Those are the words of brilliant filmmaker Takashi Miike. He was touted as one of the Masters of Horror in Showtime’s TV series of the same name. I’ve posted my thoughts on the series elsewhere. (You can look if you like. I mean, it’s not exactly a long walk from here….)
The irony of all this: His episode will never air. The only way to see it, as far as I know, will be on DVD courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment.
I haven’t watched a lot of his movies and yet I call him brilliant. He’s willing to take extreme risks to achieve his goals, pursuing an artistic vision that rings true, at the very least, for him. His films have been called ultra-violent, bizarre, sick, misogynistic. Myself, I consider them unflinching criticisms of a world that reflect those values.
And yes, I do flinch. If I should ever watch a gore-fest and not even pause, I’d get some serious help.
Showtime’s decision doesn’t surprise me. Masters of Horror has flirted with brilliance and only rarely made a real commitment. And I don’t mean in terms of gore, violence, or shock value. The show has been hit and miss. Sometimes it hits on a clever idea and plays it out fully. Sometimes it takes a creative shortcut and offers eye candy, grisly and otherwise. Only a few times has it struck on the kind of disturbing insights that make true gems of dark fantasy. And frankly some of us remember how well they’ve botched series like Jeremiah, Odyssey 5, and The Hunger anthology, series that would have turned out well were it not for the network’s collosal missteps.
Sorry, I’ll stop there. I didn’t intend to make this a lecture or a rant about this, that, and why has my coffee gone cold, yadda yadda yadda. Takashi Miike’s episode will be available soon. So will the rest of the series. My recommendations are elsewhere.
You can look if you like. It’s okay, really. I’m done. I mean, it’s not exactly a long walk from here….