Blood Money

A A A Comments By Michael Fox Wednesday, Oct 1 2008

’Tis the month of All Hallows Eve, when things go bump in the night. The chills and thrills started a bit early this year, or perhaps you’ve been avoiding the financial — and front — pages. If there’s a silver lining to our slo-mo economic meltdown, it’s that we’re more inclined to embrace the comic-relief aspect of Japan’s blood-drenched, taboo-skewering action extravaganzas. Midnight Circus, a late-night weekend series running concurrently with S.F. International Documentary Festival (aka DocFest), sets heads a-spinning out of the gate with a pair of vintage off-the-charts whackathons. Takashi Miike’s 2002 slaughterfest Ichi the Killer is populated by a rogues’ gallery of sadists, masochists, and voyeurs. Come back tomorrow night for Takashi Ishii’s 1995 shoot-’em-up Gonin, a hyperviolent yarn about a band of misfits who rip off a local yakuza. Midnight Circus’ Nippon mayhem continues the next two weekends, but on Halloween you’re on your own. By then, of course, you may be parked outside your bank, shrieking.

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Ichi the Killer starts tonight at 11:45.
Oct. 10-30, 2008

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What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.