Sushi Girl | |
Directed by | Kern Saxton |
Produced by | Neal Fischer Destin Pfaff Kern Saxton Suren M. Seron |
Written by | Destin Pfaff Kern Saxton |
Edited by | Kern Saxton |
Music by | Fritz Myers |
Starring | Cortney Palm Tony Todd Noah Hathaway James Duval Mark Hamill Andy Mackenzie Sonny Chiba |
Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures via Magnet Releasing Gryphon Entertainment |
Release date | June 21, 2012 (Canada) |
“ | Revenge is a dish best serve raw. | ” |
— Tagline
|
Sushi Girl is a 2012 American crime film directed by Kern Saxton, starring Tony Todd, Mark Hamill, Noah Hathaway, Sonny Chiba and Cortney Palm. Tony Todd also served as a executive producer. It premiered at a TCL Chinese Theatre, played in several festivals and was then released directly to home media in 2012.
Summary[]
Fish has spent six years in jail. Six years alone. Six years keeping his mouth shut about the robbery, about the other men involved. The night he is released, the four men he protected with silence celebrate his freedom with a congratulatory dinner. The meal is a lavish array of sushi, served off the naked body of a beautiful young woman. The sushi girl seems catatonic, trained to ignore everything in the room, even if things become dangerous. Sure enough, the four unwieldy thieves can't help but open old wounds in an attempt to find their missing loot.
Plot[]
Fish (Noah Hathaway) has been recently released from prison where he was serving time for his part in a diamond heist. He refused to give the authorities any information on his partners in crime nor reveal to them the location of the stolen diamonds. In order to locate and divide the stolen diamonds, crime boss Duke (Tony Todd) invited "Fish" to dinner along with the rest of the gang, including Crow (Mark Hamill), Max (Andy Mackenzie) and Francis (James Duval). The meal is sushi, served on the naked body of a seemingly catatonic woman, the titular Sushi Girl (Cortney Palm).
When Fish tells the others that he doesn't have the diamonds, they do not believe him. He is tied up, with Max and Crow taking turns to torture him. Duke instructs Francis to take a turn as well, but he refuses. Francis goes to the bathroom and reveals that he is wearing a listening device. The sequences of torture are intercut with flashbacks to the heist, culminating in the gang being run off the road by another car, with Duke shooting the driver in order to escape. Eventually Max loses control and begins to beat Fish savagely, causing him to die.
Max, Crow and Duke begin to argue savagely about who was responsible for Fish's death. Francis tries to turn them against Duke but is discovered as a rat and is shot by Duke. Eventually Max and Crow draw their guns on one another and shooting breaks out, with Duke killing Max. A dying Crow begs to the hospital but Duke just only takes his glasses and shoots him dead. He returns to the Sushi Girl, telling her that she is to be his 'consolation prize'. He eats a piece of fugu from her body and promptly collapses, whereupon she sits upright and tells him it was poisoned. A final flashback reveals that she was present at the heist's aftermath; it was her lover who Duke shot, and she who recovered the diamonds after the bag was ripped open. She explains that she used her newfound riches to arrange this night and take her revenge upon the gang, and then she shoots Duke fatally and departs.
Cast[]
- Tony Todd as Duke
- Noah Hathaway as Fish
- James Duval asFrancis
- Andy Mackenzie as Max
- Mark Hamill as Crow
- Cortney Palm as Sushi Girl
- Sonny Chiba as Sushi Chef
- David Dastmalchian as Nelson
- Jeff Fahey as Morris
- Michael Biehn as Mike
- Danny Trejo as Schlomo
- David Reynolds as Henchman
- Cyrus Alexander as Martin.
Music[]
See: Sushi Girl (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
Release[]
The production team behind Sushi Girl raised the money for the world premiere via crowdfunding site Kickstarter and the film debuted at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 27, 2012 The film has been played at a range of festivals, including Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival in 2012 and Melbourne's Supanova Pop Culture Expo in 2013.
Reception[]
Sushi Girl has received mixed reviews. Variety stated that "Sushi Girl makes a strong impression with a lurid, finely twisted plot, but its excessive cruelty leaves a foul aftertaste," and the Toronto Star gave it two stars out of four and described it as being overly derivative of the work of Quentin Tarantino.Film Threat was more forgiving, likewise identifying it as being derivative but stating that due to "the power of great performances, Sushi Girl had me hooked from beginning to end, and I can’t wait to see it again." HorrorMovies.ca's review praised the film's style, calling particular attention to the torture scenes, which it called "memorable".
Trivia[]
- Michael Biehn shot his scenes for free in one day as a favor to his good friend Electra Avellan, one of the producers.
- While eating fugu, Duke says "I cannot see her tonight. I have to give her up. So I will eat fugu." This is, in fact a famous senryu from Japanese poet Yosa Buson, written in the 18th century
Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA.
Videos[]
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Sushi Girl | |
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Film | Sushi Girl |
Main Characters | Sushi Girl - Duke - Crow - Fish - Max - Francis - Nelson - Sushi Chef - Schlomo - Morris - Mike - Martin |
Music | Sushi Girl (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
Galleries | Sushi Girl (film) Gallery - Sushi Girl/Gallery - Duke/Gallery - Crow/Gallery - Fish/Gallery - Max/Gallery - Francis/Gallery - Nelson/Gallery - Posters |
Items | Noh Theatre Masks - Diamonds - Machete - Timer - Old Work Shoes - Reel-to-reel Tape Recorder - Sushi |
Terms/Concepts | Falkore Plumbing - Acupuncture - Russian Roulette - Nyotaimori |
Vehicles | Dodge Ram Van - Chevrolet Caprice - Chevrolet Chevy Van - Imperial LeBaron |