Description

Six-year-old Sou is equally blessed and cursed with a heightened sixth sense that makes him acutely aware of other peoples’ evil doings. When he taps into the agony of an unknown girl’s murder, his body develops bloody, stigmatic wounds so deep he falls into a coma. Despite his unconscious state, Sou is able to communicate with his sister Izumi through the speaker of a broken cell phone. He urges her to track down the killer responsible for his current state, certain that more killings are about to occur. Sou has long had mysterious dreams in which he was a little girl with broken legs, and he senses that the serial killer is somehow related to this. Meanwhile, a young girl has just had her stomach cut open with steel surgical scissors…

Based on the notorious cult manga by Kazuo Umezu, God’s Left Hand will leave many Western audiences reeling in shock, unable to process the sensibility of a film whose tone approaches that of a teen-oriented fantasy crime thriller, yet veers freely into assaulting moments of ultraviolence reminiscent of an ’80s splatter movie. Much of it can be likened to a distinctly Eastern take on what Dario Argento had been exploring for a section of his career with features like Phenomena. Director Shusuke Kaneko, a frequent Fantasia attendee best known for creating unexpectedly cerebral and allegorical works within the realm of kaiju films, has taken a darker and far nastier turn than anyone could have expected here. In a recent interview with Fangoria, Kaneko had this to say: "In Japan, crime is becoming more serious. Our victims are getting younger and younger. This film is expressing my anger against the people who perpetrate such crimes." Judging by the carnage on screen, Kaneko’s anger must be at thermonuclear levels. The film was initially slated to be made by Devilman director Hiroyuki Nasu, who died suddenly last year. Hiroyuki had been a mentor to Kaneko in his youth, prompting the filmmaker to climb on board to complete his friend’s final production. The film is dedicated to his memory. Magical, cruel and steeped in morbid wit, this is one cleverly executed chiller that won’t be leaving your memory any time soon.

NOTE: We have been informed by the film's distributor that their 35mm prints will not be subtitled in time for our screeening. We will thus be showing the film from a professional grade video source.

—Mitch Davis

Website

http://www.kaminohidarite.com/

Credits

Director: Shusuke Kaneko
Screenplay: Yoshinori Matsugae
Cast: Asuka Shibuya, Tsubasa Kobayashi, Ai Maeda, Momoko Shimizu
Producers: Mikihiko Hirata, Naoya Narita, Isao Yoshiwara
Distributor: Toshiba Entertainment Inc.