Ekusute (Exte: Hair Extensions) poster & wallpaper
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Chiaki Kuriyama, Ren Osugi, Tsugumi, Miku Sato, Megumi Sato ... see more see more... , Mayu Sakuma , Ken Mitsuishi , Mirai Yamamoto , Eri Machimoto , Yuuna Natsio

Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill, Vol. 1) and prolific character actor Ren Osugi (Nightmare Detective) star in Suicide Club director Sion Sono's alternately satirical and terrifying tale of hirsute horror. ... read more read more...Yuko (Kuriyama) is a eager apprentice at the Gilles de Rais salon who dreams of one day becoming a famous hair stylist. As a child Yuko was tormented by her sadistic older sister Kiyomi (Tsugumi), though these days the abusive sibling is more inclined to satisfy her mean streak by abusing her own subservient daughter Maki (Miku Sato). Meanwhile, on a nearby freight car, the corpse of a young woman who appears to have become an unwilling organ donor is discovered in a massive nest of hair. When the corpse arrives at the local morgue, misanthropic hair fetishist Yamazaki (Osugi) abducts the cadaver after noticing that it produces an endless wave of hair from every orifice and incision. But these aren't your typical passive locks; strangely they seem to exhibit a life of their own. In order to turn a tidy profit, Yamazaki soon begins selling the strands to local salons so that they may be made into hair extensions. Later, when the murderous manes begin turning on the heads that hold them, the battle between two sisters for the custody of the frightened Maki is soon interrupted by a most unusual development. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

58% liked it

588 ratings

R, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Sion Sono

Release Date: February 9, 2007

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DVD Release Date: August 26, 2008

Stats: 142 reviews

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Chiaki Kuriyama
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Flixster Reviews (142)

  • skactopus
    December 18, 2010
    skactopus
    Sion Sono's Exte: Hair Extensions provides a second guessing of using hair extensions. In that regards, this film is a success.

    The "killer hair" concept of the film is strange, and also quite laughable. As most movies do, the early portions of the 108 minute run time

    ... read morecontain a handful of story and character setup. Much like the film's concept, the initial introduction of main character Yuko is entertaining in a playful way, nearly taking away the seriousness of this so-called Japanese horror; however, once the story unravels, the unusual thrilling nature of the film becomes visible.

    The camera motion effects for the hair growth and movements are a plus and it adds to the creepy sensation of the picture. The scares themselves are absent, as this picture thrives on suspense and creepiness.

    Chiaki Kuriyama is fantastic and watching her lead this movie is a blast. Ren Osugi is notable for putting on quite a performance as the bizarre morgue attendant.

    By the end, Exte: Hair Extensions comes across more as a thriller than a horror, and maybe even a horror parody at times. Is it worth giving it a shot? Sure.
  • ceWEBrity
    September 28, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    Oh my God, Sion Sono, how do I feel about you? I'm so confused. What an unpredictable director he is - I can't find much information about Exte on the web, but if I had to guess, Toei probably just asked him to make a marketable horror film and this is what came out. This is prob... read moreably the most conventional thing that will ever come out of Sono, but that's not saying much at all; even by the standards of madcap horror-comedy that Exte operates by, it is an utterly bizarre foray into the genre, made all the more delightful by it. Even at its basic level, Exte seems to cannibalize the genre that it comes from - when I say J-horror, what do you say? Long black sentient hair, of course. It only seems natural that Sono would take this trope and beat it so far into the ground that it brings us to realize how meaningless the obsession actually is. It's a pretty great approach on a parodical level, but in terms of generating its own laughs, the hair succeeds as well.

