Review of Suicide Club (2001) by Alan J — 26 Mar 2009

An ambitious and original meditation on suicide, told in a somewhat entertaining and incoherent manner. Yes, this is a dense movie with buckets of blood to be spilt. The film at first glance is a mystery, with the detectives trying to solve the mass suicides that are taking place.

A strange website is discovered that somehow connects to these events, and you have the j-pop teeny band Dessert apparently singing in code, sending out either secret or subliminal messages. Let's not forget the Genesis character, a hybrid Rocky Horror/Charlie Manson persona.

Is this movie really a mystery? Well, if death is the only true connect to our lives, then it stands to reason for the suicidal the killer resides deep within us. How can a group of detectives possibly solve that potential crime? Questions abound, and not all of them are answered.

This film certainly is open to wide interpretation; some point out the incessant reliance on mass communication tools of the modern society (computers/internet/cellphone), on our daily lives and how we really don't connect with others, let alone ourselves.

Is ths movie then a social commentary soley about Japan? This is certainly one opaque movie that does leave you wondering what you just witnessed. I would say no matter how nonsensical the movie plays out, this movie is much thicker than first impression.

To say its a weird horror movie, while perhaps accurate, is not giving it full justice. See it for yourself and then decide!