By Amanda Moses
The Japan Society had the honor of hosting the North American Premiere of famed Japanese Director Takashi Miike’s Lumberjack the Monster on May 6th.
Miike is an iconic cult and horror director known for films such as Ichi the Killer, Audition, and First Love. So, when it was announced that the Japan Society would showcase his newest film, Lumberjack the Monster, which is set to be a Netflix release presented by the Tribeca Festival, fans made sure to reserve their seats to see the master of horror in action.
Lumberjack the Monster has all of the ingredients that make a Miike film spectacular. From its dark humor to excellent storytelling, Miike manages to keep audiences on the edge of their seat as they watched a psychopath and serial killer play a murderous game of cat-and-mouse.
With the heartthrob lead, Kazuya Kamenashi, a lawyer who also happens to be an emotionless psychopath is somehow caught in the cross hairs of a brain stealing serial killer. Joining Kamenashi on screen are Nanao, Riho Yoshioka, Shota Sometani, Shido Nakamura, each trying to unravel the macabre mystery all told with the narrative of a children’s book.
Young Adults Program co-Founder Eileen Level and her son Julien attended the premiere, and shared that the film was a sad, but beautiful story that makes you feel empathy with some of the dark characters that, normally, you would have had no sympathy for.
