Japanese Horror has it’s own clan of famous directors – Takashi Miike, Takashi Shimizu, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hideo Nakata, Sion Sono – which is why I find the career of Shinya Tsukamoto so baffling. He isn’t nearly as famous, even though he works almost exclusively in Horror/Thrillers, also has a career as an actor and created Tetsuo: The Iron Man, which is the definitive Cyberpunk film. I’ve seen 11 of his features and 4 are in the Top 1000. Gemini maybe his biggest artistic swing, though to be fair they’re all pretty out there.
It’s a period piece about a successful doctor and his identical twin, separated from him at birth. The twin shows up at just the right time, angry and intent an taking revenge for a life he believes should be his. The style of the film is best described as ‘complete.’ While staying out of outright Fantasy, Tsukamoto makes unique choices with the sets, the lighting, the costumes and the makeup – like removing everyone’s eyebrows. It’s all a bit surreal, which increases the uneasy feeling and makes it all rather freaky. At the center is an identical twin story similar to many others, but the presentation is so stylized that it feels wholly unique.
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