Running Time: 85 Minutes & 85 Minutes
Starring: Hitomi Miwa, Kazuma Suzuki, Ren Osugi, Hiroshi Abe, Hijiri Natsukawa, Yoshiko Yura, Tomomi Kuribayashi, Aimi Nakamura, Sadao Abe, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hideo Nakata
For anybody who has not heard of Omega Project, they are a Japanese company behind films such as Ichi The Killer, Audition, and Ring. In the early 2000s, they made two cult movies directed by Hirohisa Sasaki, and written by Hiroshi Takahashi (the Ring series). Having played at FrightFest before their Limited Edition Blu-Ray release, Crazy Lips and Gore From Outer Space are both remastered from the original negatives.
Who remembers The Aristocrats? It was an off-colour joke that begins with a family seeing a talent agent about booking their act, and ends with them proudly announcing the name of their act. What caught people's attention was the middle part, where the joke teller would detail the family's act in their own personal way, so long as it was vulgar and taboo defying. That is the feeling one gets from Crazy Lips, as it is one long section of one-upmanship sandwiched in-between a set-up and a resolution.
The film opens with a news report about a man who has gone missing after being suspected of murdering four girls. Demanding answers, the press stand outside the home of the suspect's family. This leaves Satomi (Hitomi Miwa), her older sister, and their mother constantly experiencing harassment, with the police unwilling to help the family. Desperate to prove her brother's innocence, Satomi visits a psychic to ask for help in finding the real killer. However, the price that the psychic asks for is more than expected, with the answers being nothing that she could have imagined.
Between the powerful abilities manifesting, and headless corpses acting as guides, the first part offers an interesting set-up for a fascinating plot. Instead, elements are heaped upon with little rhyme or reason, before delivering an action focused third-act. One notable inclusion is Lucy (Tomomi Kuribayashi), the National Anthem singing FBI agent who - even for this film - acts bizarre. What works best is a thread about predators in many guises taking advantage of those in distress, whether it is the press' invasive actions, or a manipulative couple seeing how to benefit from such emotional rawness.
However, this is all drowning amidst the vile debauchery that the psychic and her cohort have brought into the house. Their presence results in sexual assault being a common occurrence, something that is also followed by forced necrophilia, and incest. Such taboo elements could be used to approach difficult topics, or offer commentary, but they instead feel like an addition for the sake of it. I could almost believe that the writer's mantra was "when in doubt, include a rape scene."
Thankfully, that potential mantra was not revived for the pseudo sequel, Gore From Outer Space. Released one-year later, including the return of wacky FBI agent Lucy, this story opens in prison as a different character called Satomi (again played by Hitomi Miwa) faces execution for the murder of her daughter. She recounts her story to a nun, which begins with Satomi seeking help at a police station for her daughter's kidnapping. However, Satomi's husband soon informs the police that the couple have no child. What then unfolds is a baffling tale involving psychics, a dirty politician, headless corpses, and possibly aliens.
Yet, that is just scratching the surface with how many elements make up this story. The various directions that it pulls viewers in leaves a disjointed feeling, as though the filmmakers kept throwing stuff at the wall without seeing what actually sticks. This is notable in the back-and-forth motions between what is fantasy and what is reality, as though there is a struggle to commit to any one revelation. It's a film that wants to have twists, but the way it cannot let something stick would leave M. Night Shyamalan baffled. It is also worth mention that, despite the title promising gore, this film focuses more on wackiness than horror. That choice did not work for me, but your mileage may vary.
There are plenty of films where rewatches are necessary to try comprehending the madness you have watched. There are two sides to this, as David Lynch films leave you wanting to crack the puzzle, while the choices made for Troll 2 and Fateful Findings must be seen to be believed. Crazy Lips and Gore From Outer Space are more like the latter, although the result inspired more boredom than I desired. If you want to see some of the most unpredictable films to come out of Japan, complete with well-crafted action sequences, then Third Window Films have you covered.
Crazy Lips and Gore From Outer Space made their UK Premiere at FrightFest 2026. Both films are now available on Blu-Ray courtesy of Third Window Films
Crazy Lips (2000)
Gore From Outer Space (2001)
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