Parasyte: Part 1 – originally: 寄生獣 or Kiseijū – is a 2014 Japanese science fiction action horror film directed by Takashi Yamazaki from s screenplay co-written with Ryota Kosawa.
Main cast:
Shota Sometani, Sadao Abe, Eri Fukatsu, Ai Hashimoto and Masahiro Higashide.
The film was released on November 29, 2014 in Japan and took ¥2 billion at the box office. It was followed by Parasyte: Part 2 in 2015.
Plot:
Aliens enter into human brains via ear canal and take control of their bodies. One of the aliens tries to enter into teenager Shinichi Izumi’s brain, but is blocked because of his headphones. Instead, it invades his right hand. Shinichi calls it Migi, which has now an eye and a mouth. Accepting the fact that one would die if another dies, they join forces against other parasites…
Reviews:
” … the parasites’ faces function like virtual Swiss Army knives, splitting at will to reveal any number of sharp blades, whereas Righty is limited to fighting with Shinichi’s fingers. Relying on viscera-rich sound design to patch over any plausibility concerns, Parasyte marks an entertaining new iteration of the body-horror subgenre, as if someone had grafted a very dark high-school comedy onto a David Cronenberg movie.” Peter Debruge, Variety
“Part 1 of the Parasyte movie is essentially “Parasyte for dummies.” If that. It’s the abridged, muted, and emotionally empty shell of what it could have been. The creative changes rob the story of its substance and while it may be cool to see bladed tentacle-headed creatures duke it out, it’s really not worth the mincemeat that is the plot. I cannot even suggest it to people who have never been exposed to the story and are curious.” Toshi Nakamura, Kotaku
“Parasyte waits until the end to kick into gear, finally delivering on the promise of bizarre alien action and global-scale menace promised from the outset. A bloody school slaying leads to an emotionally charged ending as Shinichi is forced to perform a final act that carries a heavy psychological burden. Utilizing his new abilities to contort into a living weapon and going up against similarly powered adversaries the action is ramped up while putting the pieces in place for the concluding chapter.” Christopher O’Keeffe, Twitch
“In Parasyte Part 1, Takashi Yamazaki … made the parasitic creature Migi, appear cartoon-ish, a direct contrast to the dark mood of the film. This made the live action adaptation refreshing and quite entertaining due to the perfect blend of thrills, drama and comedy. Of course, there are certain scenes with special effects that provided the “horror factor” and it would really depend on the viewer’s reaction to it. ” Jed Medina, Psycho Drama
Cast and Characters:
- Shota Sometani as Shinichi Izumi
- Sadao Abe as Migi
- Eri Fukatsu as Ryoko Tamiya
- Ai Hashimoto as Satomi Murano
- Masahiro Higashide as Hideo Shimada
- Nao Omori as Kuramori
- Kazuki Kitamura as Tsuyoshi Hirokawa
- Pierre Taki as Miki
- Hirofumi Arai as Uragami
- Jun Kunimura as Lieutenant Hirama
- Kimiko Yo as Nobuko Izumi
- Tadanobu Asano as Goto
Trailer:
Wikipedia | IMDb | Official site
