Freeze Me (2000) User Reviews

Superior Rape/Revenge Film

[captain_bungle · 7/10 · 14 January 2005]

The rape-revenge genre is rife with dodgy exploitation pics and under-the-counter sleaze, with I Spit On Your Grave (Day of the Woman) being the most (in)famous and, possibly, the most misogynistic. Artistic merit is not something the rape-revenge film concerns itself with (let's face it, 'Last House on the Left' is a crude, artless fluke), concentrating more on graphic sex / nudity for graphic sex / nudity's sake. Oh, and the rape has to be really horrible to justify the rapists' sticky end (no pun intended).

If you're watching a good example of the genre, you'll be putting yourself in the place of the woman and relating to her, something the horror genre frequently does (it's one of the only genres where men will relate to a woman) and wishing her attackers dead - in any way possible, not necessarily in a sensationalist way.

I think Freeze Me (or Freezer, here in the UK) succeeds in this, as the plight of the female character is always put first. Agreed, there are a lot of gratuitous shots of her naked body, but these act as a reminder to her beauty and frailty. When it comes to the rape, it is often more implied and in no way staged to be titillating, something the more dubious examples try to achieve, rather disturbingly.

Freeze Me, therefore, isn't exactly an enjoyable experience (I'll have to look up the word 'entertainment'), but it is thought-provoking, well-made on a very tight budget, and incredibly disturbing. One of the best examples of this horror sub-genre.

Freeze Me

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 5 February 2007]

Some kinda warped film from Takashi Ishii which represents female retaliation at it's strangest. Chihiro(Harumi Inoue)has made a warm existence for herself since being horribly raped by three thugs five years prior, including her own Childhood friend, Hirokawa(Kazuki Kitamura). She has a promising future with Nogami(Shunsuke Matsuoka)and works with him. But, Chihiro's life will swing into an unexpected nightmare when Hirokawa finds her and brutalizes her both physically and mentally. He tells her the other two, Baba(Naoto Takenaka, a formidable presence that is quite scary)& Kojima(Shingo Tsurumi)are wanting to re-unite with Chihiro as well. One by one will damage her in one way or another and each will pay the price for their sins because through all the mistreatment creates a monster. Chihiro's comfortable life that was changes when Nogami finds out about Hirokawa and her past rape. She will descend slowly into madness as the awful circumstances shape her into a cold-blooded killer..and then some. The film's main power derives from how she treats those three after exacting revenge for their wrong-doing towards her.

Potent, haunting, and unrelenting. In a sense, the film holds a grip on you as you wonder how anyone could ever survive from what Chihiro is put through. She's certainly put through the ringer as Chihiro is pretty much assaulted in every imaginable way..her very humanity taken away as she is forced into difficult positions by cruel men with only one thing in mind. The title provides us with an irony that's all too tragic. One thing Takashi Ishii doesn't do is submerge us into the horrible details of what happens to her. He does it through smoke and mirrors setting the camera up in proper places where we get a general idea of what is taking place without rubbing our nose in it. No doubt, Ishii cares for this character and the tragedy leaves a sadness despite Chihiro getting her retribution.

A thoroughly disturbing film, with a number of good, and bad, changes of direction.

[PyrolyticCarbon · 5/10 · 12 March 2003]

A thoroughly disturbing film, where the seemingly normality of a working woman's life is blown apart by the arrival of a man from her past. I liked the changes of direction that were made in the story. The beginning shows a perfectly normal group of workers, in a situation that seems perfectly plausible, indeed the acting here is so relaxed and natural. However, with the arrival of a man comes the first turn, and we see the dark secret that has been kept for so long, and this is where the disturbing feelings arrive with a violent crash. As the other members of a yakuza gang rape arrive, five years after the incident, they bring ever escalating levels of violence to the woman's life, and as the ties to her new normal life begin to break away, so do her ties to sanity. There comes the next turn, and her shocking actions. However, being shocking and disturbing does not a good film make, and I felt that it was this turn in direction that started a downward trip for the movie. Having started with a story that felt so real and human, this turn pulled in a totally different direction building a huge gulf between story and my beliefs and sympathies. I felt myself wishing that the story had remained in the vein of the first half, I am sure that it would have made a better film overall. Still, it's not a total loss.

