Radiance Films UK Blu-ray Synopsis: A struggling news reporter (Kenicho Endo, The Raid 2) keeps pushing boundaries to impress his superiors, finally winding up in a motel room with his estranged daughter. Back home, his bullied son takes his violent rages out on his mother, who turns to heroin to cope but must prostitute herself to afford the habit. Into this scene of severe family dysfunction steps Q, a mysterious stranger with a knack for knowing just what each member needs most, whether it's a rock to the head, a sexual reawakening, or a bout of murder. From the mind of Takashi Miike comes his most transgressive film yet: unflinching yet darkly humorous, Visitor Q pushes the limits of filmic representation as far as they will go. Equal parts Pasolini, Ozu and John Waters, this may well be Miike's finest film. (84 Mins)

 

Views: When global film and television viewers think about dysfunctional families, their minds normally go to The Simpsons – which is both understandable and relatable. But no-one ever mentions Visitor Q which, without a doubt, gives us one of the most dysfunctional families ever committed to film! Dad is an ex-TV news reporter who enjoys sleeping with his estranged young-adult prostitute daughter. Mum is a heroin addict, who also sells herself for money in order to feed her habit, constantly abused by her teenage son who is continuously being beaten by school bullies while his dad films from a distance. Enter 'Q', a stranger who muscles his way into the family and begins to change their lives for the better – bring their disturbing qualities to the top, even if it means more abuse, sex, incest and murder!

 

Shot on video over 7 days, Visitor Q is quite possibly one of the most shocking, twisted, and brilliant movies from the outrageously creative mind of the much celebrated Takashi Miike – one of my favourite film-makers. Of course, this was an exciting year for fans of the director with Miike offering-up a mix of genres such as Agitator, Ichi The Killer, and the insane musical-horror, The Happiness Of The Katakuris. But much like with Agitator, I feel that Visitor Q seems like it was allowing Miike to catch his breath. And while it certainly isn't any less superior than the rest, I often think that films like this were faster and easier for him to produce. That said, when you see what actually goes on here during the 84 minutes of it's running time, it's pretty damn impressive what cast and crew pulled off in a week (no pun intended!). Unfortunately, it's the shocking side of Visitor Q – the invasive visual incest, the showers of breast milk, the violent abuse, the necrophilia – that most viewers will remember. But Miike manages to make it so much more. He delivers substance through social commentary on family life, love and Japanese culture that explore how the roles of the patriarch and matriarch have changed in modern times. And then there's the addition of the titular character himself; a bizarre addition to the family who loves to be showered in breast milk, encourages murder and sex, and rides a fine line of insanity while loving every minute of it. Yet, at the same time, saves this family unit from imploding in on itself...

 

Written by Itaru Era, who previously write Takashi's Full Metal Yakuza (1997) and joined him again many years later for his live-action adaptation of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable – Chapter 1 (2017), the film also succeeds thanks to it's dedicated cast. The great Kenichi Endo leads the way as the disturbed father of the family, happy to hire his estranged hooker-daughter (played by Fujiko) for sex and video their time together, while ignoring his wife and family problems before turning to murder and necrophilia. Required to display full frontal nudity numerous times (which is blurred), this prolific actor is still going strong today with over 300 credits to his name having worked a lot of V-cinema prior to this as well as Miike's Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000), before going on to star in titles such as his Agitator, The Happiness of the Katakuris, and Family 2 right after this in 2001, Sabu and Deadly Outlaw: Rekka in 2002, Gozu and One Missed Call in 2003, Izo (2004), The Great Yokai War (2005), Crows Zero (2007) and so much more. Shungiku Uchida delivers an equally shocking role as the mother of the family, beaten by her teenage son (played by Jun Muto) while getting hooked on heroin to deal with it, and selling herself to raise the funds. But she soon learns that sharing her breast milk is a way to heal, and share she does – until the kitchen floor is practically flooded! Having just had a baby, it was certainly brave of Uchida to take on this role which was obviously the most recognised of her career by this point. Still acting till fairly recent times, she would go onto appear in films such as Stacy: Attack of the Schoolgirl Zombies and the brilliant Waterboys that same year, Otakus in Love (2004), Yumeno (2005), Nightmare Detective 2 (2008), Roman Bath (2012), and A Missing Part (2024). V-cinema starlet Shoko Nakahara appears as the unfortunate Asako who finds herself a victim of the father's perversion, while Kazushi Watanabe stars as the titular character of the piece, Q. Prior to this he had only starred in his self directed debut film 19 (2000), a road movie about a kidnap gone pear-shaped, with the actor going onto direct and star in films such as Space Police (2004), Captain Tokio (2007), Samurai of the Dead (2014), and The Master Samurai (2018). As usual, Takashi Miike pulls the best and natural performances from all involved.

 

Joining the newly restored transfer of the film on the Radiance Films Blu-ray release is a number of bonus features. The first of these is a new audio commentary by Tom Mes; a Japanese cinema expert who specialises on Miike's work. Here, he delivers a pretty informative track in his usual lethargic way, but it does make for a good listen. Next is a collection of brand new interviews – the first, a 22 minute piece with director Takashi Miike which was wonderful to see offering some great reveals and insights as to how the film came about. The second is a 19 minute interview with star Kenichi Endo, again, fantastic to see and insightful to his experiences on Visitor Q and working with Takashi. Then, finally, co-star Shoko Nakahara gives us 21 minutes of memories and laughs on how she got the role, as well as bits on her career before and after. Next we get a video essay by Kat Ellinger called Mother's Milk: Visitor Q and the Feminine Principle, a 16 minute piece on the film and the feminine reawakening of it's story. And while it was interesting enough, it was just okay and not a bonus I'd ever return to. Then finally, we get the original trailer for the film – directed by Q himself, Kazushi Watanabe, which made for a fun watch. So, all in all, a wild film from a period when Takashi Miike was running the cinematic world, Visitor Q is a disturbingly fantastic piece beautifully delivered by Radiance Films once again!

 

Overall: Twisted yet brilliant, disturbed yet funny, Visitor Q will stay with you forever – and quite possibly haunt you at the same time!

 

Radiance Films Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary with Tom Mes, Interviews with Takashi Miike, Kenichi Endo and Showko Nakahara, Video Essay by Kat Ellinger, Trailer