Crazy Lips/ Gore From Space — Crazy Lips/ Gore From Space( Blu Ray)

Here’s a double-headed Blu-ray release bringing together two weird, wacky, at times troubling, and difficult-to-genre-label films from Japan. Both films are from the early 2000’s, were first released by Omega Pictures (Audition, Love Exposure), were produced by Takashige Ichise (Juon, Dark Water), written by Hiroshi Takahashi (The Ring series) and directed by Hirohisa Sasaki. This recent Third Widow release includes a commentary track and a mix of new/ archive extras

Hirohisa Sasaki is a Sapporo-born director. Between the early 1980’s and last year, he had twenty-five features to his name. These include the female-led action revenge film Kill (1997), High school comedy Gakkô No Kaidan (2007), horror Curse of the Red Undershirt (2018), and hiking drama Where the Two Moons Flow ( 2025)

First up, we have Crazy Lips from the year 2000s. It begins as a blend of serial killer mystery, family drama, J-horror creepiness, and media satire. Before jumping headfirst into a mixture manipulative/ troubling sleaze & horror, with moments of action & skewed pathos. It’s one hell of a ride- been the most deranged/ at times troubling of the two films featured here.

After the neat kaleidoscope and lullingly uneasy scored credits. We kick into grainy TV stock, as we see a bespeckled news report excitedly ranting & raving about the house behind him, where apparently a serial killer lived. We see a young woman clutching a bloody hand pushing past the news report and the large, gathered crowd- he shouts, ‘it’s his sister ’- before she disappears inside the house, and we switch to normal film stock.

Inside the house are two other women- the mother of the serial killer, and the serial killer's other sister. We find out that the killer has been AWOL for some time, with his family having to bat off the press. Then in walks the white flat-capped cop in charge of the case- and he’s a real charmer, spitting on the floor, pushing & feeling up the three women.

In desperation, the family decide to call in a shawl-wearing & black netted-gloved psychic, and her bespeckled/ shifty henchman. For the next twenty minutes or so, we get a mix of family drama & ghostly horror- as we have a séance & see the ghosts of the four decapitated victims…then things majorly go weird/ very troubling.

You see the family has no money to pay the pair, so the henchmen start raping the women- each of these is troubling, but this troubling level is pushed to the max when one of the women is forced onto the erect member of a hung-by-a-noose, thrown-up-on-himself man- as she is taken from behind by the henchmen.

Also added into the mix, we have a pair of Japanese FBI, a wavering/ importune musical number, and folks randomly vomiting.

The rest of the film is so tonally unbalancing- shifting all over the genre map, going from troubling psycho sexual softcore, horror, and in the last quarter action/ fighting in pre-dawn woodlands.

If you like genre shifting/ tonally unsettling film, with some effectively shocking transgressive elements, Crazy Lips is a must.

Extras-wise, we have a few new things- first is a commentary track from genre expert Tori Potenza & Amber T- this is a chatty, at times informative affair which is worth a play. They begin by discussing where the word lips comes from in the title, but the film is most certainly crazy. They touch on how unequal the film is, and how it sits in an interesting place in time- the rise of J Horror, which it most certainly isn’t. They discuss the director's horror shorts, touch on one of their favourites- which regards lots of shoes. We find out that director Hirohisa Sasaki started his career as an assistant director on Bumpkin Soup (1985), another wonderful weird film ( reviewed here), which was put out by the wonderfully creative The Directors Company & has been reissued by Third Window Films. They discuss how the film's writer Hiroshi Takahashi has a J-horror connection, as he wrote the first Ringu (1998). Later on, they touch on the rape/ impalement scene, before talking about the treatment of Rape in general in Japanese film. They discuss the director's fascination with headless bodies, as they appear in both films. They point out some of the cast as they appear, and give bios.

The other new thing is an interview with director Hirohisa Sasaki and writer Hiroshi Takahashi (28.34). Then we get a selection of archive interviews- with Hirohisa Sasaki(14.23), Hiroshi Takahashi (11.33) and Takashige Ichise (11.05). A making of (22.12), and an original trailer.

The second film is Gore From Out Of Space ( Chi Wo Sû Uchû), but don’t be fooled by its English translation- as there’s zero splatter here. Instead, I’d guess you call it either a tall tale or a Bizarro fable, which seems to get more wackier & wackier the longer it goes on. It blends elements of a missing-person mystery & Alien-focused conspiracy, with touches of skewed soap drama, oh, an impromptu out-of-the-blue musical prison number. The whole thing has a tonal air which shifts between serious/ sane and parody/ skit. It’s from the year 2001.

After voiced-over credits about space and its mysteries, the one-hour-and-twenty-five-minute film opens on death row, where young dark-haired woman Kiyohiko ( Sadao Abe) is hours away from death; she relates how she got into the situation.

It all begins with her rushing into a taxi and into the police station, with our heroine not paying attention. As she rushes into the station, she informs them that her baby has been kidnapped.

They head back to her apartment to take a statement- and the weirdness starts, rapidly escalating- first, her rather timid salaryman husband declares they never had a daughter.

As we unfold, we have headless car-surfing corpses point the way. We go to visit houses that have neither a toilet nor a kitchen- because they are owned by aliens. We meet a raping/ trying to cover it up politician. The two Japanese FBI agents reappear in a more Mulder and Scully mould. We have bullet-catching martial arts and floating-in-the-sky houses. Certain moments of the plot are revisited/ reversed, and really anything can and will happen.

After getting over the initial disappointment with the lack of gore in Gore From Outer Space, it’s an entertaining romp of a film, where you never know where it will go next.

Just archive extras on this disc- taking in:”Gore from Outer Space Prelude: Transformation” Short Film ( 11.14), ”Crazy Invasion” Short Film ( 15.17), a selection of interviews with Hirohisa Sasaki ( 17.38), Hiroshi Takahashi ( 13.34) and Takashige Ichise ( 15.46).

The finished region disc comes with a twelve-page booklet, a slipcase, and full-length Scanavo cases with reversible artwork- limited to 2000 units.

All in all, this is a great two-film release from Third Widow Films. If you like wacky, weird, at times very troubling films- that care little or nothing for genre labels, it’s a must!.