Review: Kuso

 Think movies have all become the same? Miss the era of the midnight movie? Don't think cult films are made anymore? Well, I have a movie for you. Kuso comes with a warning and a well-deserved one at that. Steven Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, has created a film that defies everything from good-taste to the rules of filmmaking. It is certainly not a movie for everyone or maybe even anyone, but it is a film that demands a reaction. This is 93 minutes of the manic mashing of hallucinatory imagery, scatological humor, extreme gore and social commentary.

The film is likely to get many walk-outs but for a few, this will be a welcome addition to the wild cinema that is often at the very fringes of the medium. The film hardly follows a standard narrative but there are four stories here that are interwoven to paint a grotesque image of California after an earthquake has dismantled society. These stories feature a pygmy who feeds an orifice he finds in the woods his own feces, a pair of furry alien creatures who torment a would-be female rapper, a man who has a phobia of breasts. Ellison populates the film with some recognizable comedians who are known for their absurd tendencies including Hannibal Burress and Tim Heidecker. Heidecker's presence is a welcomed nod to Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job of which Kuso owes a debt of influence to.

Kuso mixes so many types of media, often in succession. 8-bit video games, collage work reminiscent of Terry Gilliam, and gross-out practical effects all mix together in Ellison's hands. Thematically they riff on family, sex, madness, and society's disconnect from one another. The sheer barrage of inventiveness is impressive here but luckily Ellison constantly suggests he has real things to say with all of the nightmarish situations he presents. Kuso is also occasionally funny. The laughter may come more out of the need for a release or a baffled reaction to the insanity of the film though. 

Kuso is the kind of film the cinephiles often ask one another if they have seen, like a dare or right of passage. It seems like ages since a film has so aggressively asked to push the boundaries of its audience. Still, there is also some real emotion running behind all the shock value. The characters of Kuso all have a great sense of loss to them. Early on in the film, there is a rather disgusting sex scene that involves asphyxiation and lots of bodily fluids. While the shock hits you first, the film rests on the characters and meditates on what joy they got out of such an extreme act. It is in these moments that Kuso and Ellison show they have more than just gross-out tricks in them.  Kuso is a film worthy of discussion after seeing it but again the film is not for everyone and some won't last more than 10 minutes. 

Kuso defies a standard score. I say see it but don't come complaining to me afterwards. I warned you.