2LDK Review by Lawrence P. Raffel

2LDK (Japanese w/optional English Subs)
70 min
2002
1.85:1 Anamorphic

EXTRAS
-Making Of
-2LDK Trailer
-Duel Project Press Conference
-Danger After Dark Trailers

2LDK is a simple yet effective story told within the confines of a brief 70-minute running time. The entire film takes place in one 2-bedroom apartment and features only 2 onscreen characters. Sharing the apartment are two would be actresses vying for not only the same part, but also the same man. Lana the higher maintenance type and Kimi a family orientated hometown girl.

Things start out innocent enough as the two exchange only words about the little things that set them off. Subjects like cleaning up hair in the bathtub or using each other's shampoo without asking. Kimi seems to be more concerned about space and courtesy as she even goes as far as to label the food in the fridge (including each individual egg!) all the while Lana looks on in wonder and disbelief. The two share a few verbal exchanges giving the audience a peek into their inner thoughts as we hear each girls annoyed inner monologue to the proceedings.

When things finally do get physical, the two girls start off with some simple face slapping and property damage. This quickly turns to erratic violent behavior that dominates the remaining final 30-minutes or so of the film. I don't want to give too much away but let's just say that the events to occur include (but are not limited to) the following: Electrocution in bathtub, chainsaw, multiple thrashings and/or bashings and most impressive of all, a grand finale that really does need to be seen to be believed.

Part of the appeal of 2LDK lies within the performances from the two female leads and their determination in believing that "the show must go on!" Now I could very well state the obvious in that 2LDK is a fine film simply for the fact that we get to see two hot Asian chicks kicking the living shit out of one another, but I'm not going to stoop to that level (oops, me thinks I just did!). Both leads are pulled off with incredible realism and a complete absence of irony. It's the built in fact that we really believe that these two women have taken all they can stands and that they can't stands no more that drives the wacky proceedings forward and ultimately into a bizarre un-reality of uncomfortable hilarity. Crazy as it seems, there's more character developement in the first 40-minutes of this film then there is in 90% of the crap that plops out of the hairy ass of Hollywood these days.

2LDK is a sickly disturbing film, there's no two ways about it. Black comedies don't really come any blacker than this one that's for sure. Any sane person would never act on these notions, but that's one of the great things about film. Through a medium that can be used for complete fantasy we can act out (or indulge in and watch) some of our most perverse, disgusting, homicidal or un-PC tenancies without harming anyone or anything in the process. This is exactly why films like 2LDK should be made. It's a complete escape into an un-reality that shouldn't ever exist in the real world, only in pure perverted fantasy. It's OK to laugh at 2LDK, I don't fear for you, I fear for the person who tells you that you shouldn't laugh at it, they're the ones to watch out for.

Suicide Club Review by Lawrence P. Raffel

Suicide Club (Japanese w/optional English Subs)
2002
94 min
1.85:1 non anamorphic despite claims on box
Stereo

EXTRAS
-Stills
-Suicide Club Trailer
-Danger After Dark Trailers

Any movie that opens with 54 young school girls jumping off a train platform, head-on to a moving train, can't be all that bad. A rash of sudden suicides are plaguing Tokyo, and the authorities are baffled. Children are jumping off of buildings. A young woman stuffs her head in an oven, while another chops her hand to bits (in a particularly gruesome scene). What the heck is going on? Rolls of skin are left at the crime scenes and the coroner is left with what appears to be a human jigsaw puzzle. Is there some sort of weird suicide cult? Are the kids succumbing to some sort of weird peer pressure? Maybe the young musical sensation "Dessert" (a pop girl band of 12 year olds) has something to do with it, as they seem to be everywhere. With their hit songs "Mail me" and "Jigsaw puzzle" (ahh, now it all comes together, jigsaw puzzle again) they are on every TV and radio, their posters are on every wall, and their tunes even emanate from just about every cell phone!

The police are baffled, there's an anonymous tipster named "The Bat" who clues them in on a web site of just red and white dots. Dots seem to represent the victims and appear just before a suicide is committed. The police also receive phone calls from a young boy, with a disturbing "tick" or cough after each sentence. There are no easy answers in the Suicide Club, but with so much going on, it's nearly impossible not to be entertained!

Suicide Club has moments of extremely dark comedic undertones (nothing laugh out loud funny, but you get the gist) as well as sheer horror and terror. The film is gruesome in its depiction of violence, so be warned. While Suicide Club may not offer any easy answers, it's a fun and wild ride that had my attention from start to finish. Not to be taken too serious or too lightly, fans of the bizarre and macabre should get a kick out of this wildly disturbing film.

Moon Child Review by Michael Johnson

Moon Child (Japanese w/optional English Subs)
1.85:1 Anamorphic
Dolby Surround
119min
2003

EXTRAS
-Photo Gallery
-Danger After Dark/TLA Trailers

Former sex film director Takahisa Zeze tries his hand at genre fusion with Moon Child, an unlikely mixture of vampire tale, yakuza gangter opus and male-bonding drama. Starring Bishonen pop stars Hyde and Gackt, this ultimately impotent experiment chronicles the lives of these two childhood friends as they ascend the ranks of the criminal underworld. Kei's skills as a vampire allow him to excel at gunplay, and the bond between he and Sho forms the crux of the film. Over time their relationship becomes strained, especially when they both begin to fall for the same woman.

Though brimming with potential, Moon Child is a film in conceptual turmoil. Its vampire angle is thin and underplayed, the yakuza bits are woefully insipid, and there are far better depictions of male bonding out there, though the homoerotic undertones may appeal to those in search of something truly novel. The film is intolerably long at 119 minutes; it meanders through a series of drawn-out exposition scenes and tepid action setpieces, neither of which are particularly inspired or entertaining. Nearly half the film could be trimmed without seriously affecting the storyline.

The film is ambitious if nothing else, and you have to admire Zeze's chutzpah in trying to tie such disparate concepts together. He brings a stylish sensability to the proceedings that keep things mildly interesting at times, but ultimately there is very little here that hasn't been done before in much more convincing fashion. It might be tolerable with a shorter running time, but it drags on far too long in the throes of genre confusion to warrant a recommendation.

So what about the new box set then? Well, if you already own these films, I feel comfortable in saying that you're good to go and there is really no need to double dip. Of course unless removable subtitles are a determining factor for you, because that's all you're really gonna get that's new. Both 2LDK and Suicide Club now feature removable English subs, they didn't before. The box claims that Suicide Club is presented in a new anamorphic transfer, however, it's not anamorphic in reality. Moon Child and 2LDK however, are anamorphic, but then again, they always have been. The non anamorphic treatment of Suicide Club (despite the claim on the box) is a huge disappointment. However, if you do not own these films, at a cool 30 bucks MSRP (and most places selling for under 20), this set still comes highly recommended.