Gozu(極道恐怖大劇場 牛頭 GOZU)

Empire by

If "Ichi The Killer" stressed the extreme natureof Takashi Miike's cinematic sensibility, Gozu hammers it home… with a blood-spattered mallet.

The New York Times by Dana Stevens

Mr. Miike is best known in the United States for horror films like "Audition" and "Ichi the Killer." Gozu, for all its extremity, is a more relaxed, less disturbing picture. Its dreamy disconnection is reminiscent of David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive," but it is, if anything, even more hermetic and dissociated.

Variety by David Rooney

Unclassifiable cult figure Takashi Miike's films invariably have their share of weirdness and perversity, but Gozu arguably outweirds all previous efforts in the prolific Japanese director's eclectic canon.

Village Voice by Dennis Lim

Splendidly entertaining.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

There are some genuinely funny moments amid the gore, but who knew this famously edgy director would find bathroom humor to be such a knee-slapper?

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

The homoerotic twists and gender-shifting turns are fun, but they can't hide the fact that the film is little more than a tedious shaggy-dog story with oblique mythological references.

The Hollywood Reporter by Michael Rechtshaffen

Although most definitely an acquired taste, the David Lynchian Gozu delivers the goods in dripping, gooey gobs.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

Not until the last 20 minutes does Gozu come fully alive. A man has sex with a seductive beauty, who then gives birth to...well, let's just say it's a sight that may take time to fight its way out of your head.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

The film is less violent and bloody than much of the director's work, but the absurdity level is sky high. Takashi Miike is at the top of his game, loving every minute of his surreal visit to the twilight zone.