Kakihara's search for answers in the kidnapping of his boss is set against the backdrop of the psychopathic vigilante/serial killer known only as Ichi (Nao Omori), a mentally disturbed, sexually repressed young man who is the pawn of an equally disturbed third individual who is using Ichi to systematically wipe out the yakuza members. Upon being tipped off on the location of a possible culprit, Kakihara strings up the poor fellow by inserting hooks into his back and pouring hot grease all over his body Kakihara loves every minute of this particularly nasty torture session. He's the true definition of a movie psychopath (he may even make Hannibal Lecter blush with envy). He's also a pain junkie: He loves torturing people and actually gets off from watching other people in varying states of pain & suffering, from inflicting pain & suffering upon others, and also having pain & suffering inflicted upon himself by others. This guy is a bad-a** gangster to the highest degree. Kakihara is in no way a hero or anti-hero. The body count rises steadily when the boss's chief henchman, the disfigured, pain-loving sadist Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano), assigns himself the task of locating the Anjo Gang's beloved leader at any and all costs. Based on the Japanese Manga (comic book) by Hideo Yamamoto and set in Tokyo, Japan's, Shinjuku district, the plot concerns the search for the kidnapped boss of the Anjo Gang (who also disappeared with 300 million yen), which is apparently the most feared yakuza (Japanese mafia) gang in all of Tokyo. He saw it as basically two hours of non-stop torture, violence, rape, murder, and just overall insanity. It had elements of horror, the crime thriller, and even some black comedy. I saw it as something different from most crime thrillers. Needless to a say, our opinions on the film were very different. Now I had the opportunity yesterday to watch 2001's 'Ichi the Killer' with a friend. I first came by Miike on the 'Masters of Horror' TV show when he directed the segment called 'Imprint.' Last year, I came across Miike's infamous horror film 'Audition,' which is now considered one of my favorite and most shocking flicks in the genre. Japan's Takashi Miike is a fan-favorite of American filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth.
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