The banner atop this Anchor Bay DVD release trumpets the fact that it was "Banned from Cable Broadcast," the only entry in the first season of Showtime's Masters of Horror to be unceremoniously slashed from the cable series' schedule – and after viewing Takashi Miike's Imprint, I can definitely see why the cable network got cold feet. As most of Miike's admirers would expect, the hour-long adaptation of a grisly horror tale by Shimaho Iwaio steadfastly refuses to back away – even when it ventures into story areas guaranteed to make network types squeamish.
Set in 19th century Japan, Imprint focuses on an American journalist (a far too intense Billy Drago) who is looking for a woman sold by her foster parents into an island brothel. The island is itself a misty and ominous setting; as one character explains early in the story, "This island is not in the human world. Demons and whores are the only ones who live here." Christopher, the journalist, is unable to find his long-lost love Komomo (Michie) in the brothel, so he spends the night with a deformed, unnamed prostitute (Youki Kudoh). Turns out that his companion for the night knew Christopher's lover, and she first tells him Komomo hung herself out of despair that she would never be rescued from a life of brothel servitude. "Being a Daughter of Joy is a living hell," Christopher's companion says, and it doesn't take long for us to agree with her. She tells the journalist the story of her life and Komomo's death three times, peeling back to more of the truth each time.
The resultant "final" retelling – which involves incest, 19th century abortions, floating fetuses, a prolonged torture scene and the most absurdly chilling conjoined sib puppet since Frank Henenlotter's Belial – proves plenty over-the-top. And, as with Powers Boothe's F.B.I. agent in Frailty, the telling of the story proves his undoing. (Like Boothe's appearance in that horror flick, the first reaction to seeing Drago in an ostensibly non-villain role is to go, "He can't be the good guy!") Much of the line readings from the predominately Japanese cast are fairly stiff, though Kudoh's storyteller does a memorable job growing progressively more disturbing looking as the night passes.
Article comments
1 - Pat Evans
This episode was actually screened when the series was aired on British satellite TV -- and I thought we were the repressive censorship capital of the world. Takashi Miike is so prolific that not all of his output is top-rank, but he's turned out enough original and unusual films to prove his mastery. I thought this particular episode was one of the highlights of the series which, as expected, were very variable in quality.
2 - Bill Sherman
Funny, I remember how " during the glory days of Hammer Films " the British versions of horror flicks were always the most strictly censored (with Japanese editions reportedly being the most uncut). Not anymore, apparently . . .
3 - Dave Nalle
BTW, when does season 2 of MoH actually start?
Dave
4 - Bill Sherman
Per Showtime's site, the first story of the new season debuts Friday, October 27th.