Izo

Miike canes it even more than usual and comes spectacularly unstuck. Titular ‘spirit of vengeance’ Izo, in what one presumes is his original, mortal form, gets trussed up Christ-fashion and repeatedly penetrated by swords. Miffed, he jumps through the ages as through so many connecting rooms, slices warriors, gets stabbed by salaryman vampires, pisses on priests, mounts a primal mother figure and displays no human traits beyond a faintly pained expression in the eyes. Miike makes his cast of dozens (decent actors and popular entertainers – ‘Gohatto’ beauty Ryuhei Matsuda, Takeshi Kitano – among them) utter toe-curling twaddle, lobs in found footage, meretricious video textures, shoddy choreography and sitcom sets. If you’re still watching after 40 minutes, you’ve a higher frustration threshold than mine.