Tag, Japanese Schoolgirls Cut in Half and Machine-Gunned

....have your attention yet? What an opening scene!  Two bus loads of attractive Japanese teens are sliced in half by an evil wind..body parts flying.  Blood spurting everywhere!  The carnage isn't even close to over, and the eventual death count will impress even all of you "Kill Bill" fans. Today we look at a gore-fest from Japan, 2015's "Tag" (aka "Tag Riaru Onigokko").  The death toll will be in the hundreds, and all of them will be blood spurting masterpieces.

Mitsuko (Reina Triendl) is the lone survivor of that opening scene...but her torment is just beginning.  She runs and runs escaping a mysterious homicidal wind.  But wait!  She reaches her all girls high school...and all her classmates are there....alive!  A dream?  Nope.  Safe?  Hardly.  Just when all seems fine, hundreds of the same girls will be mowed down by machine-gun wielding teachers...but Mitsuko again escapes, this time with her friend Aki (Yuki Sakurai). As the two flee, it is apparent that Aki knows something about their predicament. As Aki protects Mitsuko, she sends her onward and Keiko (Mariko Shinoda) mysteriously appears at her own wedding. Wait!  Who is Keiko? That's what Mitsuko wants to know.  Those of us who hate weddings will love what comes next as wedding party, guests, ushers, and all others involves in weddings die quickly and in horrible fashion.

Keiko escapes and runs away.  Izumi (Erina Mano) then finds herself in a track and field event.  Wait! Who is Izumi?  That's what Mitsuko and Keiko want to know.  Don't worry, Izumi will witness similar carnage.  ....and just why aren't there any males in this film?  What is going on here.  A cryptic clue we receive is when Mitsuko is warned that life is surreal....don't let it get to you.  As confusing as this all sounds.....the answers do come.  As shocking as those answers are, a certain segment of you will figure it out as it plays out.

If you endured "Tyler Perry's Passion" on Fox last week, you deserve to watch "Tag." Prurient...gory...fetish filled...but most interesting, to say the least.  What is going on?  How are our three protagonists related?  Is this film merely a misogynistic orgy, or is it a sensitive tale of adolescent women coming to realizations about their sexuality...or nether? Sion Sono does a wonderful job directing this horror tale.  As the film ends, an important message remains. Available on YouTube, enjoy "Tag."