BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

BA_Harrison 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.

Scarecrow-88 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.

dementia13 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.

InzyWimzy 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!