The Happiness of the Katakuris

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The Happiness of the Katakuris

R

2001

1h 53m

Musical

Comedy

Fantasy

Horror

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Fearing bad publicity, an innkeeper and his family bury the bodies of their ill-fated guests themselves.

Critics Consensus

If nothing else, Happiness of the Katakuris scores points for its delirious, over-the-top originality.

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Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

It's weirdly -- and often wonderfully -- entertaining.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 17, 2003

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

It's freakishly interesting and even outright hilarious at times, but, then again, so are most funerals.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 8, 2002

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Patrick Z. McGavin

Chicago Tribune

By the second hour, Miike's story fails to punctuate its powerful setup, and the work, much like the family itself, ends up a tangled mess.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 5, 2002

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Saffron Maeve

Screen Slate

A defibrillator to the brain, with slutty sumo wrestlers and rolling hills to boot.

Jul 2, 2022

Full Review

Jordan M. Smith

IONCINEMA.com

This is a film that, even in an oeuvre that includes works as disparate as gross out shocker Visitor Q and the kid friendly The Great Yokai War, is pure unpredictable insanity that baffles as much as it entertains.

Oct 27, 2020

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

At times, it's almost as if Miike said to himself 'What haven't I done in a film?' Then, he does it.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 10, 2020

Full Review

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Andrew F.

Absolutely amazing!!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/01/25

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Liam D

Takashi Miike‘s most insane movie that’s it is an bonkers horror comedy and an bizarre musical combined as one

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/19/24

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Joshua H

The katakuris is utterly ridiculous, and that's what makes it shine, a wild ride for anyone looking for some over the top dark humor

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/16/23

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William D

Delightfully weird and at times laugh out loud funny.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/24/23

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Becca S

One of the wildest musicals that you will ever experience! Trust me!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/06/23

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William L

"I'm with the US Navy. To be more precise, the British Royal Navy. ... Between you and me, I'm also a British secret agent. By order of Queen Elizabeth, give me your mobile number." For people that discovered a world of bizarre, genre-bending, subversive Japanese horror with the 1977 Nobuhiko Obayashi cult classic House, comes this even stranger spiritual successor from idiosyncratic director Takashi Miike. Giving itself over to pure delirious excess, The Happiness of the Katakuris leaves predictability at the door in favor of an absurdist premise, a series of out-of-place musical numbers, and some absolutely bizarre claymation effects (combined with intentionally shoddy CG). In terms of theme, it's a strange combination of existentialism and cheesy family melodrama, but it's the seemingly impossible contrast between the two that seems to be what the script actually wants to draw attention to. This film is positively bursting with creativity in a way that you hardly ever see. Strangely absorbing, often hilarious, The Happiness of the Katakuris is a fever dream hallucination in all the best ways. I think I'll probably return to this one to give it a higher rating retroactively. (3.5/5)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/07/22

Full Review

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Takashi Miike

Director

Kenji Sawada

Masao Katakuri

Keiko Matsuzaka

Terue Katakuri

Shinji Takeda

Masayuki Katakuri

Naomi Nishida

Shizue Katakuri

Tamaki Miyazaki

Yurie Katakuri

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Synopsis

Fearing bad publicity, an innkeeper and his family bury the bodies of their ill-fated guests themselves.

Director: Takashi Miike
Production Co: Dentsu, Eisei Gekijo
Rating: R
Genre: Musical, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 31, 2001, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 53m