Excellent, if ultimately goes nowhere

[FilmFlaneur · 1 May 2003]

Freeze Me is Ishii's best film since Gonin, and displays all of the characteristic visual finesse, pacing and editing skills which give him his reputation. A rape-revenge film is hard to do and stay on the right side of comfort: too often the female victim is exploited and seem to 'enjoy' the violent assault, while the (usually male) viewer is encouraged to oogle at the exposed, yielding flesh. Not that I am against exposing the female form, and certainly Ms Inoue is frequently very nice to look at, but it is to Ishii's credit that the crimes are shown as undoubtedly painful, and as humiliating as they surely would be. Apart from some nudity in the plentiful bath and shower scenes, perhaps as a sop to the burger crowd, her unpleasant ordeal is filmed with full sympathy for the victim. The video of her orginal rape is a necessary intrusion, but even here it is in its proper place, viewed as as a flashback not, as it must have been tempting to do, as a over-the top-first act, pileing cruelty on cruelty.

Set mostly within Chihiro's small apartment, Freeze Me quickly assumes a claustrophobia which is a chilly and as constricting as one of her newly acquired deep freezes. Within this setting, the three principal killings are staged with sufficient variety and flair to make them distinctive. A stand out is the bath tub killing, a magnificently staged murder which is amongst the best minutes in the film, while the death twitches of the second rapist's legs reminded me of a similarly shocking moment in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

If the basic direction of the film is excellent, then how much more one wishes that the script broadened out more. The rapes, the revenge, the batty soliliquies, the discovery, the denouement - these all follow with the logic of one of those cheesy 70's horror compilation films, where plot expansion is sacrificed due to the demands of the portmanteau format. Here Ichii has considerably more space but spends a lot of the running time on showing a succession of repeating, dramatic events. Often thrilling and well mounted in themselves, they restrict matters to a very narrow narrative path, incidentally almost entirely removing Chihiro from any social context. Because of this she loses some sympathy. The truth is that, once the last body appears on screen, the story has nowhere left to go except into the rain. It's been one hell of a ride in the meantime, but Freeze Me ultimately offers nothing more than a train of horrors seen rightly or wrongly as justification in themselves, and which create story cul-de-sac. Ichii of course has to close his show somehow, and sidesteps the issue with what is practically a narrative sleight of hand, leaving the viewer curiously unsatisfied. It is as if the Wild Bunch have killed all the Mexicans, and a stray bullet has got Deke Thornton too.

Interestingly, the HK DVD box shows the heroine apparently frozen, a misleading image to say the least. While perhaps emotionally cold after her traumatising experiences, she never ends up in the cooler herself...

Freeze a jolly bad fellow, and so say all of us!

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 17 August 2008]

Beautiful schoolgirl Chihiro (played by stunning Japanese model Harumi Inoue) is raped by three young Yakuza hoodlums with the whole assault recorded by the thugs on video. Both ashamed and frightened, Chihiro moves to Tokyo to try and forget her past and build a new life for herself. However, her plans are scuppered when the three rapists track her down one by one and force themselves into her apartment. Pushed to her limits, Chihiro fights back, killing her assailants and stuffing their bodies into freezers.

Directed by Takashi Ishii, Freeze Me is a brutal, nihilistic rape revenge film that, despite my plot summary, doesn't feel quite as sleazy as it sounds. Whilst the film does revolve around a harrowing central theme of violent sexual abuse (potentially the most exploitative aspect of the film), Ishii opts to leave the non-consensual sex to the viewers' imaginations and instead concentrates more on showing his protagonist's acts of savage revenge and her slow descent into madness as her mental state gradually deteriorates. Beautiful cinematography and excellent lighting also go to lend this film a quality that is missing in many other similarly themed films.

Inoue, who is probably best known as a swimsuit model, is surprisingly good as the poor girl who finally snaps, and proves that there is much more to her than just a hot bod and a pretty face (although we do get to see a lot of those attributes as well!). The actors playing the three villains of the piece, Shingo Tsurumi, Kazuki Kitamura, and Naoto Takenaka, are also impressive in their roles, being thoroughly despicable and fully deserving of their fates.

Not quite so deserving, however, is poor Mr.Nogami (Shunsuke Matsuoka), Chihiro's boyfriend: when he discovers the truth about his woman's past, he runs off like a schmuck, unable to handle the situation; and when he finally comes to his senses and tries to make amends with Chihiro, he ultimately winds up becoming a victim himself. The film ends on a cheery note, with a distraught Chihiro throwing herself off her balcony to her death.

Not exactly a laugh-a-minute, feel good kind of movie by any stretch of the imagination, Freeze Me is, nevertheless, a quality film and one not to be missed by fans of savage cinema.

A Few Flaws In The Plot But Not A Dead Loss

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 18 August 2003]

!!!!! SPOILERS !!!!!

