After the initial promise of the Ring Cycle, of Ju -On and Pulse, where it felt like the Japanese horror genre was offering up something new, something raw and finally quite terrifying, the bubble seems to have burst. It all seems to have fizzled away into a derivative wasteland. Almost everything that has appeared subsequently seems to be based on a curse and have a weird dead looking kid or a pale faced women with her hair slung over her face moving unnaturally trance like towards the viewer. Admittedly these are creepy images, but for the 60th time? Where’ the innovation? Where’ the risk?
The answer lies here. And it’s weird. It’s based on the work of acclaimed gothic writer Rampo Edogawa, whose name is curiously similar to Edgar Allen Poe who is clearly an influence. Four pieces by four different directors are united via one actor Asano Tadanobu. The first by Takeuchi Suguru signals just how experimental and mystical this film is. The sound design in particular is incredible, utilizing silence and low drones to create an amazing amount of tension. Mirror Hell can’ live up to its predecessor, a much more straightforward murder mystery, though the visuals are incredibly lush and creative. However it’s the third piece, The Caterpillar from Sato Hisayasu that sends things out into very odd and chilling realms. The story of a mute limbless war veteran being cared for by his abusive wife is something else, bringing to mind the baby in Eraserhead crossed with the English patient and Audition, yet is ultimately a love story masquerading as a sadistic dose of S&M. Finally Crawling Bugs, perhaps the most visually stunning piece is probably also the sickest, in which death is neither an obstacle to love or beauty. This is everything that has been missing from the genre, weird uncomfortable oddness and a dark questionable agenda.
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-Bob Baker Fish
