asian film enthusiasts about the film, it can be said with certainty that Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest is as divisive as Britain’s EU referendum. But as we come to the end of the year and reflect on the plethora of exceptional Asian films such as The Handmaiden, Your Name, The Wailing, After the Storm and Train to Busan, we can recognise Creepy as a film that has, and will remain in our collective memory as a standout Japanese production from 2016. Kurosawa has held his own in tough competition with the likes of Na Hong-Jin, Hirokazu Koreeda, Park Chan-wook and even Makoto Shinkai – who broke box office records in Japan with his enthralling body-swap animation Your Name, which was released in the UK only five days before Creepy.
After his somewhat anomalous romantic ghost story last year – Journey to The Shore, which starred Eri Fukatsu and Tadanobu Asano in an ethereal, dysfunctional relationship – Kurosawa’s return to more familiar territory sees a similarly stellar cast in Creepy. The film employs classic horror / thriller narrative tropes characteristic of Kurosawa’s directorial style, but it is the performances that make Creepy memorable against his body of work and elevate it above competitors in the genre. With Hidetoshi Nishijima (The Wind Rises), Yûko Takeuchi (Ring) and most memorably, Teruyuki Kagawa (Tokyo Sonata) all instrumental in generating the intensely eerie atmosphere in Creepy, the film certainly lives up to its name. It is Kagawa’s unnerving embodiment of a psychopathic serial killer though, that (aptly) forces us to surrender our gaze in a way that echoes his character Nishino’s alluring yet despotic hold over his subjects. This odd hypnotism, in concurrence with Kurosawa’s unhurried unravelling of ‘what lies beneath’ is what earns Creepy its place as number four in easternKicks’ top ten films of 2016.
“Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest is as divisive as Britain’s EU referendum.”
Opening at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, screening at the 60th BFI London Film Festival and picked up for release by Eureka Entertainment, Creepy has experienced wide exposure internationally. With the closure of Metrodome and Fortissimo Films this year, and UK cinemas not willing to take the risk in straying from runs of Hollywood blockbusters, it is important now more than ever for Asian films (considered ‘niche’) to be seen in the festival circuit and through distribution. Unfortunately, exposure like Creepy’s is not granted for lesser-known films coming from the East. Even Jia Zhangke-produced Life After Life screened only once at the BFI London Film Festival, in a mid-week matinee slot. Names like Kiyoshi Kurosawa must now lead the way in introducing Asian films to international audiences, and Creepy is the perfect film to do just this through its familiar formula, stand-out performances and unique directorial flourishes.
The ‘creepy’ tone is set from the opening scene, where detective Takakura (Nishijima) conducts an interview with one of the ‘three types’ of psychopath within the confines of a jail cell. Akiko Ashizawa’s cinematography and Kurosawa’s stage direction emphasise symmetry that begets a sense of the uncanny, and Takakura investigates the motives for the man’s crime. Yuri Habuka’s score bolsters the building of tension towards the climax of this opening piece through layered violins and flutes, and things quickly escalate. Takakura is soon faced with a negotiation that results in the murder of a hostage and the killing of the inmate.
The subsequent scene indicates that Takakura has left the force and is working as a university lecturer, having moved to the suburbs of the Kanto region. Nothing bad ever happens in cinematic suburbia, right? During one of his lectures, he explains to his students that there are three types of psychopath: ‘organised’, ‘disorganised’ and ‘mixed characteristic’. He continues, “it’s thought that mixed characteristic serial killers are beyond analysis. The motives, patterns, and continuity of their murders are erratic…” adding that all the cases he was involved in during his time as a detective dealt with ‘mixed characteristic’ killers.
“If Creepy is Kurosawa back in his comfort zone, expect great things from his next piece of work”
After settling into their new home, Yasuko (Takeuchi) delivers gifts to her neighbours in the hope of engaging with the ‘community’. This is when we first meet Nishino. The encounter is strange, the conversation doesn’t flow, cultural formalities are not reciprocated and it’s impossible to gauge how Nishino will react to Yasuko’s questioning. He is unpredictable, he is ‘beyond analysis’. It’s clear that Takakura – a man who has experience with ‘mixed characteristic’ types – is the only person who’ll be able to analyse Nishino, and any viewer familiar with the genre will be able to make the apparent prediction. But, what Kurosawa does so affectively with his character development is to plant a seed of doubt. This is strengthened by a nuanced and consistent characterisation from Kagawa, who effectively depicts a character that is simultaneously charming and repulsive.
Take Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing as a comparative example – it was released in the UK on the same day as Creepy. Jung-min Hwang’s remarkable physicality during the shamanist ritual scene arguably rates as one of the best set pieces in any film from 2016. But, Hwang can rely on fast-paced editing, a near-deafening discord of sound and multiple props to mask subtle distinctions in his performance. Conversely, Kagawa’s ‘naked’ performance as an unhinged, erratic and unpredictable psychopath is a testament to his versatile acting ability, earning him his place as one of the best actors of the year.
Kurosawa utilises some unique stylistic choices, too, which elevate the film beyond the standard horror fare. Hyper-real aesthetic considerations such as lighting that reacts to the tone and mood of the dialogue creates a suturing experience that all adds to the subsequent revelations in plot (and they do all come at once!). With Creepy, Kurosawa is back to form, testing out new creative techniques that suggest a new direction in the genre, and has created an incredibly immersive and accessible horror. The film needs to be added to any home collection, if only to see a characterisation that has been likened to Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s Psycho. If Creepy is Kurosawa back in his comfort zone, expect great things from his next piece of work.
The easternKicks Top 10 Films of 2016 was voted on by 11 writers from the team. The Top 10 films were selected from over 600 votes, chosen out of 300+ reviews on the site this year.
Click here to find out the whole list of easternKicks’ Top 10 Films of 2016