Imprint (Masters of Horror)
A Japanese horror episode too disturbing for American television.
"Imprint" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the anthology series Masters of Horror, directed by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike. It was originally scheduled to premiere on January 27, 2006, but Showtime shelved it due to concerns over its graphic and disturbing content. The episode was later released on DVD on September 26, 2006.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Masters of Horror
- Airdate
- 7 April 2006
- Runtime
- 63 minutes
- Teleplay
- Daisuke Tengan
- Based on
- Bokke e
- kyōtē (1999 novella)
- Shimako Iwai
- Director
- Takashi Miike
- Photographer
- Toyomichi Kurita
- Guests
- Billy Drago
- Youki Kudoh
- Michie Itô
- Toshie Negishi
- Mame Yamada
Facts from the source article.
Plot
In Victorian-era Japan, American journalist Christopher searches for Komomo, a lost girlfriend he had promised to rescue from prostitution. He lands on an island of prostitutes and is solicited by a syphilitic tout. Forced to stay overnight, he requests a girl's company. The disfigured girl claims a connection with the dead and tells him Komomo hanged herself after her lover never came. Distraught, Christopher asks for a bedtime story. The girl recounts her past: her mother, a midwife, sold her to a brothel after her father died. Komomo was the most popular girl there, and when the Madam's jade ring was stolen, Komomo was tortured to confess—underarms burned, needles driven under fingernails and into gums—and hanged herself. Christopher demands the whole truth. In a second telling, her father was an alcoholic, her mother an abortionist; a Buddhist priest molested her, and she beat her father to death for raping her. She admits she stole the ring and framed Komomo, then killed her to sever their friendship and save Komomo from hell. Christopher senses something missing. The girl reveals a parasitic twin, "Little Sis," a second head in her hand, born of incest between her parents. The hand speaks like Komomo. Christopher, maddened, shoots her in the heart and head. Before dying, her body transforms into Komomo.
Production
Takashi Miike was among the filmmakers chosen for Masters of Horror. He adapted the episode from Shimako Iwai's 1999 novella "Bokke e, kyōtē"; Iwai also appears in the episode. Miike described the story as having a simplicity he liked and compared it to a kaidan, a traditional scary story. The episode included graphic depictions of violence and aborted fetuses. Miike believed he was staying within the limits of American television, but he misestimated. Unlike the rest of the series, which was produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, "Imprint" was shot and edited entirely in Japan using Miike's usual crew. Filming took place at Toei Shoji studios in Tokyo and on location in Tochigi and Gunma prefectures. The cast was mostly Japanese, but the majority of dialogue was in English.
Release
After previewing the episode, series creator Mick Garris requested edits to tone down the content. Some changes were made, but Showtime deemed it too disturbing to air. The episode, scheduled for January 27, 2006, was canceled and became the only Masters of Horror episode never broadcast in the United States. It was shown at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in Japan on February 25, 2006, and aired in the United Kingdom on Bravo on April 7, 2006. The Italian-dubbed version aired once on SKY Cinema Max in summer 2007. Chiller aired the episode in re-runs but removed some scenes, including parts of Komomo's torture and depictions of fetuses. The DVD was released on September 26, 2006, as the tenth DVD of the first season. The episode appears on the fourth volume of the Blu-ray compilation of the series.
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