The Danger After Dark program has become an increasingly popular part of the Philadelphia Film Festival, as newcomers to international genre cinema flock to the steady serving of sex and violence that its films routinely dish out. What shouldn't be lost amidst the spurting blood and bare bottoms is the role that comedy — pitch black or otherwise — has played in the program's success. Much like Happiness of the Katakuris and 2LDK in previous years, Survive Style 5+ anchors the current lineup with a host of hearty guffaws and, just as the title implies, style.

This hyper-kinetic, loosely-plotted sugar fix is the feature-length debut from Gen Sekiguchi, Japan's top commercial director. His years of product hawking experience serve him well in Survive Style 5+, which presents a quintet of quirky capers that intersect in unexpected and delightful ways. What the film lacks in traditional narrative structure it more than makes up for with its imaginative storytelling, absurd setpieces and dazzling visual style. The film as a whole is a bit hard to characterize, but each of the five segments has a distinct story arc:

1. An artist repeatedly attempts to kill his wife, but every time he buries her body she reappears in their home, stronger and angrier than ever. Hilarity ensues!
   
   
2. A businessman and his family attend a flamboyant stage show, where the father is permanently hypnotized into thinking he's a bird. Hilarity ensues!
   
   
3. Three friends break into homes for fun and eventually discover their homoerotic feelings. Hilarity ensues!
   
   
4. A cockney hitman executes contracts with his Japanese interpreter, all the while asking what function people serve in life. Hilarity ensues!
   
   
5. An advertising director thinks up wacky commercials that amuse only herself (and the audience). Hilarity ensues!
   
   

Rocket Arm Queen

The bewitching Reika Hashimoto prepares to avenge her characters' death with fists (sometimes rocket-propelled) of fury. (Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Film Society)

Just one of those storylines would make for an interesting film, but Sekiguchi weaves these seemingly disparate tales together into one cohesive whole that is stronger than the sum of its parts. Survive Style 5+ is an uproariously funny film laced with high-intensity visual surrealism bolstered by exquisite art direction and mind-blowing color palettes. Each scene is rife with gorgeous eye candy that makes the film a continuous treat to behold. Excellent performances, coupled with some snappy Tarantino-esque dialogue, give Survive some cinematic chops to go along with its glossy veneer.

Some of the stories are more developed and interesting than others, lending the film a fractured, uneven sensibility. Particularly entertaining is the tale of the artist (Tadanobu Asano) and his wife. Watching her come back to life time and again — not to mention the crazy outfit and hairstyle changes she goes through — is extraordinarily funny, and after a while becomes oddly endearing. Her increasingly bizarre methods of vengeance are a hoot too; for instance, after her body is hacked to bits she returns with detachable rocket arms, fulfilling the wet dreams of many a Mazinga fan. Awesome stuff.

Equally funny are the impromptu commercials invented by the AD (Kyoko Koizumi), including one involving a man who climaxes too quickly as an advertisement for a high-speed Internet service. Musical cues are peppered throughout the film and lend pop culture appeal to its unusual audiovisual fabric. The films' licensed soundtrack is full of crowd pleasers, none moreso than Go! Go! Go!, a dancey pop tune with the most ribald lyrics this side of The Two Live Crew. Watching Kobayashi's family happily singing along to its filthy refrain is one of the films' many outstanding moments.

Strong casting carries the film in each of its segments, with familiar faces like Vinnie Jones (the hitman), Hiroshi Abe (the flamboyant hypnotist Aoyami), Ittoku Kishibe (the elder Kobayashi) and even Sonny Chiba in a great cameo appearance. Like most of the films in this year's festival, Survive Style 5+ indulges itself in far too many unnecessary sequences that cause the film to drag on far too long. Paring it down to a tight ninety minute running time would have sharpened its focus and alleviated the disjointed feel that makes it hard to follow at times.

Minor quibbles aside, Survive Style 5+ is one of the most wholly gratifying films I've seen in a long time. Gen Sekiguchi's debut is a wild acid trip of crazy colors, crazier characters and crazy-go-nuts storytelling that should find favor with just about anyone looking for a comedy off the beaten path. If, like me, you find nothing remotely funny about the latest Will Ferrell movie, then Survive Style 5+ will likely cure those comedy blues. Highly recommended.

Thumbs Up. Far-fetched and fabulously funny, Survive Style 5+ is a new high in inventive comedic storytelling.