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Suicide Club (Suicide Circle) Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 35 Reviews)

Hmm...
What can one say about "Suicide Club" It's another one of those wacky movies from those crazy Japanese folks. In the vein of "Ju-On" and "Ringu"... definitely in the ballpark of "Audition"... but less horror and a little more shock value. Don't let that deter you. For some people (and some movies) that's a good thing. There have been movies such as "Evil Dead", "Wicker Man" and dare I say the appalling "Doom Generation" which have accumulated insane cult followings. I think the same applies here. It's hard to take the whole premise seriously, buckets of blood and all... but if you take it for what it is, it can be an enjoyable movie. Cheesy, but entertaining.

I don't think I'm giving too much away by saying that the premise is just as the title suggests... an increasing number of mass suicides that occur in Tokyo. Detectives investigate the deaths and try to determine a point of origin. The outcome is, in my opinion, one of those predictable 'twists' that you can see coming from the first hint of foreshadowing. But... still an interesting one.

If you're into the crazy Japanese flicks, into the cult horror flicks, or get off to seeing Asian girls in school uniforms... this movie is for you! If you're looking for an amazing achievement in foreign cinema... look elsewhere.

When I think about you I kill myself
I think culturally the Japanese and we Americans are very different. I mean, in this film they say "if you were to die would you love your wife less. No your love would go on living inside that person." Oh really where's that ledge... Wheeeeeeeeeee. Not in this country not for one second. If some one said to one of us "hey I wanna join this cult where we kill ourselves" I'd bet dollars against dimes that any american would stage that person an intervention and make an appiontment for a little deprograming. So the whole idea that people would commit mass suicide while still operating unknown in society and not locked away in some commune is way too hard to swallow. I could see mabey drinking some koolaide or applesauce, but jumping in front of a subway train, or cutting off your fingers and bleeding out. No way not even in a movie. I liked the gore, and the violence of the suicides is ground breaking for this type of film. But I can't get my mind around the concept.

Gory suicides and cute J-Pop: a weird experience
Do not expect to understand this movie fully! Well, it does not have a confusing storyline (it is told quite straitforward) and I have seen my share of bizarre Japanese films, but it is one of those movies, where at the end you scratch your head and ask youself if you have missed something. Maybe it takes a greater intellectual than me but the end of the film quite confused me... However this does not indicate that I regret having watched the DVD! On the contrary, SUICIDE CLUB is a hugely entertaining and well made movie for the adventurous film fan.
Contrary to my usual practice I will not provide a plot synopsis, as SUICIDE CLUB is one of those films, where the lesser you know about the story, the more you will enjoy it. It is absolutely unpredictable. As I already said, prepare for a unsatisfactory ending!
Splatter galore in the many suicide scenes makes this one a winner - particularly in the famous scene at the start where 54 girls in their schooluniforms jump in front of an incoming train and a later mass suicide, where dozens of pupils jump down from the rooftop of their school after a casual chat about the recent suicide fad(which I found an even more impressive scene than the train suicide). Admittedly much of the gore is computer generated, but it is well done. However it is not only the splatter department in which SUICIDE CLUB excels. The whole film is filled with eerie athmosphere and many scenes will have you on the edge of your seat (standout sequence: the policemen stake out the train platforms after a second mass suicide has been anounced.) Particularly unnerving was a juvenile psychopath named Genesis, the type of disturbing but believeable teenage psycho so common in Japanese horror films (if you have seen the ALL NIGHT LONG movies, you will know what I mean). Annoyingly there was also a scene with animal cruelty in the film, which (despite being clearly faked) did not sit well with me.
Actors are convincing in their roles. I also enjoyed the teenie
J-Pop band DESSART - their song "mail me" is not only crucial to the suicides and the plot, but it is a great haunting tune as well. I wish the soundtrack for SUICIDE CLUB was available on CD!
To sum it up: SUICIDE CLUB is a great debut film for director Sion SONO (if I remember correctly what I had read on a Japanese film website SONO had done only gay sexfilms prior to SUICIDE CLUB)and while this horror film due to its subject matter involving suicides of teenagers and the offbeat story may not be for everyone, it comes hugely recommended by this reviewer!
Unfortunately there are few extra features on the DVD. There is a picture gallery with only a couple of movie stills and the SUICIDE CLUB trailer, which is great and sells the film well. There are also three other trailers, none of which I found well made or of interest: BETWEEN YOUR LEGS (a Spanish erotic thriller), CHILDREN OF HANNIBAL (which appears to be a gay comedy from Italy) and THE BATHERS (apparently a French erotic film of the arthouse variety).

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