Review — Tag 2015

“Tag” is awesome, I really enjoyed this bizarre, if rather confusing, little film! It’s essentially a Japanese horror/fantasy movie, but it’s also just filled with subtext and symbolism (in addition to a surprising amount of blood and gore!). There are different interpretations of this film, but I choose to believe it is a commentary on the general oppression of women by men, and, more specifically, the oppression of homosexuality. You will, no doubt notice, that in this film, about 98% of the cast are women. Women who are repeatedly objectified, by others, or by themselves and the few men who eventually make an appearance are dirty, or sleazy, or literally pigheaded beasts!
So, on the surface, this movie is pretty much about a girl who just starts suddenly traveling between worlds/realities, she begins the film as Mitsuko, a young girl on a bus filled with other schoolgirls, all on their way to a class field trip. But each reality ends with everyone around her dying a bizarre, gruesome death… As Mitsuko survives each slaughtering, she runs and eventually seems to run into a new reality, and eventually she finds that she, herself, has become a completely different person, with different looks, a different name and a different life she can’t even remember…
I found “Tag” so enthralling and it is beautifully shot; simply gorgeous cinematography! And yes, there IS an explanation/resolution at the end of the film, I can’t say it’s perfect…it’s rather strange but it really does work with the subtext of men oppressing and controlling women. Overall, I really liked “Tag”, I found it stunning, fascinating and wonderfully gory!