A woman is raped by three men then five years later one of the rapists runs into the victim and wants to use her as a sex slave

I had a problem with this premise right away - What`s the chances of a rapist running into his victim like that ? And why use a former victim as a sex slave ? The plot holes continue with a scene where the victim dispatches one of the trio by hitting him over the head with a plastic bottle filled with water . She could have easily have used a kitchen knife but I suppose that would have been less dramatic . I guess all these vigilante/revenge dramas suffer from the plotholes seen in FREEZER ( As it`s called on the sci-fi channel )where the hero stands at a street corner and by an amazing power of coincidence just happens to chance along a scumbag who murdered his wife or raped his daughter see also THE EXTERMINATOR or DEATH WISH

FREEZER does have some artistic worth in it`s favour , and despite some violence it is a fairly understated film unlike I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE so the two shouldn`t be compared . It`s just that FREEZER is spoiled slightly by some unlikely occurances while the plot isn`t anything more than " Rape victim increases collective morality of mankind by exterminating some scumbags " type story

Minority Japan Good Stuff in recent years

[blackpose · 7/10 · 26 May 2005]

I like this movie because it will make people think. What society should do for protecting women from abusement? Who will be charge for taking the responsibility for this kind of matter? Or there is nothing we can do about this? A girl who had been raped by a few guys in school could not escape from the past after entering the society. The rapers kept coming to her...... The girl has a bitter life which she can not really control what is happening. That is a shame!!We should do something for women!!!In fact, the girl is not a kind character by which the screenwriter made. But if she is a girlfriend of one of us, what we could do? Just simply give up her? we should really think after seeing this movie!

Exploitational film that leaves a nasty taste in the mouth

[jeff-exorcist · 3/10 · 19 February 2005]

Worrying, disturbing, sensational, exploitational rape drama. All about a Japanese woman who was visciously raped by three men. Five years later they each come back for more, in quick succession, one after the other - despite the fact that she's moved home since at least two times, they still manage to find her. The film is full of sexual violence, which would be more acceptable if there was something here we could learn from, but it seems these sequences were probably only included for sensationalism, and it's difficult to detect any artistic merit for the graphic way these sequences are portrayed and the film leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

Frightening, genius

[joebloggscity · 9/10 · 21 November 2004]

Some films are made that test society's underlying beliefs, and this is one of them. some would say that the women in such a circumstance should call the police (as i would advocate also in every case), but sometimes with some people, pride and society may lead to people hiding. This is the case with Chihiro, who on being gatecrashed by her attackers, is afraid to lose her life once again by revealing what happened to her.

It tests our attitude to the victims in such circumstances, and makes you think. You see the film from the victims point of view... and in that way, for those willing to see a film that tests their minds, then this is a film for you. Outstanding and frightening movie that deserves to be watched..

Arty rape and revenge thriller

[The_Void · 6/10 · 25 January 2008]

Freeze Me takes your basic rape and revenge theme (seen previously in superior films such as I Spit on Your Grave), plays around with it a little, adds some plot holes and a bit of Eastern style, and what we end up with this - a film somewhere between art and a big mess. Asian cinema often seems to be more about style than substance, and that is certainly the case with this film. Freeze Me is well shot and beautifully filmed; it's all so artfully done that it seems there must be a point to be made...but unfortunately, the film is formulaic, often doesn't make sense and doesn't actually go anywhere by the time it finishes; not that I'd ever expect a rape and revenge film to really, but this one feels like it should. The plot focuses on Chihiro. She's about to get married, but her happiness soon runs out when she is visited by a man who raped her with two friends five years earlier. He intrudes on her life and begins to act like the two were old lovers, but Chihiro soon gets tired of it and takes revenge; storing his dead body in the freezer...

This variety of film is noted usually for its sleaze; and despite the subject matter, this one doesn't really feature much of it. There's no gore either, and this is a shame. Lead actress Harumi Inoue is good in the central role, despite her character's lack of judgement. This is another problem with the film as the recurring question is - why doesn't she simply flee the rapists or go to the authorities? Obviously it could be argued that the reason she didn't is so she could have her own revenge, but common sense dictates that anyone in her situation would not be so stupid! The freezer twist is this film's main selling point; it does set it apart from many other films, though to be honest I preferred the methods of dispatch shown in the classic 'I Spit on Your Grave'. The film does manage to stay interesting for most of the duration, in spite of the fact that it isn't exactly difficult to guess what is going to happen next. Overall, I can't say that this film is great even by 'rape and revenge' standards, but fans of arty Japanese stuff may find something to like.

Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest...

