It’s so gratifying to see Takashi Miike returning to his chaotic roots that helped make him such a beloved auteur. While I’m sure his court room movie “Ace Attorney,” and the “Ninja Kids” actioner were fine outputs, “Lesson of the Evil” is a return to form for a man who proves he hasn’t lost a bit of his step. “Lesson of the Evil” isn’t just shocking, but it’s gory, disturbing, and features some of the most surreal supernatural elements I’ve seen in years. Miike comes back with a bang, and I had a difficult time turning away from “Lesson of the Evil,” even when it was tough to sit through.
Ito Hideaki is the quintessential wolf in sheep’s clothing. Technically he’s a wolf with a gaping long mouth of sharp teeth in sheep’s clothing, playing charming English teacher Hasumi Seiji. Seiji isn’t just a fine teacher with a wonderful rapport but someone who is also very enigmatic. He attracts the attention of many of his student body with his smile and calm demeanor, allowing him to learn a lot about their lives. Mostly though, he’s allowed to tinker with their head, connecting with the boys, and attracting the young girls. When Seiji arrives at his school, he’s someone who fits right in, adapting to the odd staff, and finding out that much of the school’s community is built on a underbelly of corruption, relationships, and very unlawful behavior with students and teachers.
“Lesson of the Evil” is a very slow boil thriller that begins as a drama, works its way in to a dark dramedy about the community of students, and then completely transforms in to an outright insane violent parade of anger and egomania. The more we unfold the story, the more Seiji converts from an average nice guy in to a manipulative worm who will do anything to get his way. This becomes especially apparent when he forms a strong attraction to a female student. Through a series of coincidences and carefully planned backstabbing, he manages to finagle a meeting spot between the two for amorous confrontations, thanks to another teacher.
Hasumi Seiji is a man who begins casing the school the moment he steps in to it, garnering a healthy idea of the routines and rituals, and begins forming his own structure around it. Miike delves in to the mind and psyche of Seiji who is obsessed with two crows that he is convinced are coming for him, as well as exploring his back story which involved a heinous origin of evil and death. All the while unraveling before the eyes of his students, when he learns they’ve broken his rules about testing in class, which ultimately leads in to him cracking and beginning a tirade of blood shed and death on the school with his shot gun. Miike focuses the last thirty minutes on Seiji’s bloodbath and slaughter of his loyal students, as he traps them in the school and leaves them little chance to fend for themselves.
Though the endless scenes of Seiji blasting teenagers in to oblivion with a smile may be overwhelming for most, it really does test our limits of cruelty, and allow us a brutal insight in to Seiji’s mind. For us it’s horrific. For him it’s merely tying down the loose ends and cutting his losses once and for all. Ito Hideaki provides a brilliant performance as this vicious murderer who will spare no one to ensure his own existence, and whose delusion powers his ability to take lives without flinching. Miike paints the finale in reds and blues, also simultaneously dropping us in Seiji’s psyche, as he views the victims as his enemies, and is goaded by a sentient shot gun. Takashi Miike’s “Lesson of the Evil” is a hard drink to swallow, but it’s a vicious horror film with Miike’s resonant visual punch.