Ryu Murakami’s books are strange. They are violent, sensual, absurdly humorous, surrealistic, and hide their comments in an atmosphere of confusion and disorientation. The same actually applies to the movies based on his books, either those he directed himself (“Tokyo Decadence“) or those directed by others (“Audition“). “Karaoke Terror” despite being quite approachable, also includes the same elements, starting with the story.

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Five young men spend their time together for no apparent reason, since they seem to have no common interests apart from doing karaoke in bondage outfits twice a week, and enjoying peeking on the neighbor that lives across the apartment of one of them, which functions as their headquarters. On the opposite axis lie five middle-aged women, either single or divorced, who are all named Midori and also enjoy their karaoke. The boys frequently talk about how this kind of women are the easiest to have sex with, but when one of them is turned down by one of the Midoris, in a rather clumsy effort to “flirt”, he decides to murder her, and is even rather open afterwards to his friends, narrating the way it felt killing a woman. The Midoris, however, do not stand idle, and they start searching for the killer when the police fails to do so. Eventually, they discover the perpetrator and one of them proceeds on killing him, using a knife attached to the end of a stick, while riding her motorbike, in a style much similar to knight’s joust. The vice-versa revenge actions continue between the two groups, and each time the weaponry becomes much more powerful. At the same time, a girl who witnessed the murder of the young man plays a rather significant role, in essence acting as a Shinigami.

Tetsuo Shinohara directs a movie that seems to focus on the gaps created by both generation and sex, in a fashion though, that also highlights that these two groups of people are not as different, actually. The youths may roam around their own life mindlessly and the middle-aged women with a constant sense of purpose, but they both seem to enjoy and search for the same things: karaoke, companionship, revenge, and casual sex. Furthermore, the way they succumb to sociopathic tendencies is another common element, although much more surrealistic. Lastly, Shinohara also makes a comment about the cycle of revenge and the futility of such actions, while on a secondary level, he comments on the uselessness of the police, who seem to be unable to play a role in the series of murders.

The nature of the film, however, which could be described as grotesquely and absurdly humorous, eventually takes over the narrative, mostly through the small but many details that are found all over the movie. The fact that the Midoris contemplate murder while eating cake and drinking coffee, like a proper lady’s club, the way the two young boys try to have sex with two of them, the old weapons’ seller who states that middle-aged women are tougher than cockroaches and the various ways of murder that escalate exponentially, all point towards this direction. The presence of the girl, who is revealed to be a psychic and the way she functions inside the revenge concept, the presentation of the murders, that are bloody but so absurd and unexpected that might as well be dreams, and most of all, the totally illogical ending cement this approach while being the main sources of surrealism.

At some point however, Shinohara lost the sense of measure, regarding the quantity and length of episodes in the film, with the part where the women visit a resort being almost completely unnecessary. This part and a few others stretch the film to almost two hours, something that really dulls its impact and the significant entertainment it offers. In that regard, and although Toshihide Fukano’s editing retains a very fitting, relatively fast pace, the narrative would definitely benefit from some more trimming. Hiroshi Takase’s cinematography, on the other hand, is excellent, with him highlighting the absurdity of the various incidents with gusto and artistry, and in a plethora of different locations.

The acting actually takes a secondary role to the story, something that is also stressed by the number of protagonists, most of which, though, are quite good-looking. Ryuhei Matsuda, Kanji Tsuda and Masanobu Ando are the ones that stand out from the men and Kayoko Kishimoto and Sawa Suzuki from the women. Yoshio Harada as the weapons seller also gives a memorable performance, in completely slapstick fashion.

“Karaoke Terror” may be a bit too long for its own good, but the story, the overall atmosphere, the humor and Shinohara’s direction result in a very entertaining film, in the familiar style of the Japanese curio.