Despite the fact that Kenichi Ugana usually follows genre paths in his filmmaking, his will to change styles is also evident throughout his body of work, which we have been covering since 2018 and “Good-Bye Silence”. His latest work, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” amusingly goes into slasher territory, in a movie that had its world premiere at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and won the Grand Prix at the Portland Horror Film Festival.
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
The film begins in an elementary school, where we are introduced to Wakaba, a girl who has to face her father’s aggressive behavior, along with her mother. Probably due to this, when she sees one of her classmates, Koki, being bullied in school, she decides to help him, in a decision, though, that ends up with both of them being bullied by two particular students, both of which, though, are soon found dead. 7 years later, an adult Wakaba has managed to be invited into a trip to the woods where Kohei Shirasaki, whose biggest fan she was as a child, is also involved. The trip, however, turns into a nightmare when a masked man with something that looks like a portable lawnmower appears and spreads mayhem among the group, with Wakaba and her friend being the only survivors. Kamiyama, a police officer who is also the father of one of the girls killed, decides to investigate the case against his orders, but the killings of people dealing with Wakaba continue to take place. Meanwhile, Wakaba believes that Koki committed suicide during his schoolyears.
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Evidently, the identity of the serial killer in the mask is not much of a mystery. However, Kenichi Ugana skillfully incorporates a few entertaining twists into the story, along with comedic elements derived from Wakaba’s training in the art of serial killer killing. Notably, Akaji Maro’s portrayal of her teacher adds a layer of joyfulness for viewers to enjoy. In the same path, the movie begins as a school drama also focusing on bullying, but after the initial scenes and the 7 years flash forward, the movie shows its true colors, which are as entertaining as they could be.
In that fashion, the film soon becomes a gorefest, with Ugana implementing a rather amusing motif where Wakaba goes out with someone only for the masked killer to appear and butcher him eventually, with power tools, knives, or whatever weapon is in his hands at the particular time. Kamiyama’s research, Wakaba’s training and her own research on what happened to Koki breaks this approach somewhat only for it to return in all its gory glory in the bloodbathed finale.
The combination of comedy which actually applies also to the over-the-top violence and the overall gore works excellently for the narrative, which remains entertaining from beginning to end, with the irony of the twist and the finale also moving into the same direction. As such, Ugana’s direction and writing (along Hirobumi Watanabe) emerge as two of the best traits of the movie, along with Tomoki Iwakura’s cinematography, who captures the different setting presented in the film with an excessiveness that fits the general aesthetics perfectly. Masashi Komino’s editing induces the title with a fitting, relatively fast pace, while the connection of the different elements here are ideal for this type of movie, with the violent moments followed by ones of calmness. Lastly, a nice job has also been done by Miyuki Wakamatsu in the VFX and particularly the blood, which actually showcases the low budget nature of the production in a way that adds to the entertainment it offers.
The acting is also in perfect resonance with the overall aesthetics. Sayu Kubota as Wakaba highlights a very entertaining transformation with the finale being her highlight. Yuzu Aoki is good in a role that he barely shows his face, while Mitsuru Fukikoshi is an excellent chaotic good turned chaotic evil character as Kamiyama.
More than anything else, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is a fun film, and considering the lack of similar titles in the Japanese industry, Ugana’s work stands out in the most rewarding way possible.
