asian-cineblog The Neighbour No. 13 explores the consequences of humiliation, abuse and torture among young teenagers and children. Juzo Murasaki arrives at a work construction area to take on his new job. Unfortunately for him, his supervisor turns out to be Akai, the one that has previously tortured him when both of them were only young teenagers. After years of repressed memories, Juzo develops a psychopathic alter ego that finally decides to seek revenge against Akai and his family, in a surrealistic journey that dissects the fears and enraged violence inside the human mind.Review The film is served in an exceptionally slow pace allowing the viewer to be submerged in the intriguing atmosphere in which a considerable number of disturbing scenes simply tend to pile up, notwithstanding no further clue of the upcoming events being expected. The violence in The Neighbour No. 13 is thoroughly presented throughout the movie, alternating with traces of humorous moments and apparently childish scenes. The scenes appear to be fairly well-orchestrated by the director, being presented in a particularly raw and cruel way, thus enhancing a feeling of repulsion since the type of violence and to whom it is addressed is indeed the most disturbing side of the violent behavior in this case.As the number of flashbacks tends to increase, Juzo is apparently sent into a downward spiral, leaving him desperate to gain control of his own mind. Surrealistic unorganized events, sometimes-incomprehensible perspective and grotesque animated scenes contribute to perfectly illustrate Juzo's disconnection from the reality. Nonetheless, towards the end of the movie however, the last scenes will eventually tie up any loose ends and a possible feeling of confusion that has been build up throughout the film.The physical characterization of Juzo and his revenge driven created alter ego is also of particular interest as Juzo appears as a delicate young man and No. 13 is better described as a disturbing disfigured emotionless creature. The scenes representing Juzo's mind were particularly well shot and quite bizarre in an interesting way. The remaining characters were for the most part attention-grabbers, even though rudeness and bullying can easily borderline annoyance, which was fortunately not the case in the movie. There is no particular character development for the most part excepting Juzo himself as the film represents his own journey, facing his own fears and demons and finding the necessary empowerment.Bottom line, The Neighbour No. 13 may be described as a dark character study wrapped in surrealistic contours of a vengeance quest, that as clearly something to say about standing up for yourself and fighting back against anybody or anything, allowing the viewer to explore the consequences and costs when repressed hatred and revenge become a part of anyone's reality.Asian-cineblog.blogspot.com

Ben Larson They say, "What goes around comes around," or "Karma is a bitch." In the case of bullies, I really hope that is true. Maybe they should show this film in schools to let them know that bullies sometimes get their just desserts, even if it is many years later.Jûzô (Shun Oguri) was constantly bullied by Akai (Hirofumi Arai) and his friends in school. Now, they work for the same company, and even live in the same apartment building. Akai doesn't recognize Juzo, and that is good because he continues his bullying ways, and is going to get a taste of revenge.But, before that we are witness to some real struggles between Juzo and his alter ego (Shidô Nakamura). This is presented in the form of an imaginary house, and again in cartoon form. Juzo doesn't want violence, but his alter ego is insistent. Apparently, the bullying drove him crazy.The only think that prevent a higher score is the ending, which is very confusing. I have to chalk that up to the fact that this was a first attempt for both the director and the writers. Other than that, it was captivating -- with blood and gore, I have to add.Takashi Miike makes a brief appearance as the first victim.

HumanoidOfFlesh First-time director Yasuo Inoue tells the story of a troubled young psychopath named Juzo Murasaki,who was tormented through school by group of his classmates,led by Toru Akai.This leads to the young boy to create a split personality,where his other half is on the psychotic side and apparently only comes out when he feels bullied or angry."The Neighbor No.Thirteen" is slow and deliberate horror film laced with heavy psychological tones.It's obviously influenced by "All Night Long" series and Takashi Miike's works.The film offers a few moments of brutal and highly disturbing violence,so fans of Japanese transgressive cinema should be pleased.The finale is quite disappointing,though.My rating:9 out of 10.

TrulyDisturbed I went into this film expecting something decent. What came out was amazing. If you are a fan on Japanese cinema this film should be on your must see list.The film is not your standard revenge film involving revenge on those who hurt the victim but revenge on anyone. The action is fairly quick to get going and gets more and more disturbing as it goes along.Definitely more enjoyable over a few beers since you will get to the point about not caring about the characters that die that much quicker since there is one characters death that does seem a little undeserved, but hey, its a Japanese horror flick! GO WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!.......NOW!!!