X-Cross

You know you’re having a bad vacation when you discover that the local villagers are crazy cultists obsessed with chopping women’s legs off. You know it’s a REALLY bad vacation when that isn’t even the worst problem; a giant-scissor wielding psychopath on a rampage isn’t likely to help anyone relax either.

Shiyori (Nao Matsushita) has just gotten her heart broken by a cheating ex-boyfriend.  Her promiscuous friend Aiko (Ami Suzuki)has suggested that they take a trip to a remote hotspring and relax. Shiori is a bit put off by Aiko's love 'em and leave 'em approach to dating; Aiko has trouble remembering how many guys she is currently seeing. Aiko makes it plain that she thinks Shiori should just get over it or forgive her ex.

This drama doesn’t go on long  because it’s not long at all before the creepy villagers (who reminded me a bit of the village of crazy people in the bad-movie classic Gymkata) reveal their intentions. They have a long tradition of chopping off women’s legs as both a sacrifice to their god and a way to keep their wives from running away from the village. I’ve heard of Chinese foot binding—a deplorable practice with the same intent to keep wives from leaving—but tying a girl up and chopping one of her legs off with an axe takes it to the next level.

Shiori initially escapes the villagers, thanks to a cell phone she finds when a mysterious stranger warns her to run—immediately—unless she wants to get her leg chopped off. She’s not sure if she should trust him, and now she’s not sure if she should trust Aiko for bringing her here. The trust and betrayal issues add a lot of tension to the movie.

The film plays out in chapters, frequently switching back and forth from Shiori’s and Aiko’s perspectives. A few times they cross paths, and seeing what’s going on from both points of view is actually rather enjoyable, instead of being annoying and gimmicky.

Director Kenta Fukasaku (son of famous director Kinji Fukasaku) previous work on films like Battle Royale 2 set my expectations rather low. As the sequel to a movie I love, Battle Royale 2 was a complete failure. I’m glad to say that X-Cross is a much better film.

If you can turn your brain off and just go along for the ride, you’ll probably enjoy the movie. It falls apart under any kind of in-depth analysis, but most films in this genre do. On the plus side you’ll get a pretty awesome psycho chainsaw vs. giant scissors girlfight. Who wouldn’t want to see that?