The rotten AV director Simple SANO drags along the rotten actor Kanon Eimu, aka Shinichiro Kaneko, on a hellish, haphazard journey through India in search of freaks (people with unusual deformities). Instead of freaks, they get ripped off, suffer diarrhea hell, get scammed, can't eat... and so on, facing a continuous string of misfortunes. Amidst this chaos, they attempt to film sex with an Indian woman, sneak into a cremation site for corpses, get scammed trying to exchange a beggar's money, have Kanon's head shaved, faint... and more. It's a super rotten road movie packed with countless moving (?) scenes. Will the two actually meet any special deformities (funny companions) and make it back to Japan safely? Part 1 covers the journey from gloomy Calcutta to irritating Benares.
The plot could’ve really been interesting if the elements of lycanthropy was integrated with perhaps the struggle of identity of being LGBTQ+. It's an experience for so many that as they’re starting to realizing their true selves, they feel like a monster, especially if they come from unsupportive homes or communities. Instead, the horror and transformation elements seem thrown in without contemplation of how this could deepen the narrative.
'Blue Beetle' is another solid addition to the superhero film canon.
Guillermo del Toro highlights a touch of innocence in the Gothic classic. The journey of Victor Frankenstein defying death gained inspiration from the Eastern energy system that is named ‘Qi’ and the lymphatic system being studied by Muslim scholars.
Malignant is a roller coaster ride of slow-build scares, moments of wonderfully absurd camp, and explorations of autonomy.
In the film adaptation, director Jon M. Chu turns each musical number into a massive show stopper, with grand set pieces and a wealth of diverse dancers. Yet, in this attempt to show reverence for the people of the Washington Heights barrio, Chu, or maybe more specifically those in charge of casting, left out a crucial part of the community, Afro-Latinos.
