Why Don’t You Play In Hell? | Film Review

‘WHY DON’T YOU PLAY IN HELL?’ is the new film from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono (sometimes spelled Shion Sono). While Sono’s name isn’t too well known here in the States, I think he is legitimately one of the best filmmakers working today, yet his movies can be challenging and definitely not for everyone.

While he’s dabbled in many genres, Sono does not stray away from difficult subject matter such as violence, infidelity, incest, religion, isolation, among other things; making his films not easily enjoyable for most people. His probably most known film in America is the 2001 cult film SUICIDE CLUB, which is a twisted thriller about mass suicides that found its way onto video shelves during the short J-horror boom in the early 2000s

Sono’s films kind of exist in their own surreal world where no matter how simple the story is, something is always a little off. This occurs even outside the horror genre, his dramas and comedies can be eccentric too. It isn’t weird just to be weird though, it is the result of a unique voice who is not afraid to tell the story he wants to tell. With his new film, Sono may still be playing in this surreal world, but the madcap energy of ‘Why Don’t You Play In Hell?’ makes it one of his most accessible films to the average moviegoer.

That is not to say ‘Hell’ isn’t challenging, but it is not as unsettling as past Sono films like GUILTY OF ROMANCE or STRANGE CIRCUS and also not as introspective as NORIKO’S DINNER TABLE or as mood shifting as LOVE EXPOSURE (my personal favorite of his films).

‘Why Don’t You Play In Hell?’ is a bloody action comedy that follows a bunch of characters whose lives connect as they set out to produce the ultimate yakuza film. The movie begins ten years in the past to introduce the various characters and set up how they will all fatefully meet up in the future.

Muto (Jun Kunimura) is a tough crime boss who is in the middle of an ongoing war with another yakuza gang. When the gang sends assassins to Muto’s home, they meet their demise at the hands of Muto’s knife wielding wife. To protect her criminal husband and their young actress daughter, the wife refuses to cooperate with the police and gets sent to prison, since she flew way past self-defense in massacring the would-be assassins. We are also introduced to a young group of guerilla filmmakers whose goofy club name I won’t write here so I’ll just call them ‘The F-bombers’. Their leader is overly enthusiastic and obsessed with making cinéma vérité movies while dreaming of one day making his masterpiece.

We eventually jump ahead ten years to find Muto still warring with the other gang, led by Ikegami (Shinichi Tsutsumi). Ikegami is obsessed with Muto’s now grown daughter, Michiko (Fumi Nikaidô), and it sometimes clouds his judgment when dealing with her father. Also, Muto’s wife is set to be released soon from prison and her wish is to see her daughter, Michiko, starring in her own movie. So with a bloody yakuza showdown inevitable and his want to honor his wife for her sacrifice, Muto sets out to get a movie made in a rush starring Michiko.

Through some random events during the film, Muto’s path inevitably crosses with the amateur filmmakers The F-bombers, who after ten years still haven’t made their masterpiece. Instead, they are losing hope and starting to fall apart as a group. With Muto’s wife rapidly approaching release and gang warfare looming, making a traditional film is not an option. The F-bombers and Muto’s gang then set out to document the impending gory finale with Ikegami’s gang.

It is insanely ludicrous to a point, but ‘Why Don’t You Play In Hell?’ is a blood-soaked love letter to yakuza action films (a huge genre in Japan) and to film in general. While it is very violent, there is an infectious energy that makes it lively even when we get to the gory end battle. It is even a little absurd at times, but it remains easy to follow even with its numerous characters. Director Sono doesn’t always use simple storytelling techniques, and while this is the closest he has gotten to a mainstream film, it still has some unique pacing to it.

The F-bombers involvement in Muto’s film does not come until the last 3^rd of the movie, but from that point on the movie becomes a real blast. It is grandiose with its violence, yet maintains its humor, which keeps it from becoming a strictly grim affair. The interaction between the characters has a fun quirkiness that kind of balances out the high body count. Fans of Japanese films might recognize actors like Jun Kunimura and Tak Sakaguchi, but the star of the movie is Fumi Nikaidô as Michiko. She is insanely charismatic and was also great in Sion Sono’s HIMIZU (also highly recommended). And a quick head’s up, there is a television commercial jingle that is replayed constantly in the movie, be prepared to have that stuck in your head for a while.

‘Why Don’t You Play In Hell?’ isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but if you love bloody action films with a heavy dose of dark humor, I cannot recommend this one enough. This is an odd film from a unique filmmaker of solid vision, so if you’re looking for something along those lines, this is worth seeking out.

Brad Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider Contributor