[Oskado · 1/10 · 1 March 2005]

The main character in this thing is so dumb, and others so simplistically motivated, that the whole plot would appear to play out in some neglected village for the mentally incompetent. What girl, threatened with rape would flee a morning rush-hour sidewalk to race back to her apartment elevator through one doorway after another with a rapist on her heels? What terrified girl would not mention a word of her distress to another workaday girl leaving the apartment just as she passes? What girl would not at least scream for help? Then, after raping her - once he's awoken from a long gratifying sleep, while the victim has sat totally free, but anxiety-stricken on the bed - the villain threatens to shame her if she doesn't cooperate - by distributing some grainy pictures he's printed off a bubblejet. And if the threat alone wasn't stupid enough (i.e., distributing proof of his own guilt), he indeed wanders into the apartment hallway stark naked and starts stuffing the prints in the hallway mail boxes. The girl, terrified of embarrassment or loss of face, does not simply lock her door behind the idiot and call for the men in white coats to come pick him up, or even the police (heaven forbid), but is so shamed she leads him back in for more.

Now if the above isn't mind-twisting enough, imagine the girl heading off to work the next day and taking extreme care that no one suspect that a rapist has taken over her apartment and enslaved her.

In fact, the actress should feel an embarrassment almost as extreme as the character, and I can't but wonder if the men in white coats haven't reclaimed the director.

Enough. There's no plot to spoil. And the action - if we can jokingly call it that - is so slow moving it elevates the stupidity of this flick to a monumental stature, squelching any potential for slapstick - it's about as fast-moving as Claire's Knee or Ma Nuit Chez Maude. The girl can't even kill intelligently - no knife, no poison, though she's cooking for him - she kills her first man with a blow on the head from one-quart plastic water bottle! I recommend - if you really MUST see this flick - that it be viewed fast forward at at least 30X. Don't worry, you'll still find it yawningly slow. But about mid-way into it, you may come to suspect, as I did in a kind of weak "ah-hah experience", that this is apparently a simplistic sex flick and we men are supposed to be excited at watching an imbecilic main character get raped. Indeed, as the "action" progresses from dumb to dumber, the viewer is rewarded with more and more nude shower scenes. It might have been immensely better if the director and scene writer had stripped and gotten in with her and begun howling with laughter - something a la Mel Brooks, with song and dance. But no, this dud "baka na" crew takes itself seriously. What sheer stupidity!

Japan can and does produce good flicks - at least I still try to keep the faith... What a shame the good ones are unavailable in Zone 1 or 2, i.e., sold only in Zone 3 DVDs out of Japan, with $20 shipping costs and no subtitles. Who knows... maybe this Freeze Me flick is a for-export-only product and the director thinks the whole non-Japanese world is peopled with idiots. If so, I won't comment in regard to his judgment.

This deserves about a "zero", or a minus-something, if that would stop the dummies who made this, though they probably aren't capable of any other employment.

Dark, gritty slice of life

[InzyWimzy · 8/10 · 12 September 2002]

I watched this movie with no knowledge of what the story was about. The director did a very good job developing suspense right from the start. When I found out about the plight of Chihiro, I automatically felt for her. Because of what happened, its effect is so traumatizing that she's virtually helpless to do anything. When push comes to shove, Chihiro has the "fight or flight" choice and it's interesting to see what choice she makes. I must commend Harumi Inoue who gave a really great performance. She truly displayed fear, confusion, paranoia well and I felt really concerned for her character. Hey, if a movie made me feel that strong, I think it got it successfully got its message across.

"Freeze Me" depicts intense violence and I don't mean like cheesy Hollywood does. It deals with violence against women which sadly is not fictional in society. The story takes a trippy twist towards the end and watch the character progression thoughout the film. I must say that Harumi Inoue is stunningly beautiful and was great to watch. She's definitely got a new fan!

Asian I Spit On Your Grave.

[DarkSpotOn · 6/10 · 14 October 2023]

I have seen the cover art for this movie ages ago, and i wanted to watch this thing quite a while now finally had my chance.

Now this movie did came from the same director that did SWEET WHIP, and SWEET WHIP is an amazing movie, this was pretty good as well. That ending was ridiculously depressing it made me really really sad.

This movie is classified as a Splatter film, and no. The movie is very tame gore wise, when i think of a Splatter movie what comes up in my mind is Premutos, DeadAlive, Daddy's Little Girl, Eat, these are gore films to the top, that keep hammering you with gore. Here there barely was any gore. And no that's not a negative to the film i'm just saying there wasn't really any gore here.

Now, as the title suggets, this would be the Asian i spit on your grave in my opinion, just more depressing (the ending). The story is thin as it is, a woman is getting harrased by her past rapists and she gets her revenge. That's pretty much the whole movie, and it works. Just imagine I spit on your grave Asian style.

