Search - Masters of Horror - Imprint on DVD

Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL
Reviewed on 6/16/2011...

While not the best episode of Masters of Horror it's nowhere near the worst. My feeling is that Miike was attempting to see exactly how far he could push the boundaries of what can be shown on US tv. Abortion, child molestation, rape, torture, etc turned out to be too much for Showtime. I wonder if putting banned from cable broadcast on the box helped sales? If you're a fan of asian horror you may find this episode interesting.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Rob M. from STATEN ISLAND, NY
Reviewed on 5/31/2010...

Utter Garbage. Using the idea that "it's too rough for a US audience" is a lame excuse for another bit of brutality from the overrated Takashi Miike. A silly story about incest, murder and abortion (which is probably why Showtime didn't show it), it's actually a bit boring, even though the acting (Billy Drago sounds like he's sleepwalking through most of it) is mostly decent. Having the usual brutality well associated with Takashi Miike, none of which made me grit my teeth and go "Damn!" It's just a crummy excuse "Banned from US Broadcast!" to sell a DVD. Personally, other than I thought the story stunk, I found nothing offensive. And I'm glad I didn't pay for this, but it was a waste of a credit to trade for.

3 of 10 member(s) found this review helpful.

Steven H. (sehamilton) from BIRMINGHAM, AL
Reviewed on 7/8/2009...

Miike's Audition is one of the greatest horror experiences ever. That being the case, I wanted to love this entry in the Masters of Horror series. I understand why it wasn't shown during the first season's run. Many scenes in the film will make you uncomfortable. The greatest problem with the film is Billy Drago's relentlessly horrible performance. All Asian actors/actresses in the film learned their English lines phonetically, not being knowing English. Drago, however, delivers his lines with such heavy-handed, ham-fisted leadenness that the non-English speaking actors/actresses are better than him! While the story itself is great, Drago ruins the production. Still, there are incredible moments from Miike. This is certainly worth viewing, but be forewarned and attempt to not let Drago's drivel distract you.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

It shouldn't have been "banned," but it leaves an "imprint"

Scott Bresinger | New York, USA | 11/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Takashi Miike's entry into Showtime's "Masters Of Horror" series, in which a bunch of spooky directors get their shot to make a one-hour, no-holds-barred film, became somewhat notorious after the pay cable net decided against broadcasting it. In a series where gory violence was the norm, how bad could this one be? Of course, anyone who's seen Miike films such as "Audition" or "Visitor Q" could tell you that he can make Rob Zombie's hardcore-horrific "The Devil's Rejects" look like Disney. Still, here Miike would be constrained a bit by the format and even the language (this is his first picture in English), so it couldn't be that far beyond the pale, could it? Well, my fellow perverts, while "Imprint" does not mark a new extreme in the extremes of extremity, it's definitely one of the most grotesque of the "Masters" series. It's also one of the best.

An American (Billy Drago, doing a David Carradine impression) travels to a small Japanese island that serves as a brothel/village to find the beautiful young prostitute he fell in love with and vows to rescue. Unable to find her, he instead spends the night in conversation with another prostitute with a facial deformity. She tells him about her life, and weirdness ensues. What probably got this episode pulled might have been the extended, unrelenting torture scene, but it was probably the subplot involving an abortionist, with graphic shots of dead fetuses left to drift away in a stream. In any case, it's more than even a few supposedly sick gore-hounds will be comfortable with (of course, I remember reading that "Reservoir Dogs" caused more than a few walk-outs when it was shown at a horror film festival). Anyway, by the end, the naturalism of the novel this was based on has been replaced by dark supernatural elements and even some out-and-out surrealism. Actually, many will want to criticize this not for all that, but for what appears to be Drago's blatant overacting. In my opinion, though, even that fit in with the general tone that Miike sets.

The disc also includes some long featurettes, which give plenty of information about the method to Miike's madness. While "Imprint" is kind of like the director is working with one hand painfully binded behind his back and then hacked off (for a more "pure" experience, see "Ichi the Killer"), this is still way more stylish than most of the other MOH episodes, with the possible exception of Lucky McKee's entry, "Sick Girl." This is something far more disturbing than some cheap thrills, and it'll stay with you far longer."

Miike Shows Horror what a Master really is.

Captain Insanity | NY | 01/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"----- Right off the bat. This movie will blow you away. In fact, I'm still picking pieces of my skull out of the carpet. This film pretty much has it all. The settings are gorgeous, the scares (involving spirits)are subtle, and the shock is in your face. One of the best torture scenes I've seen since.....basically ever (Needles were kind of scary to begin with, but now they're just downright frightening, and you can just forget about sewing or going to the doctor). Anyways it also has; aborted fetuses floating down the river, prostitution & incest, a quirky creature, a mangled face, a terrible american actor, and a syphlitic midget with a chicken on his head. Now if this doesn't sound like the 12 days of black christmas to you, then maybe you should stick to bland hollywood horror. Because this baby wasn't banned from cable television for nothing.
----- Because of this movie Takashi Miike is now a staple in my horror library. Nothing (in my opinion) he has ever done even comes close to this. Suffice it to say, I really don't feel anything he has directed before this actually qualifies as "real" horror (Except maybe "The Box" on 3 Extremes). "Audition" comes close, but ends up being a love story gone terribly arye. "Ichi" is definitely an action movie, a bloody action movie, but an action movie none the less. Visitor Q is an exploitation flick/satire with an actual message; although god only knows what that message is. I really shouldn't be so pretentious though, because I still haven't seen "Gozu" or "One Missed Call". But from what I have seen, this is the only film of his that is genuinely horror.
This movie is a "must-have" for anyone into gore or anyone who is tired of the same old Japanese ghost flick. This is Asia at its cinematic best. And with this, Miike has shown american horror directors what a master really is.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Don't fall in love with prostitutes, because you'll only wind up eating aborted fetuses."

ABSOLUTE MIIKE

J. Sinisi | NY USA | 09/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pay no mind to the first reviewer- if you're a Miike fan or an extreme horror fan this is worth every penny. Of the other "Masters of Horror" bore fests the only other ones worth watching were Incidents On and Off a Mountain Road and Cigarette Burns- and only Cigarette Burns from those two would be worth buying. Back to Imprint- it was banned for a reason- or perhaps multiple reasons- after the first half hour you're wondering what all the fuss was about- it seems a little creepy and the acting isn't so great- from the half hour mark however it turns into an extremely violent carnivalesque freak show - me and my girlfriend are major horror buffs and she was cringing repeatedly- and it's not the violence or the over the top viscera that makes it so great- it's the visual style of Miike as well that propels this- images born from a nightmare that you won't be able to toss from your mind any time soon- In this form Miike is like an Asian David Lynch on acid- great stuff- and don't watch this one with children or the weak of stomach..."