If your idea of J-horror is Hollywood remakes of “The Ring” and “The Grudge” you might want to skip this grueling slab of celluloid that offers insight into a bizarre and frightening Japanese subculture.
In metal terms, if “Scream” is the Motley Crue of Horror, “Strange Circus” is Dir en grey or Dimmu Borgir. Directed by Sion Sono (Suicide Club, Into a Dream) the film is a perverse, disturbing and beautifully shot tale of a disturbed school principal, the physical and mental abuse he inflicts on his daughter, the affect it has on the family and the domino effect that causes the characters to spiral into a cesspool of decadence and decay.
Narrating the tale is wheelchair bound female erotic novelist Taeko, who is assisted by Yuji, young man who wants to uncover the truth behind the strange, twisted set of events and find out what really happened in the locked room of Taeko’s apartment so many years ago. But the nightmares that start to unfold and the memories that become triggered leave Taeko and her peers on the brink of madness.
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