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what's your favourite horror movie by a black director released in the 2000s-2010s?
get out (2017)
us (2019)
the cloverfield paradox (2018)
the first purge (2018)
from hell (2001)
bones (2001)
sweetheart (2019)
kuso (2017)
da sweet blood of jesus (2014)
show results
I remember watching this and thinking it was the funniest thing ever but now looking back it is still the funniest thing ever
Hey, I got my quilt top made today! So now I'm ready to participate in a challenge and also contribute a thing.
Once again doing random picks, which I feel like I default to anymore. Just no effort put in to thinking of a decent double feature, just "what if these?". It's fine.
Kuso (2017)
This one's an anthology, which I'm always interested in. Oh, an earthquake has destroyed L.A. Thanks, spoken-word jazz guy.
So earthquake destroys L.A. and these are all about the weird, gross mutated people just living their lives or whatever. Everyone's got boils or sores or fucked up eyes, and there's lots of, uhh, fluids. And goop. And shit. And weird animated bits. And lots of gross outs.
Kuso (2017)
Kuso is the film equivalent of that slumber party game were you make a disgusting drink and see who throws up trying to drink it. Except in this version of the game, you then have to drink the puke…and you’re on acid. I really don’t know what else to say about this film in terms of explaining it to you. There is no real explanation to be had here. The only through line for the various vignettes appears to be the horrible sores and legions on the faces of all the (largely nameless) characters. That and gallons of shit, cum, slime, and vomit. I mean, one of the only character with a name, Dr. Quiggles, is a slime spewing cockroach monster that lives inside a man’s gaping asshole. Needless to say, this one isn’t for everyone.
What is odd though is that while this film certainly does feel original and I can’t say I’ve really ever seen anything quite like it, it somehow also feels a bit derivative at times. I found myself feeling like I was watching a mashup of Frank Henenlotter and Tim and Eric half the time and something akin to the stranger work of Takashi Miike screened through the lens of a Die Antwoord music video at others. This problem was only exacerbated by the fact that there is no build in this at all. The film starts at 100 (I think it was about 3 minutes in before someone had smeared shit on some strange tentacle beast) and really just stays at a constant level of WTF grossness for the entire 90 minute runtime. As such, once the initial shock wore off, I almost ended up feeling like I was slogging through this film at times. So I can’t call this a filth masterpiece or a subversive piece of trash cinema by any stretch (though I do think a valiant and conscious effort was made here attempting to be both).
That said, I absolutely can’t completely write this film off either. First off, I did laugh out loud more than once (maybe more than I care to admit) while watching this film. If that was all the film had to give, I still would have come out the other side at least mildly appreciative of its oddball humor and the commitment shown by director (and co-writer) Steven Ellison (better known as Flying Lotus) in sticking to his disgusting vision of a broken world. What is surprising though is that just as often as I found myself laughing, I also found myself mesmerized by the grotesque beauty of some of the shots in this film.
There are these fleeting moments that manage to struggled their way out of the excrement and demanded to be seen with an appreciative eye. The animation sequences employ Terry Gilliam level of intricacy and satire that were captivating to behold. Beyond that, some of the small moments of reprieve the audience are given from the disgusting mire this film wants us to wallow in are genuinely stunning. So yes, a lot of people aren’t going to enjoy Kuso. In fact, I feel like even its defenders are unlikely to push that hard to get friends to watch it for fear of the judgement that will almost certainly follow from pressuring anyone to watch this film. But if Troma, Tim and Eric, and the bonkers narratives and creature work of someone like Yoshihiro Nishimura appeal to you, then I would let this one wash over you and see how you come out. I’m going to take a shower now.
3 out of 5 cats.
