fertilecelluloid Review of Strange Circus

Strange Circus (2005)

Incendiary sexual shocker is a return to the ero-gro of the early 80's

[8/10 · 27 January 2007]

This plays like an unearthed Nikkatsu shocker from the early 80's. Sion Sono, the director of "Suicide Club", has thrown his ero-gro hat into the ring and delivered a very impressive, incendiary shocker that blends Norifumi Suzuki with David Lynch. A twelve year old girl (Rie Kuwana) is being sexually abused by her monstrous father (Issei Ishida) and forced to watch her parents screw while locked inside a cello case. As the abuse intensifies, the girl copes with it by mentally becoming her mother. At the same time, the man's wife (Masumi Miyazaki) is becoming insanely jealous of the girl and has started to abuse her, too. This simple set-up is merely the launching pad for an operatic, grotesque, confronting shocker. The "strange circus" of the title is literal and metaphorical. There is a burlesque-style club where an MC introduces the film's major characters; there is also a wild sexual circus happening in the abused girl's home after her mother mysteriously bows out. "Strange Circus" is confusing at times and a little too clever for its own good, but it is a true sexual horror film that goes places few films do. It has a score and tone that reminded me of Norifumi Suzuki's masterpiece, "Beautiful Girl Hunter", and Sono contrasts grisly depravity with great beauty. The film won me over and I'm jaded as hell.