UrbanWire

Suicide Club begins with 54 Japanese schoolgirls chatting with each other at Shinjuku train station while waiting for their ride. As the Tokyo-bound train approaches, the girls gather together in a straight line facing the track, holding hands. With a coordinated "a-1... and a-2... and a-3", the girls jump onto the tracks and create the biggest bloodbath before your eyes. It's a gory sight of crimson red blood flowing along the train platform like a bloody river, body parts strewn around like piles of butchered meat.

The appearance of a mysterious white sports bag on the platform begins the investigation for 2 detectives. A family man, Detective Kuroda (Ryo Ishibashi) doesn't believe in the existence of the "Suicide Club" and blames the mass media for fads in youths today. Detective Shibusawa (Masatoshi Nagase) disagrees, as it doesn't explain why people are throwing themselves off buildings in a public suicide orgy after that unfortunate incident.

To make matters even more puzzling, an increasingly thick roll of sewn-together human skins is found in the white sports bag, which mysteriously appears at some locations of suicide. An informant known only as 'The Bat' tells the police of a strange website that contains numerous red and white dots that seem to automatically update the number of people who have died from the suicides (with the red dots representing females and white dots representing males). Throughout the suicide scares, teen J-pop group Dessert (grossly misspelt throughout the film) is creating a nationwide frenzy with their hit song "Puzzle", which carries an addictive melody with a subtle death wish in the lyrics unbeknownst to anyone.

Why are normal people suddenly beginning to kill themselves? What's the human skin-roll about? Who's 'The Bat'? Is J-pop group Dessert involved in these suicides? Is there a Suicide Club or is Kuroda right? There're even more mysteries here to digest than a season of Crimewatch or CSI, which makes Suicide Club absorbing and captivating throughout its 99-minute run.

The genius behind Suicide Club is director Shion Sono whose love for gore could not be more obvious. But what's most impressive is Sono's strong social commentary about fads and the new media. Suicide is used as an extreme example of a trend that Japanese youths are riding and how the power of new media (which is represented by pop group Dessert and the numerous influential websites in the movie) is able to manipulate their interest easily.

Sono poses a strong question in this technological age about whether we are still connected to ourselves as much as our relationship with others. In a movie that showcases numerous methods of mass suicide, the underlying messages pose questions on love for yourself.

Since the release of Ringu or Battle Royale, never has another horror-thriller movie garnered such a cult status in Japan. Sono is on his way to produce another 2 sequels to this suicide mystery. It's a surprise that a former gay pornography director steps up to lead the culture revolution of a new and improved Japan and creates an exploitative expose on the very medium that is the object of his affection.

Suicide Club is more than just plain shock value. Its hidden underlying message gives it credibility rare for horror movies. You may not want to join the club, but it's certainly worth checking out.