Cast Member: Keisuke Horibe

Not as enjoyable or as accomplished as some of the director’s other efforts but worthy of a look if you’re a fan of Sono’s work and “non-conventional” cinema.

While there is an abundance of neatly choreographed action, there is a vast black hole where a proper plot and believable characters should be.

A 4 hour, yes 4 hour, epic about love, religion and all manner of weirdness from one of Japan’s most out there directors, Sion Sono.

‘Quirky Guys And Gals’ fulfils the obligations of its title: it’s quirky; there are guys and gals and even guys pretending to be gals.

It may not be as intensely gory as say ‘Machine Girl’ or ‘Tokyo Gore Police’ but it is still a delightfully mad slice of Japanese comic book horror.

‘The Magic Hour’ is a fun comedy, though not the classic it promises to be. It still has an enormous amount to recommend it though and is a good starting point for those looking into Japanese comedy.

It’s extreme, it’s sleazy, it’s as mad as a bag of snails (and even features a woman who is half snail!) but it is a lot of fun.