    This would make a great companion piece to Drag Me to Hell, in many ways its closest contemporary. The shocks are just as legitimately effective as the laughs; the first murder we see is a fascinating, wonderfully acted, sickeningly compelling bit of scene work. An almost visually indecipherable, rapidly cross-cut bit of vengeance killing seen through the eyes of a hidden observer is perhaps even more awesome. Exte is maybe a little deficient in its horror set pieces, as there's a surprisingly heavy preference for drama and character discourse here. It works, but it's melodramatic, as you'd probably expect from a Sono film. Unfortunately, the movie falters whenever it focuses on its maniacal antagonist, who's overdoing it like the rest of the cast...but for him, it just doesn't seem to work. He seems to be fulfilling the prerequisite Sono role of the character who breaks out into arbitrary song and dance routines, which have never exactly been the director's strong point, as much as he'd like to think otherwise. This sad little mortician doesn't have any dimension, except for "grating." And as the last fifteen minutes of the film put him directly in the spotlight, it so follows that its ending absolutely grinds to a halt. It's really a shame, because he figures much more smoothly into Exte when seen in short bursts; it's only here that he actively interferes with the story's momentum.
  • MidnightMadwoman
    May 25, 2009
    MidnightMadwoman
    I was a little disappointed by this film; I thought it could have been way scarier and creepier than it was. The imagery of long creeping black hair is really unnerving, and i think it could have been put to much better use. I did, however quite like the aunt-niece dynamic, and t... read morehe fact that the main character's sister is a way worse villain than the evil hair or manical morgue attendant ever could be.
  • newvogueravyn
    September 8, 2008
    newvogueravyn
    With Asian horror's slight obsession with the hair of wronged women, this film was bound to be created. As long as you don't take it too seriously (particularly the hair effects) it's an enjoyable film, more comedy horror than anything else despite the quite horribly realistic p... read moreortrayal of child abuse.
  • threefolddado
    November 15, 2008
    threefolddado
    One of the reasons I appreciate Japanese cinema is because of films such as this. Twisted, original and some good scares. Something this far out there could never be created anywhere else.
  • cacutshaw
    September 11, 2008
    cacutshaw
    Good film that mixes 2 J-horror staples. The serious minded ghost film and the wacky over the top "anything goes" film. Very entertaining and really well directed, this is one to show people who have lost faith in j-horror.
  • kingmob6
    January 3, 2009
    kingmob6
    The first Sion Sono film I've not been impressed with, sadly enough. The general concept is alright, but the actual horror element isn't strong enough to sell this as a horror film, and the standard Sono weirdness isn't sufficient here to even things out.

    Worth a rental, but I ... read moredoubt I'll be re-watching this anytime soon.
  • heavyd2000
    November 11, 2008
    heavyd2000
    Very entertainging and a bit more mainstream that the rest of Sono's films I have seen. I like verry few j-pop "horror" films like ringu. I would say the only ones I did like were The eye, Spiral, One Missed call, and this. Not Sono's best film but still not tottaly void of socia... read morel commentary.
  • Zzombiefoodd
    November 7, 2008
    Zzombiefoodd
    A unique movie about haunted hair. A few cringe inducing moments and a fairly good story. The worst part about the movie was the supper realistic child abuse though.
  • soulxside
    March 5, 2008
    soulxside
    Exte is about as much of a horror film as The Eye 10 (and about as much of a parody as that film as well). It's a masterful mix of effective horror and not taking itself too seriously.

    From the director of Suicide Circle, this film stars Chiaki Kuriyama (from Kill Bill and Batt... read morele Royale) as Yuko, an apprentice hairdresser whose horrible and abusive half-sister drops off her daughter so she can go whore it up. Yuko discovers her sister has been abusing her kid and decides to take her in.

    Meanwhile, a perverted, hair-obsessed morgue worker steals a body that was found inside a shipping container full of hair. Turns out, the woman had been shaved, her organs harvested and then murdered. Her corpse continues to grow hair from all over and the morgue worker gives them away to hair salons to be used as extensions... cursed hair extensions.

    It's an absurdly comical scenario played straight and reserved. The comedy is subtle for the most part, but it's there... this director knows what he's doing. It cleverly begins with everyone speaking in overly descriptive language to spare us long exposition as we quickly learn who everyone is and what they do.

    The rest of the film is played pretty straight save for the morgue worker (played brilliantly by Ren Osugi) who acts as comic relief and the cursed murderous hair extensions which are both hilarious and horrific at the same time.

    It's a fun film and I'm anxious to show it to a group of friends.

View All Ekusute (Exte: Hair Extensions) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Wesley Morris
July 18, 2008
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

This Japanese horror movie is weirder than anything life could offer. Full Review

Nick Pinkerton
June 18, 2008
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice

An erratic J-horror fable. Full Review

Donald J. Levit
October 31, 2011
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

With fewer possible resolutions than recent J-horror ringtones and video cassettes, 'Exte: Hair Extensions' goes nowhere surprising. Full Review

Joshua Rothkopf
June 18, 2008
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York

No amount of absurdity -- and this film delivers plenty -- can clip the essential enjoyments of Sion Sono's hair-horror flick, about haunted extensions that strangle their style-obsessed victims to de... Full Review

Ronnie Scheib
October 18, 2008
Ronnie Scheib, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

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