The acting seems okay, the effects are regular, the story is thin as it is, but it sort of works, the camera, lighting everything is fine. However, i got only one negative: And that's the movie gets extremely repetitive, Just like I spit on your grave, it's just our main anti-villain hero killing off her rapists, that's all. It gets kinda repetitive, but still a fun watch.

If you enjoyed I spit on your grave, Hobo with a shotgun, Ms 47, Machine Girl for example, go for it, you most likely will enjoy this thing. I think the movie was fine.

One dumb flick!

[=G= · 4/10 · 15 March 2003]

In order to suspend disbelief while watching "Freeze Me" you first must accept that there is a women on this planet who, while being terrorized by men who gang raped her five year prior, has countless opportunities to call the police and doesn't. Given the circumstances, the only reason she fails to summon help is because to do so would be to ruin the sophomoric, ill-conceived plot.

"Freeze Me" is a simple minded flick which is obvious, monotonous, silly, redundant, predictable, amateurish, and full of time consuming filler and gratuitous nudity and violence. Pass on this turkey. (D+)

Watchable, like a car crash.

[harveyfan · 3/10 · 28 June 2003]

To cut a long story short, a Japanese girl begins to wig out when she is subjected to repeated sexual assaults by a gang of vicious thugs. There are moments of real suspense and the blackest of black comedy here, but overall the film is simply too vile and depressing to be remotely enjoyable. Although none of the rapes are particularly explicit, scenes showing the heroine nude in the shower make the viewer feel uncomfortably like a voyeur.

The apparent theme, that violence begets more and greater violence, has been done before. And remember, this is brought to you by the same country that gave you Pearl Harbour, P.O.W. death camps, sadistic game shows and Manga cartoons.

Enough said.

Cold and disturbing.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 25 February 2005]

Harumi Inoue plays Chihiro,an attractive young girl with a good job,a big apartment and a loving boyfriend.Unfortunately for her five years ago,while still in school,Chihiro was raped by three men,who videotaped their repulsive deed for profit.Poor girl was so traumatized by the incident that she did not report the crime to anyone, so the rapists got away free.She moved to Tokyo to start a better life.But just when Chihiro thought she had escaped the evils of her past,the rapists return one-by-one to disrupt her comfortable new life,each seeking a terrifying reunion with their favourite victim.Chihiro murders the rapists one by one,eventually storing their corpses in some freezers for safekeeping."Freeze Me" is a horrifying Japanese rape and revenge thriller in the same vein of "I Spit on Your Grave" or "Last House on the Left".The acting is excellent and the photography is truly beautiful.So if you are a fan of powerful Japanese cinema give this one a look.8 out of 10.

compelling and intensely dramatic

[thisissubtitledmovies · 8/10 · 11 August 2010]

At the start of the millennium, exploitation movies were few and far between. Films such as I Spit On Your Grave, The Last House On The Left and The Virgin Spring had left the subgenre with little room to breathe. Unsurprising then, that Takashi Ishii briefly moved away from the exploitation genre that dominated his early works and directed Gonin, making him an international name. His films have always been largely preoccupied with revenge, and Freezer was to be no exception. Whereas Irreversible, released two years later, drew critical acclaim mainly for not glorifying the life that had been destroyed but to mourn it, Freezer was first to shift the focus from gory revenge and concentrate on the victim as she struggled to cope with the memories she thought she had buried deep inside her. Irreversible may be more celebrated, but Freezer also demands your attention. Without ever glorifying the horrific acts that fuel Chirhiro's bloody vengeance, Freezer is, for the most part, well-paced and surprisingly beautiful, with a compelling and intensely dramatic performance from its lead. DW

Excellent and disturbing

[neil-476 · 9/10 · 15 April 2010]

Freeze Me is primarily a suspense thriller, deriving from rape.

Chihiro (Harumi Inoue) moves to Tokyo in the aftermath of being raped by three men. They find her, invade her apartment, and rape her again, making it clear that she will never escape them. One by one she invites them back, under the pretext of having been "converted", murders them, and stores their bodies in freezers. She also murders her boyfriend, and the ending is somewhat non-specific.

The film has a number of qualities. Although the rapes are not very explicit, they are nonetheless disturbing and Inoue, who spends some time naked, does an excellent job of conveying the mindset of a rape victim whose actions follow on from having had it made clear to her that she will never escape.

Her Tokyo apartment is very claustrophobic, and this adds immeasurably to the suspense which starts to build, particularly following the first murder.

There is also humour - the more bodies she freezes, the greater the electricity consumption, and she has to start rotating the electricity supply to her freezers so as not to blow fuses.

