The forgotten hybrids of Japans Y2K horror boom

The films didn’t exactly support Ichise’s 2005 statement that ​“Japanese horror is scarier than American horror”, but they were exemplary of his unwavering belief in the genre as an inexpensive, and therefore, low-risk arena for experimentation. Many of these kinds of absurdist horror-hybrids were ultimately able to ride the J‑Horror wave overseas to great success: Ryuhei Kitamura’s no-budget zombie apocalypse rompVersus(2000) and Takashi Miike’s fantasy musical horror-comedyThe Happiness of the Katakuris(2001) both became cornerstones of the Tartan Asia Extreme collection in the UK. So why notCrazy LipsandGore From Outer Space?

“Personally, Ithink the strong emphasis on eroticism and action madeCrazy Lips ahard sell as ahorror film,” says Sasaki. The project had been initially pitched to Shintoho Eiga – acompany largely known for their softcorepink cinema – but they subsequently cancelled their plans for the film. ​“It then failed to sell internationally because it was deemed too erotic,” Sasaki continues. ​“And re-editing the film for overseas markets was difficult, because one particularly graphic rape scene was central to the movie’s core.”

By the timeCrazy Lipsreceived an overlooked US DVD release in 2004, the Japanese horror boom had already subsided. And though Ichise did produce further, under-seen hallmarks of the genre – Kurosawa’sRetribution, Nakata’sKaidan, andRingscreenwriter Takahashi’sThe Sylvian Experiments – the buzz never really came back. ​“It was agenre that could be produced on alow budget, and so it suffered from aflood of shoddy, mass-produced films that caused it to lose the support of audiences,” Ichise concludes. ​“And asecond reason is that there was afailure of new talents to emerge.”

But for the Western consumer, these new releases ofCrazy LipsandGore From Outer Spacemark the latest unlikely expansion on aonce revolutionary sub-genre that was, for along time, limited in exposure beyond its most recognisable works. With Arrow Video’s 2024 ​‘J‑Horror Rising’ box set (featuring the Ichise-producedNoroi: The Curse); Tom Mes’ brand new ​‘Frightfest Guide to Japanese Horror Films’ book; and the just-announced Imprint Films ​‘The Origins of J‑Horror’ box set, which collates foundational works produced before 1997, the strange and uneven lineage of the last great Japanese horror explosion is now more accessible than ever. With that, the weirder and lesser-known oddballs of Japanese horror cinema are finally finding ahome overseas –kung fu kicks andall.

Crazy Lips and Gore From Outer Space are available to purchase on Blu-ray via Third Window Films and will screen at The Nickel Cinema on September 28.