Plot Summary- Imprint follows Christopher (Billy Drago) who is in search for his lost girlfriend, Komomo, and comes to an island in Japan full of w***** and caftans. He meets a deformed w**** who begins to tell him the cruel fate his love has received and reveals to him her horrible and depressing life.

Almost every Masters of Horror episode that I have seen has severely disappointed me one way or another. Even episodes directed by the greatest horror directors (Dario Argento, John Carpenter) were just plain awful. Therefore my expectations for Imprint (directed by Takashi Miike) were exceptionally low. The episode, originally planned to be aired in January 2006, was so graphic and disturbing that the station banned it from being aired shortly before the broadcast and it was later released straight to DVD on September 26, 2006.

All of the hype around the film being disturbing and difficult to watch is 100% true. At one point when I first watched the movie, I turned it off during the cruel torture scene and continued it the next day. This episode is truly hard to sit through, but I am glad I did, for the movie surprised me in many ways. While the episode has some flaws, it is by far the best Masters of Horror that I have ever seen. It features excellent execution and pacing, a great script and plot, and some nasty special effects.

While all of the acting in the film is above par, the main actor (Billy Drago, who is not a particularly good actor but was in a couple notable films such as the Untouchables and The Hills Have Eyes remake) is terrible. In the beginning of the movie he appears to be normal, but as the film soon progresses and the role starts to call for more emotions, Billy beings to butcher every line he is given, both overacting and under acting much of the time. This makes his character annoying and causes the audience to not care about him whatsoever. However the prostitute (Youki Kudoh) that he speaks to fits her role very well. Every emotion we are meant to feel for her is tangible through her innocent acting. Most of the supporting cast is fit for their roles. I give credit particularly to the author of the book the film is based on, who plays a torturer (Shimako Iwai) who terrifies the audience with her creepy role.

The best parts about the film are the execution, plot, and pacing. The execution and pacing are done very masterfully, leaving the audience in suspense and even confusion until the “twist” ending. The pacing remains the same for the whole movie, which is something a lot of films (30 Days of Night) have trouble maintaining. This allows everything that is uncovered to be believable and fit the film. The script is also really well written, and the dialogue is always sophisticated. I would even call some of the lines powerful, especially when we start to change how we view each of the characters.

While the twist ending works in the film fairly well, I could tell it would have been much better and could be taken way more seriously in the novel. The ending in the film is a mix of awesome, and kind of silly. If you suspend your belief enough, however, the ending really works. I felt that the very ending brought down the film. A problem that I see which occurs in many Japanese films is they have very incoherent endings that are left to be interpreted. While these kind of conclusions work for some films, sometimes I just want to see a movie end. As this film concludes, a series of random events take place which were just confusing and unsatisfying.

All of the special effects in the film (mainly the babies) are very well done. This movie is very disgusting (as I stated earlier) and will make many of the viewers sick to their stomach while watching. However, the twist ending calls for some special effects and I felt that the effects were ok, but could have been improved in some areas. Luckily they are not horrible, or else the ending would have been unintentionally hilarious. Although this seems to be his signature mark in films, I felt the torture scene was extremely cruel and perhaps unneeded. While the scene served a purpose for drawing emotions from the viewer, I felt it was too much at one point and could have ended.

Overall, Imprint was very surprising. It shows that plot and execution really can impact the quality of a film. With an awesome script and amazing pacing, Imprint is easily the best Masters of Horror episode that I have seen thus far. However, a horrible main actor and an incoherent ending bring the film down a little, but I would still suggest seeing this. Beware though, for the film is unrelentingly sick and twisted at parts. Definitely not for the squeamish viewer.

3.5/5

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age