Overall, a highly unusual, and gripping movie.

Intense Survival Film

[dementia13 · 8/10 · 18 September 2005]

While similar in plot to a revenge movie, this is actually a survival movie. I liked it for its intensity: it doesn't take long to get going, and keeps nonstop tension for the next hour or so. Although it reaches its emotional climax a full half-hour before the end, there's enough tension built up by then to carry it through. It concerns a young lady who's confronted by a gang of men who had raped her five years before. The second meeting is no accident, they've sought after her to victimize her some more. Rape is not a crime of sexual gratification, it's a crime of humiliating domination over another person. That said, Chihiro is just the kind of timid soul who can easily be dominated: she doesn't have the courage to do the sensible thing, instead simply hoping the whole thing will go away. It doesn't, of course, and she's forced into action out of self-preservation. It often reminds me of Miike's earlier film, "Audition". That is said to have a strong message about the treatment of women in Japanese society, and I see this as another side of the same coin: a woman who has had a disabling stigma of shame placed on her, and has to struggle to overcome it. While the ensuing violence is certainly justified, it is not glorified. There is no real victory in this movie. While the things she is subjected to are revolting, the camera is thankfully restrained. Most of the violence against her is offscreen, and even the original attack is shown only in fragments, as a series of flashbacks. There is a lot of nudity here, but I don't see it as exploitational. First of all, it's very much a sex-themed movie, so nudity is pretty much a given. Most of it occurs in the shower: she spends an awful lot of time trying to wash herself clean. The movie does offer plenty of messages, but they're not uplifting or inspiring ones at all: more indictments of double standards in the treatment of women. I thought this was a terrific movie, and one that sticks with you, marred only by some truly awful English-language dubbing (at least, in the version I saw). A movie like this depends on a strong lead actress to carry it, and the voice actress in the U.S. version is just really not any good at all.

better than expected for a revenge flick

[ETCmodel02 · 8/10 · 7 July 2002]

What "I Spit On Your Grave" should've been. Well, OK, the plot advancement might be a tad contrived, and the weird way a rape victim in this film is portrayed, at least, I hope women aren't actually so victimized by shame in Japan as to maintain a stoic silence that is so firmly entrenched the antagonists can actually blackmail the victim vying against her fear that others might know of her "shame" of being deflowered, abused, or molested. Her inaction for a large portion of the film is agonizing, but understandable in consideration of the themes of the film (action vs. victimization, social shame vs. personal safety, social roles and double standards for men vs. for women). It's an educational bit of work, nicely shot, and generally engaging. Loads better than I had expected it to be. On a neat side note, the star of this, Harumi Inoue, was having dinner at a Sushi joint on fourth, bracketed by a pair of very Yakuza boss looking dudes, tans and black turtlenecks and thick ropey gold chains and tiny glinting glasses, real imposing. My pal Shotaro recognized her. Kind of weird to see a woman out calmly eating sushi that I'd just seen scantly clad, drenched in blood with murder on her mind. Guess that's an illustration of filmic reality vs. actual reality for you.

Decent Japanese Rape/Revenge Thriller...

[EVOL666 · 8/10 · 5 March 2006]

FREEZE ME is a different type of rape/revenge film - of which genre I'm a pretty big fan. Lacking the sleazy, exploit-style qualities of other rape/revenge films - FREEZE ME is more stylish and "serious" in terms of the subject matter than some of the more "outrageous" entries.

Chihiro is a beautiful (and I mean straight-smokin') young lady who moved to Tokyo to rebuild her life after a nasty gang-rape experience. Five years after the incident, her old "buddies" come back to give her another go-round - but this time, Chihiro ain't havin' it...

Surprisingly tame in terms of violence and sleaziness for this type of film (suprising, coming from the director of the gory EVIL DEAD TRAP...), FREEZE ME focuses more on Chihiro and her dizzying roles as survivor, victim, and finally vengeance-seeker. The performances of everyone involved are very strong and believable, making this one more notable then some of the lower budget rape/revenge films. One problem I had with the film was Chihiro's "willingness" to go along with her abductors as opposed to running away or turning them in. I never quite understood this aspect, as her captors never kept her from going to work or leaving her apartment - maybe it had something to do with her pride and not wanting this situation to spread any further...but being that the rapists filmed and sold the original rape footage online - I don't see what difference it would have really made. Regardless, FREEZE ME is a worthy entry in one of my favorite genres. 8/10

Powerful & Disturbing

[Gorm82 · 8/10 · 26 October 2003]

It is an odd fact that most woman who are raped do not report the crime. In fact some feel ashamed and embarrassed by the act of violence against them. This is one reason why rape is very different than robbery, assault or many other crimes. Many more issues and emotions come into play on a rape than other crimes. Takashi Ishii explores society's reaction to woman who are raped in a powerful, but truthful way in "Freeze Me".

