Kuso Review
Kuso is one of the hardest movies you’ll ever sit through. That doesn’t necessary mean it’s one of the absolute worst movies ever made. In terms of sheer endurance, though, watching Kuso from beginning to end will prove difficult for even the most dedicated moviegoers. The easiest way to get through a movie like this is by forcing your eyes open like in that iconic scene from A Clockwork Orange. It’s that appalling.
The film prompted numerous walkouts at its Sundance premiere. As a film critic, I personally feel compelled to stick with every movie until the credits roll, no matter how awful. Within the first minutes of Kuso, however, I was eager to make a break for it and never look back. Even at just over 90 minutes, this film feels like a month’s worth of torture.
At this point in any review, I would typically discuss the movie’s basic plot. Kuso is devoid of anything resembling a story, however. The film is essentially a series of short stories that go nowhere, make no sense, and solely exist to disgust the audience. Just to give you an idea of how repulsive this movie is, there are scenes involving abortion, cum, vomit, a cockroach that lives in a man’s anus, and sex with a talking boil.
Kuso is already earning a reputation as the grossest movie ever made. It’s definitely a worthy contender, giving Freddy Got Fingered and any of The Human Centipede movies a run for their money. Unlike those films, Kuso can’t even be described as a gross out comedy or torture porn. It belongs in a genre that can’t be classified and shouldn’t be classified. Every image is vile, every character is ugly, every moment that goes by is an assault on all five senses. You know those freak shows where geeks bite off chicken heads? This is the cinematic equivalent to that.
Flying Lotus’ film is so relentlessly cringe-inducing that it’s not even really worth reviewing. What can you say about a movie like this outside of the fact that it’s depraved? Giving it a star rating seems equally pointless. Since I’m obligated to give it a proper ranking, though, Kuso deserves the lowest score imaginable. Unless you’re in the mood for something beyond surreal and disturbed, there’s no value here. It’s complete and utter junk from a creative, yet incredibly misguided, mind.
1/5