X GAME

I am sure you can all recall back in 2009, the BBFC refusing a certificate to a torture themed Japanese movie called GROTESQUE. The picture was deemed SO vile they stated granting it a certificate would involve a "risk of harm" to those viewing it. Director David Cooke justified this bold prediction by saying the film was a different animal to the likes of SAW or HOSTEL as it "featured minimal narrative or character development" and went onto condemn the movie as being "…a spectacle of sadism for its own sake".

Such denunciation not only paved the way for the movie to enter the contemporary video nasty hall of infamy but also tempted distributors of any future work involving its cast or crew into exploiting its notoriety.

Take Yôhei Fukuda for example, the cinematographer on the aforementioned picture. He sits in the directors’ chair for another Japanese movie being released through Jolly Roger called X GAME. Ignoring the fact he has directed around 6 other pictures, the promotional material gleefully reminds us Fukuda is "of" the "UK banned GROTESQUE". (At least the cover refers to his previous directorial efforts CHANBARA BEAUTY and TOKYO GORE POLICE I guess)

Danger After Dark’s press release regarding X GAME went on suggest the movie is about humiliating "Batsu" punishment games, which are basically those ‘penalty’ games they have on Japanese TV shows like ENDURANCE. Sounded a blast!

After a violent yet ambiguous start, X GAME’s narrative begins with one of many flashback sequences. Our main protagonists, Hideaki, Takeshi, Tetsuya and, the lone female, Chie have attended a recent school reunion. They are suitably shocked then when they learn that after the get together, their ex professor committed suicide courtesy of a multi storey decent and a concrete pavement (which put my subwoofer to excellent use I may add!).

The teenage students are as puzzled as they are distraught. Sure he did appear a bit of a lightweight when it came to swilling the ole Sake, but he positively appeared mentally sound all the same on their night out.

Suspicions between the gang start to bounce around but it appears there is a much more vengeful reason for his violent demise when the group get collectively kidnapped. Suggestions of an ex female student, Mariko, who DID NOT attend the gathering being behind his fate are almost fully confirmed when the group find themselves in a strange room that has been uncannily reconstructed to look identical to their old classroom. It proves is the setting for the group being forced to play a sadistic game.

Their tragic ex-teacher gives instructions of the games rules and conditions from the grave by means of an eerie holographic pre death recording (basically, failure to willingly participate will mean a forfeit; that forfeit being forced participation at the hands of a sinister looking hooded clan also in the room!). Before long, guilt ridden memories of their bullying exploits start to manifest.

Locked in the mock classroom, the students have no option but to partake in the cruel competition. There are such delights as the ‘Pencil Guillotine’, the ‘Clothes Pin’, ‘Frizzy Hair’, ‘Thumb Tacks’ and, just to combat that nagging calcium deficiency, ‘Milk Chugging’!

We were just under the halfway point of the movie at this stage and it looked like my patience would finally pay off and an exercise in BBFC goading via excessive persecution Japanese style would full the final hour. To be fair there were some harrowing moments. But these were mainly depicted in the flashback scenes when, in their younger days, the group relentlessly subjected Mariko to some disgusting humiliation and pain. The young child with drawing pins piercing the skin on her young and bloodied hands and wrists was admittedly nasty.

In a flurry of torturous scenes, the ex-browbeaters subject each other to radical updated versions of their sick games and in doing so gain a unique "X" shaped branding as payment for their endeavours. For example, the game called ‘Thumb Tacks’ forewent the niceties of a seat merely peppered with drawing pins, instead forcing the player to jump buttock first onto a custom built chair with 4 inch nails forming an arse gouging grid! ‘Clothes pins’ (I call them ‘clothes pegs’ ) evolved from little plastic pegs pinching an 8 young girls arm into to a huge medieval looking steel claw, camping piece of forearm flesh as it viciously snapped away. All the other games were subject to similar brutal transgressions.

I was expecting (and hoping!) for this violence to just keep swelling enabling me to report that Torture Porn in Asia was alive and kicking! Unfortunately it was only an extended segment of around 30 minutes before we entered the final third which attempted to tie the loose ends together and give the narrative a concluding yet largely meaningless twist.

At nearly two hours long, the movie was more padded then a safe cell at the local asylum. The whole premise was clearly revealed very early on and, from a plot standpoint, offered little if in the way of curve balls after the midway point.

Fans of SAW may well appreciate the essence of this movie, not just for the intense cruelty but also due to the excessively planned fashion in which the torturous tasks and challenges were presented. The whole room was riddled with contraptions (which we assume is controlled from a remote location) allowing a hidden door to open on its own accord and present forth the next challenge. Hugely creative possibly, but ultimately plagued with implausibility.

It’s worth noting at this point that this particular movie, X GAME, directed by Fukuda and featuring "Batsu" games is not to be confused with DEATH TUBE which was also directed by Fukuda, featured "Batsu" games and was also known as .. erm... X GAME!

The DVD is presented in a widescreen 2.35:1 ratio and does have a crisp polished look to it. Whereas some flashback sequences prefer monochrome, quite the opposite is employed here with an overtly opulent glaze portraying the memory scenes. As mentioned earlier with ‘subwoofer / suicide thud’ comment, the audio is a very healthy Dolby 2.0 which accentuates the gore with subtly delivered squelches contrasting with the fleshy thumps and stabs.

All in all X GAME is a fine looking and sounding movie with a potentially raw narrative. However it suffers greatly with an over extended run time and a plot that exposes itself far too early.

No extras were present on my disc. (Surprised they didn’t bung a fucking trailer for GROTESQUE on their just to tease us!!)

Review by Marc Lissenburg