Planning | Fang Zhuoran
Author | Hao Duoyu
Mysterious creature with ferocious face and strange shapes invades the human body, swallows the brain, and then controls the host to kill humans with scissors and claws in his head... Just after the summer season, this 18-banned comic-changing movie "Parasite Beast" quietly lands in mainland theaters. It is really "live and long-lasting" that such a dreamy and bloody Japanese film can win the introduction quota and pass the censorship.
"Parasite Beast" was originally two films, directed by Takashi Yamazaki, and starred in popular movie stars Masato Oya, Eri Fukatsu, Ai Hashimoto, and released in Japan in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Mainland theater version of "Parasite Beast" combines two large volumes of 226 minutes into one, editing them into a "clean book" that filters most of the heavy-tasting shots. But even after 100 minutes of deleting it, "Parasite Beast" still set the largest scale on the mainland screen recently. Since the release of
, "Parasite Beast" has accumulated nearly 45 million box office. Although this result cannot be compared with Hollywood blockbusters, it is not easy for Japanese films to be divided into films, breaking the box office record of Japanese live-action movies in China. Looking back, even "Norwegian Forest" with the golden sign "Haruki Murakami" only barely earned 2.945 million box office.
IP traceability: From horror comics to live-action movie
is at the top of the adaptation chain, and is the science fiction comic "Parasite Beast" created by Japanese cartoonist Akitsuki Iwa. It achieved an amazing record of sales of single-line books exceeding 11 million copies, and won the 17th Kodansha Comic Award in 1993 and the 27th Nebula Award in 1996.
As a masterpiece of comics, the copyright of "Parasite Beast" has been snatched around the world. Hollywood famous director James Cameron and animation master Hayao Miyazaki both joined this IP melee. In the end, the animation version was produced by Kenichi Shimizu, and after it was broadcast, it became the champion of animation recording times for three consecutive months. Unfortunately, this animation was included in the "Network Anime Blacklist" by the Ministry of Culture of China because it involved too many bloody and violent elements, and was banned from broadcasting across the Internet within the jurisdiction of mainland China.
comic-adapted live-action movies, the most difficult thing is to break through the dimensional barrier . The series of comics and animations can carefully show the rich plots that are advanced layer by layer, and the length of the movie is more suitable to present a story in a concentrated manner. Therefore, comic-adapted movies often focus on the main trunk and cut off the branches, which means that some exquisite and clever details and emotional lines have to be abandoned, which may destroy the original work's wild imagination and the sense of rhythm. At the same time, comic-adapted movies also have higher requirements for actors' acting skills and post-production special effects.
"Parasite Beast" movie version is directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the big director of the movie 10 billion yuan box office. It gathers the top Japanese team to create a conscience special effect, restoring the impact and infectiousness in the comics. It is worth mentioning that the "clean book" in the mainland was also completed by the producer Fang Dongbao, which basically ensures the logic and integrity of the film.
In the selection of actors, the protagonist Shinichi Izumi has starred in films such as "Mediocre Talent" and "Where Are Gods Going to the Village". Although his movements and expressions are inevitably marked by exaggeration, this dramatic exaggeration serves the overall comic texture of the film and supports the entire film better. With the escort of actors such as Eri Fukatsu, Tadashi Asano, Miko Yu, and Ikki Kitamura, they ensure that the acting skills of the movie are always online.
Type Grafting: Superhero Characters and Middle Second World View
From the perspective of movie genre, "Parasite" adopts typical American superhero framework .
The so-called superheroes are mostly ordinary and even timid and cowardly teenagers. By chance, they found themselves with magical abilities that ordinary people do not have. At the same time, evil forces also began to invade ordinary lives. In order to save their family, lovers, friends and even all mankind, they have to accept their secret identities and stand up firmly and bravely. Superman, Spider-Man, and Hulk are all born from this type of program.
The American superhero creation has distinct ideological connotations and is an important part of the popular culture and film industry . The success of "Parasite Beast" is that draws on this mature genre framework, incorporates the unique aesthetic characteristics and cultural representations of Japanese systems, and uses the complete set of aesthetics and values of Japanese youth subculture to decorate and transform superhero expressions . Izumi Shinichi's growth path is no longer the individualistic myth of an American lone hero, but the inner theater of the Japanese middle-aged and second-century otaku. In the world of the second half of
, "cute" and "hot-blooded" are absolutely indispensable elements. Although most of the parasitic beasts in the film have hideous faces and cruel personalities, the "Xiaoyou" who is parasitic on the right hand of the male protagonist can be called a "cute beast" and also carries out many funny points and tears in the play. During the promotional period, the film crew also grasped the cute attributes of "Xiaoyou", and the posters all looked like the same style as "Cooking Rat King".
Cultural connotation: universal emotions and worries under sensory stimulation
In order to bring enough sensory stimulation to the audience, "Parasite Beast" continues the original horror and curious style. But it is by no means just a superficial work of strange powers and chaos, but it incorporates profound thoughts and universal issues about social life. Beneath the splashing plasma and dirty ruins, what is hidden is the green of hope to coexist and coexist.
movie opens with a narration: "People on the earth suddenly thought: If the population is reduced by half, how many woods can avoid being burned? If the population is reduced to one percent, the pollution toxins emitted are only one percent, right? Someone suddenly thought that they cannot protect the future of organisms."
narration directly points to the contradiction between humans and the environment. It is human beings' endless excavation and pollution that destroys the ecological balance of the earth. Parasitic beasts are not alien visitors with bad intentions, but environmental problems created by humans themselves. The development of the plot is inseparable from this serious sense of crisis and introspection. The creation of a horror and thrilling atmosphere in also has a strong Japanese apocalypse complex.
The depression in the end times requires the warmth of the world to resolve. The two maternal love rescues between Shinichi's mother and Tamiya Ryoko made the audience feel unbearable. The relationship between Shinichi and Sakimi supported each other brought a touch of fresh sweetness in the crisis. The parasitic relationship between Shinichi and Xiaoyou gradually became familiar and dependent on, and evolved into a kind of friendship that was in harmony with each other, symbolizing the harmonious coexistence between man and other species. Family, friendship and love are intertwined, and greedy, selfish and cold humans have obtained self-salvation. The warning, reflective and enlightenment contained in this film is worthy of deep thought by every audience, and it is worth learning from by domestic film creators.
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