Product Description

Four auteur directors provide a shocking, grotesque and erotic compilation of short films each stylistically different and based on the great Japanese mystery writer, Edogawa Rampo. -Edogawa Rampo is the Japanese Edgar Allen Poe -Features one of Japan’s biggest stars, Tadanobu Asano (Ichi The Killer, Zatoichi)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49068 in DVD
• Brand: WELLSPRING/GENIUS
• Released on: 2006-10-31
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 134 minutes

Customer Reviews

4 Subtley Violent, Eerily Erotic Tales from the Japanese Edgar Allan Poe
Here we have an oddly unique Asian anthology flick
based on the writings of Edogawa Rampo,
widely considered to be the Japanese Edgar Allan Poe.
All 4 shorts are calm, philosophical, and contemplative
(Each with it's own exceptional conclusion)
The violence in each, comes across as poetic & evasive.
Often taking place entirely off-screen, or in some instances, deviously hinted at.
Regardless of it's presence, it is always significant to the plot.
Even the sex comes across as erotic poetry.
Never vulgar, but none the less intriguing.
Here's a brief synopsis & description of each short.

- "Mars Canal" -
5 minute short with no sound.
VERY, VERY confusing & ultimately forgettable.
(I question why they even bothered including this one in the anthology)
It depicts a naked asian man running toward a giant hole in a field.
The scene quickly flashes to either violent sex/ or a naked beating.
And then back to the hole in the field.
In all honesty you're better off skipping this one,
but...since it's so short,
by the time you reach for the remote it will be over.

- "Mirror Hell" -
Detective Akechi, (the re-occuring character in each short) investigates a series of gruesome murders involving a certain brand of mirror that melts the observers face.
EVERY SCENE in this short contains a mirror in it, or is the reflection off one.
My one gripe is, all the violence takes place off-screen =(
(I only say this, because watching various faces melt would've made my millenium.)
Although... there is an unusually erotic scene involving mirrors, rope, and candle wax.
AS well as a mirrored egg, constructed solely for godly re-birth.

- "Caterpillar" -
(Easily the best)
About a man who returns home from war, a hero, but with no arms & legs.
And his bitter wife, who punishes him, (beatings, & cuttings) for doing this to her;
Taking her huband away and leaving her a caterpillar instead.
So she puts up the appearance of good-wife tending to war-god,
when really she feels like a goddess tending to a caterpiller.
Or is that just how it appears on the surface??
Excellent violence, Unique control-themed sex-scenes, and an amazing story make me wish this one had been a feature length film,
instead of just a short.

- "Crawling Bugs" -
This one had the best soundtrack of the bunch,
but had a straight-foward story with schizophrenic pacing.
This one's about a man in love with a famous woman.
A man who hates human contact.
And what he does to reserve the one he loves.
This one had a GREAT ending.
And a line I will not soon forget.....
"Ever since I met you, my life has been hell"

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Despite it's reputation, Horror can still make you think.

Strange, elusive tales
This film has such a strange somnambulistic feeling about it, disembodied, morbid, yet fantastic, and at the same time, it is sickening in its own way; however, the sicknesses portrayed in this film are done in such a subtle and elusive manner, that it doesn't offend in any way whatsoever. There is also a touch of the erotic here, again, subtle and almost obscure.

While I can't really say that these tales are akin to Poe, as the author is deemed to emulate, there is a strange foreboding element in his tales that is gothic in style. I would highly recommend this movie for more highbrow horror fans.

Rampo Madness!
An excellent compendium of short films, using the stories of Edogawa Rampo as a starting point for some strange explorations of the fine lines separating dream and wakefullness, beauty and grotesquerie. Watched in one sitting the films may become quite overwhelming for the viewer. Myself, I watched a story each night before bed thus ensuring a plentiful supply of odd dreams (and not at all horrific!) My personal favourite in the compilation is 'Crawling Bugs', the final scene is a bit of a shock!

Being a bit of a Rampo buff I've knocked a star off the rating as I would have loved to have seen the films staged 'in period' (1920's - 1930's), but nevertheless each film succeeds in creating a timeless ambience well suited to The Man's work.