Dual Format Blu-Ray/DVD

Eureka Entertainment, available November 20, 2017 (and playing at film festivals currently)

Following up on previous cult hits Suicide Club and Tokyo Tribe, director Sion Sono’s latest is a fascinating mix of horror, action, art-house, and even meta media commentary. It’s also very much a pointed feminist piece in the end, though it disguises itself quite cleverly in this – in fact to the degree that a certain segment of the audience will probably feel it’s their kind of exploitation. Sadly, it’s difficult to explain or discuss this element without spoilering it, so it’s an opinion that will just have to be taken at face value before viewing.

In essence, it’s the story of Mitsuko (Reina Triendl), who by lucky chance escapes a strange supernatural occurrence that slaughters two busloads of her classmates. Fleeing from that, she makes it to school, where her classmates think she’s acting oddly. And that’s where it starts to get really strange for Mitsuko.

TAG probably will elicit a few “WTF” reactions on first viewing, at least to start with, before you get the measure of where it’s going, and recognise the pattern it’s building.  Because there is a pattern, and it’s leading somewhere that should make the viewer think about what they’re watching, as well as enjoying some great performances, lovely direction, and fun gore scenes. It’s also surprisingly funny, and this is as welcome a touch as is the rather angry tone that comes through in the latter stages

It is quite surreal in places, with frequent changes of location and tone, which at first could be confusing, but are actually leading towards some clever reflections on certain media and genres, as well as flipping the audience’s expectations of a movie about Japanese schoolgirls. As a result the changes of tone keep things interesting, both when coming as WTF surprises, and as developments you can recognise and fit to the pattern. This is a different movie, in the end, than the one you either expect, or the one that you start watching. It’s also a better one.

Visually, it’s very pretty to look at, with lovely flowing camerawork, crisp framing, and excellent use of colour – with the exception of a couple of two-shots in the school scenes, where it looks like something out Grange Hill. That’s a real shame, considering how pretty the rest of it is. That said, there is a sheen to the picture that shows it was shot in HD video rather than film, or even a properly cinematic digital format, and that too slightly tempers the arthouse beauty of it, and makes it feel a little cheaper.

Sono makes good use of the budget he had, though, with plenty of reasonable gore effects and mayhem, from the impressive opening shocker to the affecting finale – the rubber crocodile that makes an appearance, however, being a notable exception to the “reasonable” part – and makes them go a long way with clever use of angles and editing. Speaking of the finale, the ending is quite emotional and meaningful, but sadly doesn’t bear close scrutiny. It feels like the needs for a full stop finale outweighed the setup.

The locations are lovely, with red leaves and partial snow in the opening, and even the underground sets in the latter stages, though sparse, have a wonderful air of otherworldliness. That’s something the whole film exudes, in fact; not really a Wonderland feel (whatever the PR says) but a sense of things being both pretty and somehow off. This is helped by the subtle music score, which assists with the dreamlike atmosphere and progression of the film.

As the movie travels through survival horror, social-commentary action, and deeper into the speculative genres, Vienna-born Reina Triendl gets the chance to display quite a good range – she was 23 when this was filmed, but her character ranges between about 14 and 40 – as do the supporting cast, who all do a great job of variant characters and ages.

The transfer’s perfectly fine, as you’d expect from HD digital sourcing, and the Blu-Ray has fully uncompressed sound, so the score is more impressive than on the DVD disc. Sadly, however, the only extra on either disc is a thoroughly misleading trailer, which seems to promise a TV-ish Battle Royale knockoff, which is nothing like the actual film (and that’s something to be aware of if you go Googling to find a trailer to decide whether you fancy seeing the film).

Verdict: This is a good little piece with thought and depth, and something to say about what male audiences expect. It may be a little too arty for the gorehounds, or a little too gory for those who like their horror atmospheric, thoughtful, and meta, but if you’re up for both ends of the spectrum, you may will find this to be a surprisingly worthy viewing, even if the texture of the picture makes it feel more like a TV show than a cinematic film. It’s funny, thoughtful, affecting, and filled with good twists that keep turning the film on its head. Recommended. 9/10

David A McIntee