The Happiness of the Katakuris Review

Happiness of the Katakuris, The
A family running a hotel blighted by unlucky deaths start to notice something even wierder happening.

by Nick Dawson |
Published on
Release Date:

16 May 2003

Running Time:

113 minutes

Certificate:

15

Original Title:

Happiness of the Katakuris, The

Based on Korean director Ji Woon Kim's 1998 black comedy The Quiet Family, The Happiness Of The Katakuris was one of seven films made in 2001 by prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike.

A radical departure from efforts such as Ichi The Killer or cult hit Audition, it transforms Kim's story of a family running a hotel blighted by unlucky deaths into - wait for it - yes, a zombie musical!

Embracing the trash aesthetic, the costumes, songs and acting are all gloriously camp and tacky. And the grandiose musical numbers, with their clunky lyrics, come at the least appropriate moments - when a corpse is discovered or the dead come back to life.

But despite minor violence and gore, the director shocks us most by the charmingly shambolic way in which he embraces good-old family values.

The director, bizarrely, uses the medium of zombie musical to show the charmingly shambolic way in which he embraces good-old family values - a feat that has to be commended.
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