Okay, first things first:  Ichi is pronounced "ee-chee," not "itchy," otherwise this would probably be the long-awaited feature-film debut of a certain ultra-violent cat-and-mouse team from The Simpsons. But that's not to say Ichi the Killer isn't brutal in its own right. Believe me, when director Takashi Miike is involved, there's usually more than enough violence to go around. In fact, I know a guy who got his hands on a bootleg DVD of Killer, and the on-screen menu alone was enough to send his wife from the room.

Consider yourself warned. Only the sickest bastards out there are going to want to even think about seeing Killer, which is based on Hideo Yamamoto's comics. It's so graphically out there, barf bags were dispensed when the film screened at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Midnight Madness program. I'm as numb as the best of them when it comes to gore, but even I felt fortunate to have watched Killer on video, just because it allowed me the chance to pause it, splash cold water on my face and swallow the bile before resuming the bloodshed.

Even compared to Miike's other films, Killer is still shocking (it makes Audition seem downright pedestrian, and that might be the most disturbing statement I've made in my entire life). Body parts, including an impressive array of facial features, are hacked off and hit the floor with the emphatic thud of a freshly cubed Wile E. Coyote after a stunt gone wrong. Since Miike, the Japanese incarnation of Dario Argento (with a little bit of old-school Clive Barker thrown in for good measure), pumps out a staggering minimum of four to five films per year, you'd think he might show signs of slowing down, or at least becoming understandably redundant. But that doesn't appear to be the case -- at least not yet.

Killer's story involves a powerful Yakuza boss who, following a scene involving the rape and beating of a prostitute (calling all Irreversible fans!), disappears with 100 million yen. Suspecting foul play, his henchmen turn gangland Shinjuku upside-down trying to find out what happened. Eventually, thanks to the help of the S&M-loving club hostess Karen (Alien Sun), the men are pointed in the direction of Ichi (Nao Omori), a troubled young man with a dark past.

There's a big showdown between Ichi and platinum-blond torturer Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano), who also happens to be a big fan of the S&M thanks to the rather unusual relationship he had with his now-dead boss (in one darkly funny scene, Kakihara is able to identify the boss's blood simply by taste). But does Kakihara intend to kill Ichi, or will he fall in love with a potential replacement for his dearly departed boss? Odds are you'll be too nauseous to care. Odds are also pretty decent you'll think Killer is either pure genius, or the most horrifyingly repulsive picture ever made.

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