Cold Fish (Amazon Video)

Another very good offering by the Japanese film industry. The characters are truly full of (hideous!) surprises. I really like the emphasis on the ordinariness of folly and evil. Some of the nicest people are clearly not so nice....The hypocrisy at the basis of so-called sophisticated cultures is nicely shown and the slow explosion of the main character (victim up to a point...!) is prepared with effective understatement (something I really like about oriental films in general). Give me more!

Physically violent and mentally grotesque, this movie is chilling in that it can actually get you to understand how a person can be trapped and rendered helpless right in front of the most horrifying act taking place. As disgusted as I was by some of the scenes portrayed in this movie, I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen. Highly recommended, but keep the kids away from this stuff, please.