Kuso

Let us take you, if we may, on a strange journey. We dare you to accompany us to the dark side of the discotheque in Kuso, the directorial debut of Steven Ellison, better known as electronic musician, producer and deejay Flying Lotus. Hard to watch, but harder to turn away, Kuso feels like a scatological fever dream filmed by David Lynch on a hefty dose of laxatives and Viagra. It showcases a series of four surreal vignettes about the mutated survivors of an earthquake, the vignettes being constantly broken up by trippy animations and television static. Buttholes and faeces feature quite prominently (hence the title, which is “shit” in Japanese). That Ellison has a unique, genre-defying musical sensibility is amply demonstrated by the film’s soundtrack, for which Aphex Twin and Akira Yamaoka also created original tracks. With the potential to become an instant cult classic Kuso is a one-of-a-kind 90-minute assault on the senses. As the funk legend George Clinton fittingly puts it: “Free your mind and your ass will follow.” Be ready to rinse your eyes out afterwards.