Directed by: Sion Sono
Starring: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Denden, Asuka Kurosawa
Distributed by: Vivendi Entertainment
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running time: 145 minutes
Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars
This has been one talked about film this year, especially in the horror genere. I am a big fan for an horror/thriller Asian films like “Audition” and “Oldboy”. This film tries to be in the same category but misses it by a little…but not much. “Cold Fish” is a very slow-burning (very slow) delve into madness for our lead, pressuring the point of how much can you take before losing it. The film delivers a fantastic climax in the last 20 minutes but really could have trimmed some of the middle.
This film is about a quiet tropical fish shop owner, Shamoto, whose life is turned upside down when his family meets fellow fish entrepreneur and his wife. The mysterious man turns out to be serial killer and slowly pushes Shamoto over the edge. The film is based on the true exploits of two Tokyo serial killers, who owned a pet shop and murdered at least four people.
I get the point that this is suppose to follow Shamoto to the very limits of how much he can handle before breaking. I just felt that it ran very slow in the middle and the catch could have been sped up a little. If you have a queezy stomach there are a lot of scenes in this film that are not for the faint. It definitely delivers on the gore department. Overall it is totally worth a watch but not sure if I could sit through the whole film again just for the fantastic last 20 minutes.
