My second Miike after his excellent 1999 horror film Audition, Gozu is such a bizarre combination of elements that it is very difficult to describe; it's more a film that you have to see to have any chance of understanding. My best stab at it would be if you took Wait in Fright, transplanted it into 2000s Japan, and dolloped in a seemingly endless parade of Yakuza narratives, traditional ghost stories, sexuality, and surrealism. The film floats through genres like almost nothing that you've ever seen before (even getting into a bit of Cronenberg body horror), and the only unifying feature seems to be a relentless dedication to the bizarre and a fascinatingly distinct and bonkers exploration of male sexual identity, using stereotypically masculine archetypes (gangsters) and subjecting them to literally transformative experiences to touch on identity. Miike demonstrates an idiosyncratic style that certainly puts him as one of the most original cinematic artists of his generation, possibly to the detriment of his commercial success. But this side of Miike might be just too darn weird for me; Gozu is the kind of film that you have to be at the far end of a normal distribution curve to really geek over, and I'm in that middle majority. Entirely unique and unpredictable, but very strange indeed. (3/5)

This is a very strange film. It makes little sense. It is also very long with not much happening. The story may seem simplistic until you look deeper and there are so many subtle detailed nuances that it can be a little compelling. Sadly the film drags along, like the men in drag in the restaurant, to the more awkward situations. I mean what the hell would you do if an old lady offered you breast milk to drink? Especially difficult to refuse her if she was very insistent that you sampled her home-grown milky goodness. The ending is utterly twisted but does not justify the whole film before it. It started David Lynch and ended David Cronenberg.

Surreal film from start to finish very David Lynch inspired but a masterpiece in its own right!

To say Gozu is not for everybody would be a massive understatement. If this is your first time watching a Takashi Miike movie, stop and watch a different one first. This is a mind trip. (foreverfinalgirl.com/takashi-miike-gozu/)

It's trash, but that's not surprising given the fact that I've hated most of Miike's films. Auditon is still okay, though.

I wanted to see a horror movie based off an urban legend, Instead. I got a three hour pornographic fanfiction about Japanese gangsters and insane women, doing insane things. The only thing scary about this movie, is it's not the worst movie i've ever seen.

this was weirddddd. i accidentally fell asleep for a portion in the beginning so i know i probably missed some major plot points, but from what i did see it felt really random. i really love japanese horror movies - they're so much better than ours, even if the acting is maybe a little over the top at times. they can also be quite weird. like this one, lol.

Gozu is, ya know, your typical Yakuza psycosexual, surreal fantasy film: gangster loses gangster he's supposed to kill; gangster tries to get gangster back; gangster gets gangster back after sexy woman gives birth to adult truant gangster. Just strange enough to keep you interested, with a ridiculous last 20 minutes — unfortunately, I mean this negatively, as I had Gozu closer to an (80) before this. The film takes place in a rundown suburb of Nagoya, which might as well be another dimension from yakuza-footman Minami's (Hideki Sonne, an actor who doesn't have a wiki page, IMDB page, or any other film credits…) Tokyo. Minami is constantly asked, "You're not from here, are you?" and at times seems to be speaking another language. Director Takashi Miike has some notable camerawork here — driving on the highway back to Tokyo, Minami frightened in the B&B. Again, those last 20 mins were just a lot. I'll just give you my notes so you get the picture: "WTF?! Ending. WHAT THE FUCK EVEN MORE?!?!" Also, there's a big milk theme here. It's unsettling. You've been warned.

perverse and surreal

What the hell did I just watch?

Saying this movie is strange is not enough and your body is not ready for what this film has to offer.

The real "O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?".Hilarious!

Takashi Miike's masterpiece of surrealism is not only one of the strangest films ever made, it is unsettlingly human. This dark absurdist film owes a great deal to David Lynch, but manages to stand alone. Not to be missed.

Pretty Ho Hum for a Miike film!

It's rare anymore that a film leaves me saying "What the hell did I even just watch," but Gozu succeeded. I don't even, can't even process it right now. Entertaining? Yes. Nonsensical? Almost completely. Padded with an amusing cast of characters, Gozu demands eyes on the screen. Even as it goes through some absurd and disturbing imagery.

Its last shot reveals the film to be an elaborate prank, but all power to it - poignant, hilarious, gratuitous, I can't justify changing a single shot.

This film was definitely something for sure.

Utterly bizarre and thoroughly entertaining, this Miike at his maddest-probably!

Very surrealistic and I don't even understand what the point of the film really is. Despite not having a plot, it was still quite masterful and intuitive in terms of the filming style. A very strange film to summarize it, very much like Easerhead but less provocative and disturbing.

My rating for this is "What the Fuck????" I can't even..I don't even...it's as bad as Naked Lunch