Lumberjack the Monster (2023)

A serial killer with an axe is murdering people and stealing their brains, whilst a psychopathic lawyer and his doctor buddy are killing people and covering up the evidence - sounds like the sort of case that would definitely need a sexy young criminal profiler and a disgraced, cynical detective to team up and unravel it!

Lumberjack The Monster is adapted from a novel and feels like it - like there was a checklist of plot points to cover in the 2 hour running time and Takashi Miike ticked them off one by one, doing the bare minimum to adapt the story to the feature film format.

Maybe I'm projecting but it doesn't feel like Miike was all that interested in the film. The delivery is quite flat and there are very few of the creative flourishes that used to make his films stand out. I couldn't help thinking of MPD Psycho, which also features psychopathic killers and brain theft but really couldn't be more different in its execution. Miike is at his best when he focusses on vibes and let's narrative come along for the ride... here, plot is firmly in the driving seat.

I don't have a lot of time for these sort of stories (it reminded me of Laplace's Witch) to be fair. I guess other people do so I'm sure some will have a better time with this than me. I was clock-watching by the midpoint though, and what minimal plot twists the film has in its tail weren't enough to regenerate interest that had waned long before.