It’s been just over a month since Homunculus’s trailer saw the light of day, and we’re already getting treated to its first two minutes. Believe me when I say that these are two uneasy minutes of film that are visually grotesque and horrifying. And I mean this as a compliment, of course: anything easier on the eye would be an insult to the horror contained within the pages of Himeo Yamamoto’s cult manga.
The trailer starts with what seems to be the dentist’s office from Hell, drenched in a sickening green and with orange lights that uncomfortably pierce through things. No time is wasted as we see the surgery that kick starts the events of the movie: the medical student Manabu Ito drills a hole through the eye of our homeless protagonist Susumu Nakoshi to bring out Nakoshi’s sixth sense.
When we see Ito looking through the hole, there’s something about it that is so chilling and yet so satisfying; it’s like Manabu’s gaze is set upon a chaotic netherworld. A montage set to the movie’s theme song of ‘Trepanation’ by millennium parade brings the trailer to a close with its cars, broken vases, doctor’s notes, and shots of blood menacingly dripping through the street.
The movie’s cast was revealed back in December, with Takashi Shimizu of Grudge fame directing the movie. The original manga has long been thought of as nearly impossible to film, so Shimizu likely had to make some serious artistic liberties in his adaptation. That being said, Shimizu’s take on Homunculus is said to be a culmination of his talents as a horror director. We’ll just have to see for ourselves when the movie gets its proper release.
Homunculus will hit Japanese theaters on 2 April. It is expected to arrive on Netflix for its worldwide premiere.