Review of Why Don't You Play in Hell? (2013) by Schmoog L — 21 Nov 2013

The cult Japanese Yakuza film genre gets a trendy and exciting update in Why Don't You Play in Hell by director Scion Sono, who has been described as the Japanese Quentin Tarantino - and the comparison between the two directors certainly rings true considering Tarantino's venture into classic cult Japanese genre films with Kill Bill.

The story, based on a screenplay Sono had written fifteen years earlier, involves the violent exploits of two rival Yakuza gangs. One of the gang leaders, as a gift to his wife, wants to make a film star out of her daughter who had reached the peak of her fame as the child in a famous toothpaste commercial.

Parallel to this is the story of a group of excited renegade young filmmaker who call themselves the 'Fuck Bombers'. The meeting between these two stories will lead to an exciting rollercoaster ride of riveting action sequences, hilarious comedy gags and stylish ultra-violence.

The key to Sono's film is exaggeration, and it has rarely ever worked so consistently. The screenplay never misses a beat, and unravels thrillingly through an imaginative approach and plot developments that wilfully extend its boundaries to boarderline ridiculous.

Furthermore, the film's visuals are wonderfully outlandish. In the midst of this spellbinding chaos is also an unorthodox yet much appreciated tribute to the death of celluloid. In short, Why Don't You Play in Hell is a remarkably imaginative riot that establishes its director as a modern cult film visionary and is more than likely to win him a devoted following from here on.