SUMMARY ****MINOR SPOILERS*****

Chihiro was raped by men from her home town and videotaped. 5 years later we see her making a new life in Tokyo. She has a good job, good friends, and a great fiancee', but Chihiro has told no one of her past. Very early we see that the Japan that she inhabits looks down at woman having sex before marriage. This is seen through a conversation between Chihiro, her fiancee' and some of their friends. When they admit they have made love already their friends think it is scandalous.

Suddenly one day when she is in her apartment lobby she sees one of the men who raped her. He treats her like an old friend, but she is horrified and scared. He forces his way up to her apartment and tells her that soon there will be a reunion at her place, with her old "friends".

Obviously Chihiro is afraid of being raped again and she is. Before all the others show up the man forces himself on her. What is odd is that he then starts to live with her, forcing her to do what he says threatening to tell everyone of her past and show pictures from the video of the rape. It is difficult to understand why she is so embarressed to call the police when she was the victim, not a willing participant. Why will her friends think she is a whore and disassociate themselves from her when she was raped?. Is Japanese society's view on women so skewed that these actions are accurate or is Takashi Ishii's Japan an exaggerated look at the world? I do not have the answer to this and became the most difficult part of the film to understand. It is holding me back from saying this is one of Japan's best contemporary films because i am not sure if this kind of set up is logical or not.

Soon Chihiro can not take the abuse anymore and because no one will help her (the man told her fiancee' about the rape and he abandoned her out of shame) she lashes out at her victimizer. One by one the men show up at her apartment and one by one she has her revenge.

END OF SUMMARY*****

Women taking matters into their own hands because society will not help them is the central theme in "Freeze Me". Ishii explores this by setting most of the action in Chihiro's apartment creating a small world inwhich the outside will not help her. The best of Contemporary Japanese genre films take basic exploitation plots and use them to showcase higher ideas. They elavate exploitation, but are still able to deliver the visceral thrills that make exploitation enjoyable (i.e Battle Royale, Audition). "Freeze Me" does this well. Rape is a hard subject to tackle and not everyone will agree with me that Ishii handled it with respect and seriousness. Many still may think it is a standard Rape/Revenge flick that has been done so many times before. I say their is to much subtext to write "Freeze Me" off as simple mindless vulgarity. The film is brutal and disturbing, but Ishii does not take pleasure in the rape or he does not show Chihiro as a "good guy" when she takes revenge. This move might sicken you and you may feel dirty after watching it, but hopefully it will also make you think about how woman seen in our world and the value we put on them.

Director and lead actress make the film better than predicted. Very effective and well told.

[Lt_Coffey_182 · 8/10 · 23 November 2006]

Freezer is an intense story, following the journey of an engaged woman whose past has caught up with her. A man forces himself in to her flat and reveals to the audience that Chirhiro was raped by three men and it was recorded on video and reveals to her the shocking news that the other to rapists are on their way. With this startling beginning, it is very unsettling to watch a very attractive woman who seemed so happy to be thrown in to such an ordeal. Even more unsettling is when her fiancé is told about her past and he turns his back on her, making her all alone. When Chirhiro finally garners the courage to attack Hirokawa, the audience are firmly behind her. Kojima's murder is the most surprising because she is reacting to him discovering Hirokawa's body and finally Baba's murder, who is without doubt one of the most repulsively evil characters ever, is totally expected and, on Chirhiro's part, totally pre meditated. Despite this build up of murders where each one become less of a big deal for Chirhiro and the fact that she likes looking at her frozen corpses, I still had a great deal of empathy for her due to her past experiences and the fact that she felt shame and guilt over what was done to her. It isn't until the end that she goes too far with an act of madness that causes her downfall and the audience sees that every action has a subsequent reaction. Surprisingly great plot for what, on the surface, appears a mere revenge film.

The film relies heavily on Inoue Harumi as Chirhiro to carry the film as she is in every scene and the plot is centred on her character. Luckily, she is a fantastic actress who proves more than capable to lead the film. The role requires vulnerability, sex appeal, anger, madness and a desire to be happy. With so many emotions on demand, many actors could fail to deliver but Inoue achieves every level with perfection. It is just as well, she is in every scene, however, as the rest of the cast is fairly poor. Tsurumi Shingo as Kojima is very poor and Takeneka Naoto as Baba, despite being effective, gives a very over the top performance which is almost unwatchable. Kitamura Kazuki as Hirokawa gives the most decent performance out of the supporting cast as he is relentless in his approach and very nasty yet still has a slight charm about him. Mr Nogami is a completely useless character, almost as much as he is a boyfriend, who garners little sympathy from the audience and his importance is prevalent in Chirhiro but not in the film.

