Imprint

(2006) ***
This was Takashi Miike's episode of Showtime's Masters of Horror series, an episode the cable network decided not to air. An American in 19th century Japan (played by Billy Drago, one of those "oh yeah, that guy" actors) finds himself in an island brothel while searching for the love of his life for whom he vowed to return. She does't seem to be there, but he spends the night with the brothel's marginalized freak prostitute, a mysterious woman with a half-deformed face. From her he learns the truth about his beloved Komomo, and then he demands the real story, but even then he hasn't heard the whole truth. Dot dot dot.

This is an interesting showcase for Miike, since it certainly reveals his skill at his craft, but it ultimately doesn't hang together all that well. It feels as made-for-cable as it is. This is mostly due to thin performances on the part of the two main characters, and the off-putting fact that this movie was in English. Despite that, Miike delivers some evocative images and a moment or two of genuine chill. I had to flex some facial muscles to not look away during the torture scene, which not only invites the sympathetic "ouch" response, but also reveals the real horror of this woman's life at the hands of vicious, evil crones. Unfortunately, this peak is hit somewhat early, and Miike's maneuvers to up the ante get kind of silly.

When the scarred woman reveals truer details of her life, it comes up that her mother wasn't a midwife, exactly, but the local provider of abortions. Which is an excuse to repeatedly show someone dumping a dead fetus in the river. I haven't seen so many bloody rubber babies since Monty Python's Meaning of Life. And just when you're getting tired of that new development, the final piece of the story emerges. I'll save that one, but it involves an effect on a Basket Case level of goofy and leads to an ending that doesn't make much sense.

Worth a look, but Miike's got much better stuff out there.