First installment, “Mars’s Canal,” about a naked man (Asano) recalling a violent sexual encounter is, at only seven minutes, the briefest. But its scratchy edits and avant-garde soundtrack are a warning of the artiness to come.
Second seg, “Mirror Hell,” features Asano as Det. Akechi, who is faced with a series of chemically mutilated corpses in a household of vain women. Structured like a Sherlock Holmes mystery, this is the most satisfying serving in terms of plot and perfs, but helmer Akio Jissoji overuses distorting camera lenses and wailing music.
Hardest entry to stomach is “Caterpillar,” featuring Yukiko Okamoto as the sadistically horny wife of a deformed, limbless war veteran (Nao Omori). Ostensibly, she’s removed all mirrors from their home to protect hubby from the full knowledge of his deformity, but nothing protects him from either her harsh implementation of nursing duties or her need to further mutilate him for her erotic fulfillment. Det. Akechi briefly reappears but, with no real mystery at hand (except for who really dismembered the war hero), seg makes baffling viewing.
“Crawling Bugs,” the final entry, has similarly confronting content, but benefits from Nao Sasaki’s vivid art direction, which riffs on art nouveau and fashion model glamour, as well as illustrating the rich dream world inhabited by a shy, deranged and dermatologically-challenged chauffeur (Asano again). When his employer, beautiful actress Fuyou Kinoshita (Tamaki Ogawa), asks to be dropped off for a romantic rendezvous, the chauffeur’s jealousy reaches murderous proportions. Directorially, however, yarn is as flat as its predecessors.
Compendium’s overall effect is of indulged sadism rather than eerie horror, despite the recurring themes of illusion and reality. Still, lensing and other tech credits are solid. Original title means “Ranpo Hell.”
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Original article by Russell Edwards for Variety