Imprint was considered so shocking that Showtime banned it from being shown with its “Masters of Horror” series (but then, they allowed the episode called “Jenifer” to be shown, which I felt was just as shocking and was even more brutal.) Now though you can catch it on Hulu and Netflix.
Imprint is the story of an American journalist in the 19th century who searches for his lost lover, who he intends to save from a life of prostitution and take back to America. He is approached by a syphilitic Madam, and winds up selecting a girl who is seen only as a silhouette in the back of the brothel. She is revealed to be deformed, her face all scarred and stretched.
She tells him about Komomo, his girlfriend, and about her own shocking past.
It’s a simple plot and premise, but the shock comes from the ever more grotesque history the deformed prostitute reveals about herself and Komomo’s death. Abortion, torture, incest, spousal abuse, alcoholism, molestation, and a perverse view of heaven and hell are all present and accounted for in the sensory barrage that takes place as the story progresses.
The ending is a shocker too, as it’s ambiguous; I won’t give it away in case you’re brave enough to give this one a watch.
I don’t normally like depictions of gore and torture (as you might note from my review of Grotesque) but I think they have their place. As in Audition, Miike uses them well in Imprint to make a shocking, spooky movie that will stick with you for days after watching.
Watch this one at your own discretion. You’ve been warned.
