Review: The Last Supper (Saigo no bansan)
The Last Supper (original Japanese title: Saigo no bansan) has nothing to do with Jesus, despite its name. Instead, it's the story of a plastic surgeon who sometimes brings his work home with him — in a doggy bag. Like other Asian films that tackle this extreme transgression, it elevates cannibalism to culinary art. The cannibal in question isn't just a brutal killer, but also an excellent cook who doesn't mind sharing his ghoulish repasts with the occasional guest, or even an entire wedding. The recipe combines gore, romance, black humor and a pinch of social commentary. The result is a cinematic horror entrée with fine flavor (not necessarily good taste) that fans of the genre will find satisfying without too much danger of indigestion.
Dr. Yuji Kotorida, plastic surgeon to the stars, wasn't always a self-confident hunk with magic hands. Back in medical school, he was an introverted nerd who was lucky enough to land a job at a "beauty clinic" run by the father of a friend and fellow medical student. It is here that Kotorida gets his first opportunity to sample a bit of human fat from from a liposuction patient's generous hindquarters. There's no turning back for the mad surgeon from this point on as he comes to regard eating any other meat to be the equivalent of "bestiality with a cow or hog." He changes from bumbling nerd into buff leading man before our eyes, shedding tousled hair and thick-rimmed glasses in a transformation into a ladies' man and medical rock star.
Of course, being a strict humanitarian has its downside. The local Sizzler just doesn't serve up the kind of steaks to which Kotorida has become so addicted. Luckily for him, he catches a break in that he is invited to attend a conference in Hong Kong, a place where cannibalism is apparently far better tolerated than it is in Japan. Kotorida has heard of a restaurant specialized to cater to palates like his own, and he searches it out. Oddly enough, the place takes cover behind a rave club. Here, Kotorida meets his true love and lunch-to-be, and we also get a glimpse of the patrons of such a place; they turn out to be a study in ethnic and sexual diversity. The message here appears to be that anyone can be a cannibal, but only if they have the means to afford designer clothing. A floor show comes with dinner; the main course consists of a volunteer paid the sum of $10,000 to be both sustenance and entertainment. As we find out, these volunteers are sending the money home to poor relatives in China and the like (social commentary #1: the wealthy survive by consuming the poor; vide Society, B. Yuzna 1989, et al). Kotorida takes his first life, his previous snacks having come from patients or a suicide.
Kotorida gains notoriety for his cooking. His friends all crave the mysterious meat that we watch the doctor cooking in numerous scenes. Kotorida is no savage gourmand; he knows that part of a truly fine dining experience is presentation. His table is set with colorful dishes and, when dining alone, the tastefully-decorated heads of his victims which, for some reason we're never told, he keeps in a freezer. While his first victim was a volunteer who literally asks that she be eaten, however, subsequent ones are not. The brutality of Kotorida murdering and dismembering his quarry is thus contrasted with his aesthetic meals.
The not-so-good doctor's downfall comes in two persons. The first is a detective rather reminiscent of America's own Columbo, except that he's even more rumpled and decrepit... a condition we learn has been brought about by his own improper consumption of human flesh (social commentary #2: artificial ingredients are bad for you; vide The Stuff, L. Cohen 1985.) The second is an obsessive nurse who repeatedly informs Kotorida that he is "like a God" to her (social commentary #3: never give women your home address; vide Fatal Attraction, A. Lyne 1987).
Ultimately, Kotorida has to die, of course. He's a dangerous psychopath... but he's not going out easily. He manages to somehow prepare a wedding feast for the same friend, and now colleague, who got him his big break in plastic surgery back in medical school days. He whips up a veritable human smörgåsbord that her wedding guests consume with great gusto. Until, that is, his wedding present arrives in a very large box. Many appetites are lost when the gift is opened. It's not too hard to figure out what's in that big box, but I won't spoil it for those who want to find out for themselves.
The Last Supper is far from a perfect film. Some of the plot devices are too implausible even for the most veteran suspender of disbelief. The special effects often look laughably cheap and the sound effects go further over the top than a Barry Bonds homerun over the outfield wall. Nonetheless, the story is engaging and the acting strong enough (particularly on the part of lead actor Masaya Kato and supporting man Hiroki Matsukata) to allow these shortcomings to slide by. The cinematography is sometimes quite artful and at other times effectively jarring, and the pacing of the film is such that one isn't likely to get bored at any point. It may not be entirely innovative, but there's enough new to this story to keep even a veteran horror fan entertained for its 90 minute run.
One word of warning about the DVD, which was made by MTI Home Video. Don't bother with the English dubbing; it's terrible. The voice-overs are so flat and wooden that I can't imagine why they went with such an awful track. I started watching the flick in English and found myself disliking it, but as soon as I changed options to the original Japanese dialog with English subtitles, the movie got much better.
