Lilico (Erika Sawajiri, a real-life model with her own troubled history who plays the role to perfection) has the modeling world by the short n’ curlies.
Every woman wants to be her, every man wants to fuck her (good luck on that one unless you are a vacuous status-seeking pretty boy star or producer that can advance her career)… and while she rules the glamour world, her success may be fleeting…
Controlled by an alcoholic “stage mom”, Lilico’s enduring flawless beauty is the result of experimental medical techniques that must be maintained regularly or else things begin to go shockingly south… and those rapidly spreading bruises are going to take a toll on her already fractured mental state!
Brought to the screen by former fashion photographer turned director Mika Ninagawa (working from a screenplay by Arisa Kaneko adapting the manga from Kyôko Okazaki), Helter Skelter does the whole beauty and fame are fleeting bag and takes things to dynamic extremes.
While the physical tolls of Lilico’s addiction to being perfect begin to show (and temper expectations here… we get bruises… a lot of them… rather than the elaborate prosthetic effects of 2024’s similarly-themed picture The Substance… along with brief flashes of cartoony hallucinations in the third act), the true horror comes from the psychological manipulations perpetrated both by and on our heroine.
The lengths Lilico will go to so that she can be at the top become increasingly horrible and violent, but she remains the instigator, using her faithful employee pawns to get the dirty work done… never realizing her actions make her the ugliest person of all.
While the narrative’s themes are pitch black, the screen is constantly filled with saturated color, pulsing rock music, and naked flesh which stand in vibrant contrast to the Devil’s biz at play and creates a surreal, hypnotic effect that thrusts us deep into the superficial, fever-dream existence of the pop culture landscape.
Enhancing the feature flick, 88 Films have provided a variety of bonus materials including: an audio commentary courtesy of writer/critic Tori Potenza and Fangoria contributor Amber T., interviews with Ninagawa and Sawajiri, a glimpse behind-the-scenes of the film’s production, various PR events for the picture, rehearsal footage, a stills gallery, and Helter Skelter’s trailer and teaser.
The packaging features new artwork from Luke Insect, and a booklet containing an essay about the film by Educator/genre film expert Violet Burns.
A phantasmagoria of beautiful color and dark intent, Helter Skelter is as enthralling as it is disturbing!
