Director: Hirohisa Sasaki
Writer: Hiroshi Takahashi
Country: Japan
BBFC Certificate: 18
One of the great things about the releases we get from prestige labels is how easy it is these days to get to see films from overseas that we perhaps never knew existed or were particularly difficult to get hold of copies of. This rings particularly true for the J-Horror movement as, while films like Ringu, Ju-On and Dark Water all managed to make an impact on Western audiences through the late 90’s and 2000’s, there was always a slew of films which never managed to get a release. This new double feature set from Third Window Films brings a fresh duo of little seen J-Horror movies to the UK, a pair with a reputation for being somewhat bonkers. With the producer of Ju-On and Dark Water and the writer of Ringu on board, let’s see where this mad little pair will take us…
Crazy Lips
Starring: Hitomi Miwa, Kazuma Suzuki, Ren Ōsugi, Hiroshi Abe, Hijiri Natsukawa, Yoshiko Yura, Tomomi Kuribayashi
Running Time: 85 minutes
Year: 2000
When her brother goes missing after being accused of murder, Satomi goes to visit a psychic for help in tracking him down. Things go horribly wrong when the psychic and her brother invade Satomi and her family’s lives, manipulating her mother and sister and unlocking a strange and bizarre revelation about the family.
When you put “from the team that brought you Ringu, JuOn and Audition” on the box for your film, there’s a certain amount of expectations that are set for what you’re about to watch. All of the above are to varying degrees, high brow supernatural or psychological films which have rightfully cemented their places in cinematic history. Despite opening with a wonderful, giallo esque psychedelic intro and feeling immediately like we’re in psychological thriller, Crazy Lips very quickly lurches left into wild and weird territory and doesn’t stop lurching for the remainder of its slight 85 minute runtime.
If I were to describe Crazy Lips plot in one word, I think that word would be “eclectic” – “insane” would also be acceptable. Frequently feeling like stream of consciousness storytelling, the film leapfrogs from one improbable setpiece to another, adding dashes of ghost stories, extreme thrillers, melodrama and, yes, even a musical number into the proceedings. It’s also absurdly humorous in its execution but manages to dip into some incredibly dark exploitation territory along the way.
The cast are incredibly game for a lot of the film, with the pair of psychic siblings exuding a lot of both the weirdness and nastiness of the story, backed up only by Hiroshi Abe and Tomomi Kuribayashi as a truly bizarre pair of FBI agents, one of whom believes she’s American, wears a blonde wig, talks in broken English and frequently blurts out the Star Spangled Banner. It can be quite overwhelming at times but at least there’s Hitomi Miwa playing the role of Satomi utterly straight, anchoring us in what little coherent narrative there is while getting emotionally and physically put through the wringer.
The final act is an absolute blast adding in some remarkably well choreographed kung fu action and Crazy Lips is largely just a big silly slice of Japanese weirdness that is for the most part a lot of fun. It can get a little bit too weird for its own good at times, however, and it’s not always an easy watch with its more exploitation elements. One scene in particular was a genuine shock with a pretty depraved act coming completely out of nowhere, cementing the 18 rating that this set has received.
Bonus Features
- Tori Potenza & Amber T audio commentary
- Making Of
- Hirohisa Sasaki & Hiroshi Takahashi 2026 interview
- Archival interviews with Hirohisa Sasaki, Hiroshi Takahashi and Takashige Ichise
- Original Trailer
Gore From Outer Space
Starring: Hiroshi Abe, Sadao Abe, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Tomomi Kuribayashi, Hitomi Miwa, Aimi Nakamura
Running Time: 85 minutes
Year: 2001
Satomi believes her daughter has been kidnapped, however neither her husband or the police believe her. When a mysterious psychic comes into her life, followed quickly by a pair of unhinged FBI agents, Satomi is dragged into a surreal world of alien invasions and conspiracies.
A semi-sequel to Crazy Lips, Gore From Outer Space is perhaps the more widely known of the pair. Taking on a more B sci-fi movie vibe from the outset, the narrative of a missing daughter who may not exist also echoes the psychological thrillers of De Palma and Hitchcock. But, as with the previous film, all of this gets quickly pushed aside for a zany, stream of consciousness story that leaps through a variety of genres.
While it’s not essential to have seen Crazy Lips, there’s plenty of connections and Easter Eggs from that film. We have another Satomi, this time played by a different actor – Hitomi Miwa does return in a different role though – while Yomi Yoshiuki reprises her role as the psychotic psychic from Crazy Lips. The FBI agents return, wild broken English and all and we even get another musical number. Those in the know will also be able to spot a weirdly funny cameo from Ringu and Dark Water director Hideo Nakata.
Where Gore From Outer Space differs from Crazy Lips, however, is in its commitment to its alien invasion story, one which it sticks to fairly well while also throwing in some of the more madcap narrative elements. Almost feeling like a light Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Satomi begins to uncover more and more secrets from her family history and how it ties into a politician who may or may not be an alien in disguise.
Gore From Outer Space is a much less unpleasant film than Crazy Lips, smoothing off the more extreme exploitation edges of its predecessor to present something that’s perhaps a lot easier to watch but it no more coherently plotted; in doing so, however, it does perhaps lead to a less interesting experience than Crazy Lips; there’s very little gore, from outer space or otherwise, and there’s a number of interludes which sidestep the chaotic narrative rather than adding to it, which can lead to a far more plodding film.
Bonus Features
- ”Gore from Outer Space Prelude: Transformation” Short Film
- ”Crazy Invasion” Short Film
- Archival interviews with Hirohisa Sasaki, Hiroshi Takahashi and Takashige Ichise
- Original Trailer
As with Third Window’s recently released Angel Guts collection, it’s great to see some of these more unknown films making their way to the UK. As with that collection, though, this set is definitely not going to be for everyone. While Crazy Lips is perhaps the more interesting of the pair, its extreme scenes are absolutely going to be a trigger warning for a number of viewers, while Gore From Outer Space is perhaps just a little too pedestrian in comparison.
Third Window has managed to put a good amount of extras on the set but they are definitely a mixed bag. The commentary and interviews on Crazy Lips are perhaps the best of the set, particularly the 2026 interview which provides a good retrospective on the two films, but the archival content is of varying quality. The short films on Gore From Outer Space are a nice addition, but the audio and video quality isn’t great (something the disc flags on load) and they’re incredibly amateurish in comparison to the main feature.
It’s a set worth picking up for viewers interested in stepping into something else from a production team that’s brought us a bevvy of J Horror classics, but not an essential purchase.