It's messed up, disgusting and unhinged. I'd forgotten how much I love Tetsuya Nakashima.

After seeing Kamikaze Girls, I wrote, "Well, that's that. I clearly have to watch all of Tetsuya Nakashima's movies, then." (I'd already seen Memories of Matsuko, admittedly.) His other films include Confessions and Paco and the Magical Picture Book. That's one hell of a filmography.

Ostensibly, this is a detective story. Fushijima (Koji Yakusho) is contacted by his ex-wife, Kiriko, to look for their missing daughter, Kanako. Fushijima used to be a cop and still has friends in the force, although the one he talks to (Asai) is a smarmy git with no respect for him. You might think you've seen this story before. Nope. This is a terrifying yakuza drug prostitution gay-and-straight rape gang war revenge torture suicide evil rollercoaster to hell. Sometimes it's gross. Sometimes it's disgusting. It'll take you to a place where the funniest thing you'll see is a man getting run down by a car.

Nakashima never slows down or lets you get comfortable. The pace is disconcerting, even in scenes that should theoretically be slow and calm. (Music helps achieve this.) The film never settles down or gives you a clear view of what's happening. The camerawork's in your face. There's stylistic experimentation (animated inserts, a glorious homage title sequence), although nothing on a level with Memories of Matsuko or Paco and the Magical Picture Book. Those were fantastical. This is more akin to the darkness of Confessions (including slight plot similarities), although that film was grounded and sombre. This one's an energy blast. Much killing will happen, usually exploding from nowhere when you don't expect it. Japan has lots of yakuza movies, but I'd sooner tangle with the anti-heroes of almost any of those than these ones here.

Our protagonist is an unstable, scary loose cannon who's capable of anything. That's not hyperbole. You'd divorce him too and I'd never before seen a performance like that from Koji Yakusho. Wow. Sticking a knife through someone's hand isn't the worst of it. No matter how confident a baddie you are, don't mess with him. (He's vulnerable as hell and often gets overpowered or worse, but there are no limits on what he'll do to you in return. The whole cast gives it everything, though, with Satoshi Tsumabuki being particularly memorable as the happy scumbag Asai.

Authority and parental figures are corrupt, broken and/or killers. Kanako herself is described as a demon and you won't disagree, with every layer of revealed truth telling us something new and horrifying. No one in the entire film is likeable, mind you. We get inside Fushijima's skin, sure, but that's an uncomfortable place to be. It's amazing that this film's managed to be this compelling despite also being cartoonish, lurid and repulsive.

I loved it. Disturbing? Hell, yeah. You definitely want to watch this.