Shion Sono / Japan / 2010/ 169 mins

Betrayal, murder, mutilation and violence form the basis of Shion Shono’s Cold Fish, a disturbing new thriller from the director of Suicide Club and Love Exposure. Beginning in present day Japan, this film charts the complete breakdown of a man who has the misfortune to work for the boss from hell.

Set in early 2009, Cold Fish follows the fall of mild-mannered fish shop owner, Shamoto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi), and his dysfunctional family, including distant wife Taeko (Megumi Kagurazaka), and wayward teenage daughter Mitsuko (Hekari Kajiwara). When Mitsuko is caught shoplifting, they are befriended by successful fish shop owner, Mr Murato (Denden), who appears to be a good Samaritan, but turns out to be a ruthless killer with plans for Shamoto and his family.

Based, as the opening credits suggest, on a true story, a real life case that became known in Japan as the ‘Saitama serial murders of dog lovers’, where a husband and wife were convicted of the murders of four people. Sono’s dark and unrelenting drama unveils the fate of a man who was forced against his will to partake in violent acts. Although obviously driven by fear and intimidation, what makes Cold Fish so interesting is its ability to equate masculinity and virility with violence and mutilation. But the film’s more disturbing moments of violence are not the ones seen on screen, but more the acts violence suggested as retribution by the characters. Cold Fish’s premise of a man pushed to the brink, is a completely unforgettable one, as relationships between all the characters that were formed on trust and love descend into paranoia, murder and rape. One for real film fans who aren’t afraid of gore or blood, Cold Fish is an disturbing piece of work that reveals the depravity we are all capable of.