Parasyte: Part 1
Japanese theatrical release poster
Kanji寄生獣
Literal meaningParasite
Revised Hepburnkisei-jū
Directed byTakashi Yamazaki
Screenplay by
Based onParasyte
by Hitoshi Iwaaki
Produced byShūji Abe
StarringShota Sometani
CinematographyShoichi Ato
Edited byJunnosuke Hogaki
Music byNaoki Satō
Production
companies
  • Robot
  • Toho Pictures
  • Office Abe Shuji
Distributed byToho
Release dates
  • October 30, 2014 (2014-10-30) (TIFF)
  • November 29, 2014 (2014-11-29) (Japan)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥2 billion[1]

Parasyte: Part 1 (Japanese: 寄生獣, Hepburn: Kiseijū) is a 2014 Japanese science fiction action film directed by Takashi Yamazaki, starring Shota Sometani. It is the first film of the two Parasyte films, and was followed by Parasyte: Part 2.[2] The films are based on the Parasyte manga series.

Plot

Mysterious aliens called "Parasites" suddenly begin their invasion when some of them infect humans by entering their brain. One of them attempts to enter the brain of high school student Shinichi Izumi, but resorts to infecting his right hand after failing to bypass his headphones. Thanks to this way of entry, Shinichi retains his human consciousness, unlike the other victims. After his initial shock, Shinichi befriends the parasite and names him "Migi" (Japanese for "right").

The parasites terrorize humanity by secretly killing them as sources of food. Shinichi himself has to fend against the parasites who are disgusted of the fact that his body exhibits two consciousnesses. One of the parasites also possesses Shinichi's teacher, Ryoko Tamiya; however, Tamiya is a lot more reasonable and is interested in studying the humans' way of life, which she does by becoming impregnated with fellow parasite Mr. A. Tamiya explains that despite having parasite parents, the baby she carries is a normal human.

When Mr. A's attack on Shinichi fails and results in his vessel's destruction, he transfers his consciousness to Shinichi's mother, Nobuko. Nobuko returns home and mortally injures Shinichi, although Migi manages to save him by using his essence to renew his heart, essentially infecting Shinichi's entire body with Migi's particles. Since then, Shinichi's personality starts to merge with that of Migi, namely, being apathetic to emotions; this results in Shinichi's estrangement from his girlfriend, Satomi Murano.

Meanwhile, an underling of Tamiya, Takeshi Hirokawa, runs for mayorship in order to set up the town for the parasites' interests. Another parasite, Hideo Shimada transfers to Shinichi's school and initially acts friendly, but when a student discovers his true identity, he massacres the students. Shinichi is able to kill Shimada, who is left to his fate by Tamiya due to a disfigurement that Satomi causes, which makes him unable to control himself. Tamiya gives Shinichi the location of the Mr. A-possessed Nobuko before leaving the scene. At their meeting, Nobuko is able to overcome her parasite's consciousness long enough for Shinichi to safely kill her.

The epilogue details Hirokawa's successful run for mayorship, the appearance of the mysterious parasite Goto, as well as Shinichi's visit to Satomi at the hospital, where an unknown individual records him talking with Migi.

Cast

Production

Development

In 2005, New Line Cinema had acquired the film rights to Parasyte in 2005,[4] and a film adaptation was reported to be in the works, with Jim Henson Studios and Don Murphy was set to be in charge of production.[5] New Line Cinema's option expired in 2013, prompting a bidding war in Japan. Film studio and distributor Toho won the rights.

Casting

Shota Sometani was cast as the protagonist Shinichi Izumi, along with Eri Fukatsu as high school teacher parasyte Ryoko Tamiya, and Ai Hashimoto as Shinichi's girlfriend Satomi Murano.

Release

Parasyte: Part 1 screened at the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival as the closing film on October 30, 2014.[6]

The film was released on November 29, 2014 in Japan.

Funimation licensed both Part 1 and Part 2 for Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD release on May 8, 2018 which included English dubs of both films.

Reception

Box office

The film topped the box office on its opening weekend in Japan, earning $2.9 million from 256,000 admissions on 418 screens.[7] It grossed around ¥800 million at the Japanese box office after two weeks.[8] The film grossed CN¥48.3 million at the Chinese box office.[9]

Critical reception

Mark Schilling of The Japan Times gave the film 3 and a half stars out of 5, saying, "I couldn't call myself a fan of the manga, but the film adaptation of Parasyte hits the hard-to-find sweet spot between black comedy and serious sci-fi/horror".[10] Peter Debruge of Variety in his favorable review felt that "[the film] marks an entertaining new iteration in the body-horror category, as if someone had grafted a very dark high-school comedy onto a David Cronenberg movie."[11] Meanwhile, Christopher O'Keeffe of Twitch Film in his unfavorable review commented that "Parasyte: Part 1 spends a great deal of time laying the groundwork for the concluding chapter and its charmless aliens and the scarcity of action in early scenes fail to make it stand on its own."[12]

Accolades

Award nominations for Parasyte: Part 1
Year Award Category Recipient Result
2015 Asian Film Awards Best Visual Effects Takashi Yamazaki Nominated
Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival Best Film Nominated

Sequel

A sequel, Parasyte: Part 2, was released in Japan on April 25, 2015

References

  1. ↑ 【国内映画ランキング】「シンデレラ」初登場第1位、「寄生獣 完結編」6位に新作3本が続く. eiga.com (in Japanese). April 25, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  2. ↑ Ma, Kevin (November 20, 2013). "Yamazaki Takashi to adapt Parasyte". Film Business Asia.
  3. 1 2 3 『寄生獣』映画実写化決定 染谷将太×深津絵里×橋本愛が出演 [Parasyte movie live-action decision Shota Sometani × Eri Fukatsu × Ai Hashimoto appear]. Oricon News. 2018-10-31. Archived from the original on 2023-05-23. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  4. ↑ "Horror manga 'Parasyte' gets movie, anime television adaptation". Asahi Shimbun. November 28, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ Bertschy, Zac (September 20, 2005). "Jim Henson Studios to produce Parasyte". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  6. ↑ Cremin, Stephen (October 31, 2014). "Heaven Knows What takes Tokyo Grand Prix". Film Business Asia.
  7. ↑ Schilling, Mark (December 1, 2014). "Japan BO: 'Parasyte' wins weekend". Variety.
  8. ↑ Ma, Kevin (10 December 2014). "Naruto overtakes Parasyte at Japan box office". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "寄生兽（2016）". cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  10. ↑ Schilling, Mark (November 5, 2014). "Parasyte: Gory invasion of the cannibal body snatchers". The Japan Times.
  11. ↑ Debruge, Peter (November 1, 2014). "Film Review: 'Parasyte: Part 1'". Variety.
  12. ↑ O'Keeffe, Christopher (November 15, 2014). "Review: PARASYTE PART 1, Slow Burn Alien Takeover Paves Way For Part 2". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
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