Reviewed By-David Zuzelo Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura 1998/ CTENOSAUR DVD English-German Subtitles
Ballistics, Betrayal, Bloodshed and BEEEZAROOOOO. You would expect anything different from Ryuhei Kitamura of Versus fame? Well, you'll get a goodly bit of what you expect, and a lot of just what you would not.
Starting with two obvious friends talking about a screw-up and the dead body that needs disposing of in it’s wake, the scene becomes a cure for any sickness you have experienced as a viewer while weary of talking head sequences. This one is all told from the perspective of the pairs feet! It's time to dump a body...and away we go with our unlikely heroes. One of the men is involved in arms smuggling, and when he pulls a fast one on his partners the man he believed dead (and a bunch of his strange companions of course) all have guns and want to kill him. As for the other fellow… well, he only sees his daughter once a month, and of course-that would be tonight, if he survives. Guns fire, people fall down dead and motivations go from shadowy to clear to crazed and obscure.
As with Versus, it's not the content that makes this movie, it's all in Kitamura’s delivery. Although a tad obsessed with poses and "cool" in spots, Kitamura does not sling his camera about wildly as often as he did in Versus, instead opting to give these off kilter characters doing violently off kilter things some room to breathe and create an atmosphere. A dark atmosphere full of dread because there is just no way blood will not spill as we are tipped off to in the beginning. The small cast is excellent. Giving a life to these people, be they "good" or "bad" in a short running time spanning a mere 50 minutes, much of which they spend running, was a challenge for sure, but a challenge well met.
Running from bullets. Running from each other...and falling headlong towards the fate of all involved with this morning gone wrong, the denizens of Heat After Dark are more memorable in less than half the time than anything in Kitamura’s better known works.
Where Versus was a style marathon, a film which felt bloated at an overlong running time that screeches LOOKIE LOOKIE at the viewer, Heat After Dark is a triumph of economy which engages the viewer with each and every shot. Rarely have I wanted to see what could happen next quite as often as I did with this flick. I can not imagine that anyone could have a middling opinion for this film, it will either work for you, or it won't. Hold your expectations in check and be ready for a sarcastic and stylish thriller that offers something new from the director who may very well become one of the most recognized Japanese action directors in the world.
Best viewed loud, Heat After Dark benefits from a soundtrack that rakes the images into bizarre patterns-from spaghetti eastern guitars to trance like chanting in what would seem like all the wrong places. Besides...you'll leap away from the screen when the bullets start flying...yeah, play it loud. Your neighbors (blocks away) won't thank you...but you'll enjoy it more.
The DVD-r of Heat After Dark is subtitled in English and German and is a fine letterboxed transfer of the film. All of the extras from the Japanese release are present, though un-subtitled. The trailer is the highlight however, unless of course you speak Japanese. Most everything else is interview driven. The extra features run twice as long as the film...
Double this with Kitamura's other short-ish film Down To Hell, and you have an exciting evening with an emerging superstar in your DVD player.
Film: 4 Bitch Slaps Picture: 4 Bitch Slaps Audio: 3 Bitch Slaps Extras: 4 Bitch Slaps Overall: 4 Bitch Slaps
