There was a time in the early to mid 00s where the only type of movie you would see coming out of Japan were absurdist comedies with strange yet alluring titles.
At the forefront of this was Katsuhito Ishii. With films such as Funky Forest: The First Contact, The Taste of Tea and Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl, along with directors like Satoshi Miki (Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers and Adrift In Tokyo, two films that were covered on our very own Uncut Podcast), all delivering their unique brand of of humour that, on paper at least, shouldn’t travel all that well (as comedy rarely does), but totally struck a vibe with a generation of people just venturing into a larger world of Japanese cinema.
It’s with films like Tetsuya Nakashima’s Kamikaze Girls and Sion Sono’s LoveExposure that Third Window Films started to make a name for themselves on UK shores. If you wanted something different or unusual, something by that will subvert your expectations as to what Japanese could be, the Third Window Films were your go to label (along with a slew of great Lee Chang-Dong films like Oasis and Peppermint Candy).
Fast forward to 2023, and whilst Third Window Films have become synonymous with film makers such as Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tokyo Fist) and Nobuhiko Obayashi (Hanagatami and some little weird film 70s horror movie called House… yes, that one), their ability to dig below the surface never ceases to amaze, as proven in recent years with the likes of One Cut of the Dead and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. It is in this vein that we find ourselves at their latest release, Reiki Tsuno’s debut feature Mad Cats.
Mad Cats doesn’t really know the direction it wants to go in and ends up kind of dawdling around, cracking visual jokes and action scenes when the time requires.
The short takeaway of this film is that if you liked the aforementioned films then you will probably get on fine with this one too. This isn’t to say that Mad Cats is not original, far from it (and more on that later), but it also knows the audience it wants to play to as well, with huge swings of the preposterous in the story it intends to tell.
If anything it is in its story that Mad Cats falls hardest. Taka (Sho Mineo) receives a letter informing him that his brother Mune (So Yamanaka) is being held hostage in a place familiar to the pair. Mune is an archaeologist that has found something of great interest to an elite group of assassins, lead by the Wheelchair bound The Boss (Hikari Aiko).
Whilst we may have seen this scenario a thousand times before, here it is played with a goofy laugh and a tongue firmly in its cheek. The performances are solid without ever shining, with Sho Mineo and Yuya Matsuura making a good inept duo and Ayane being the grounded character needed for these two to play off. Each assassin is given a name to suit their unique trait (eg The Greedy Smiler, The Chill Monster and The Executioner), but they don’t really serve any purpose that couldn’t be filled by a single character offering a far greater threat.
Where this film does stand out is during some of the action set pieces. There was a potential to join the likes of other quality Japanese action films of recent years like Baby Assassins, Hydra and A Janitor, but Mad Cats doesn’t really know the direction it wants to go in and ends up kind of dawdling around, cracking visual jokes and action scenes when the time requires.
Far from being a classic but still worth checking out (especially if you loved the likes of Survive Style 5+), just temper your expectations.
We also reviewed Mad Cats for its World Premiere at Slamdance Festival 2023
Mad Cats is out now on Third Window Films Blu-Ray
Ben’s Archive – Mad Cats
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