Imprint is the infamous Takashi Miike's episode for Masters of Horror. This film was downright creepy and disturbing...it deals with many themes and subjects including abandonment, love, hate, abortion, incest, torture, prostitution, cruelty and sexual abuse.
It's the 19th century and Christopher (Billy Drago) has been traveling all over Japan to find his love, Kimomo. He arrives at an island that is one big brothel searching for her, but doesn't find her amongst the other prostitutes. Unable to leave the island until morning, Christopher takes a room at the brothel. Soon, a mysterious prostitute with a disfigured face joins him and he learns exactly what happened to Kimomo.
I enjoyed this Master's of Horror entry very much. It was interesting, engaging, and had some pretty shocking moments. Granted, I do enjoy some of Miike's films (namely Audition, Happiness of the Katakuri's and Ichi the Killer), so I may have been a bit biased going into this episode. Nonetheless, I think it's an entirely different and enjoyable movie.
There were some truly horrific scenes, especially the torture scene; needles shoved under fingernails and twisted until the nail cracks as well as needles shoved through someone's gums. The disturbing elements portrayed, including incest and child sexual abuse, were very hard to watch as well. There were some weird parts toward the end that are typical Miike, but though I found them a bit cheesy the overall film was well worth the watching.
The production values, costuming and set design were also exquisitely done.
This film is a definite must-see for fans of Miike, Master's of Horror, or those that enjoy something a little out of the ordinary.
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