The Happiness of the Katakuris2001

With the start of a new academic year, our Weird Wednesday series is also back in full swing. This time, we’re kicking off with a cacophonous horror musical directed by Takashi Miike. When a family man loses his job due to cutbacks, he and his family set up a bed and breakfast. However, life as a small business owner turns out to be no picnic either. Summer guests die in the strangest of circumstances, whilst the romantic advances of a sea captain threaten to tear the family apart.

Known for violent spectacles such as The Audition (1999) and Ichi, the Killer (2001), Miike is Japan’s foremost ambassador for all things strange, grubby and carnal. The Happiness of the Katakuris is perhaps his most eccentric creation yet: a perverse pop song peppered with claymation and karaoke sing-alongs.