Coupled with Inoue Harumi's great performance is great direction from Takashi Ishii. The chase scene between Chirhiro and Hirokawa is done very well as the tension build up is very intense and all the killing scenes are fantastically brutal. As well as great direction of scenes, there are some great insert shots. For example, when Chirhiro has the power cut, there are lots of shots focused on the sun, giving a great sense of scorching heat. Also the frequent inserts of the rape video are done very well and give a great sense of delving in to Chirhiro's psyche. Also present are a couple of references to the famous Psycho shower scene which, although obvious, are much welcomed.

With an extremely well written main character and a performance to match, Freezer manages to play on the audience's emotions and with Takashi Ishii on top writing and direction form; the film also makes the grade as an entertainment piece. Definitely one of the most underrated films from Japan I've seen.

Absolutely bizarre

[Danny_G13 · 21 April 2005]

Rape revenge flick is just so quirky I don't even know what I thought of it.

Half way through this I found myself wondering what genre it was. Was it a horror? No, because it wasn't gruesome or scary enough. Was it a drama? No, because there was nowhere near enough depth to the story. Was it a thriller? No, because there was hardly any sense of thrills or tension on display.

This stumbling block is always going to be a huge problem. If you cannot classify a story under a specific category, or indeed multiple ones, then it becomes very hard to understand what kind of mindset to watch it in. If it's a thriller then it gets your pulse racing and you instantly 'activate' the mental recesses to put you into that frame of mind so you'll get the most out of it. Likewise horror, and one prepares oneself to be scared or disgusted or whatever. It's like real life - you're not going to elicit any inappropriate emotion for a given situation. You want to panic when you're being chased by a lion, not when you're settling down for a relaxing evening with your wife/husband.

With this, I was simply baffled as to how to feel.

Chihiro is a young lady who appears to have it all; a good job, an impending marriage to a man she's deeply in love with, and a solid social circle of friends. Indeed, she's in absolute bliss.

However, when a man she seems to recognise shows up at her apartment block, she runs from him in a state of panic, and a flashback of a scene from a home movie where the man's eyes dominate the picture appears. Evidently, she knows this man, and is terrified of him. Running back to her apartment she tries to get away from him, but he sticks to her like glue and takes over her home.

Essentially, it's safe to say that he (Kojima) is someone from Chohiro's past who she hoped never to see again.

That would be a synopsis and sets the stall for the movie. Well, so you would think. The problem I have with this review is the movie has very little content. Basically rapist #1 shows up, gets killed by the vilified woman, then his buddy shows up and the same happens, then the last one. And to store the bodies of these perps? Chohiro buys industrial freezers.

And that's it.

Obviously, there's an ending here, but you can see it coming a mile off and the events leading up to it are also as inevitable.

The major flaw with this movie is there are simply no layers to it. It's uninteresting because it never makes anything happen.

There's just so little plot that it makes rating it impossible, plus the added fact that it even adopts comedy at one point shows how completely directionless it actually is.

It's shallow, vacuous, and devoid of meat. However, it *is* different, and is extremely quirky as a result, which I must give it credit for.

However, add some overwrought rape scenes to the mix and you finish this movie entirely confused as to what you made of it.

I think more could have been done with the idea, and plenty more to make it plausible. Which is another flaw; to say you have to suspend your disbelief is an understatement. It's just absolutely incredible how daft much of this is. So many things happen which seem to abandon logic entirely, and they don't even succeed in entertaining given how utterly daft they are. You find yourself asking just why she is acting the way she is, why she is doing what she is doing.

Is it entertaining? Dunno. I suppose it killed (pardon the pun) a couple of hours but really, it was just so narrow.

Strange.

awful indictment of............ Japanese culture.

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 23 August 2006]

Fine film that is at once ugly and beautiful. It is superbly shot and the imagery almost magical. From the silently falling snow lit by the streetlight to the manga like cropped shots of the lovely heroine, the movie looks lovely but there is a truly evil undercurrent here that does not reflect well upon present day Japan. At its simplest this is a rape and revenge movie but it is done with much style and whilst the violence is horrific, the real horror here is the way the original rape is referred to and the way the rapists feel they can revisit their victim for seconds. Not only all that but that there is tacit acceptance by those around her both at home and in the workplace is an awful indictment of a lingering rotten core festering in the outwardly attractive Japanese culture.