Rapeman Rampo Noir is an anthology film that loosely adapts four short stories by Japan's foremost crime/mystery writer Edogawa Rampo (a pseudonym inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.) Often called Japan's Edgar Allan Poe, Rampo's macabre tales frequently involve eccentric and/or disfigured characters enmeshed in bizarre plots that can include anything from a wife who turns her husband into a 'caterpillar' to a chair-maker who buries himself inside one of his own armchairs so women can sit on him. Other (Japanese) films based on Rampo's writing include: Blind Beast, The Horror of Malformed Men and Watcher in the Attic.The first segment is a mostly silent short titled Mars Canal directed by newcomer Suguru Takeuchi. With a runtime of only two minutes it features Tadanobu Asano (Electric Dragon 80.000 V, Ichi the Killer) on some kinda of lunar-scape having flashbacks (dreams?) of beating his girlfriend. Not really much to comment on here - definitely pretty surreal, especially when the lulling silence is suddenly broken with harsh noise sound effects.The next story is called Mirror Hell and is directed by Akio Jissoji. Again Tadanobu Asano stars, this time as Detective Kogoro Akechi who is investigating a series of deaths in which beautiful women are discovered with their faces melted and their skulls turned into ashes. As a hand mirror is always found at the scene of the crime, Detective Akechi soon learns the deaths are the work of Toru (Hiroki Narimiya) a mad mirror-maker who is continuing the Japanese art of mirror-making the traditional way. This whole segment has an extreme kaleidoscopic feel to it as every shot seems to have 100 mirrors in it, which obviously pays off visually. Also included is a rather random rope-bondage 'n' candle wax session which perks things up a bit sleaze-wise.Next up is Hisayasu Sato's (Naked Blood) wonderfully perverse entry, Caterpillar. This is definitely the best of the bunch - First Lieutenant Sunaga (Nao Omori) returned from war relatively unharmed but in a psychotically desperate attempt to stop him from returning to the battlefield his wife (Yukiko Okamoto) amputated both his arms and legs and now cares for him as her 'little caterpillar'. I must mention that caring for him includes brutally whipping him, slicing off one of his nipples with a straight razor, gouging out one of his eyes and other deviant acts. This is all gorgeously shot in true Sato style (albeit on a slightly bigger budget than usual) with strange sequences shot in colored negative in which we see through the 'caterpillars' eyes, desolate surroundings and a fantastic finale.Finally we come to Manga artist Atsushi Kaneko's film-making debut - Crawling Bugs. The story centers around a chauffeur named Masaki (again played by Tadanobu Asano) who becomes obsessed with one of his famous passengers, stage actress Fuyu Kinoshita (Tamaki Ogawa). Masaki is a certified Mysophobe (hates germs & dirt) and gets a nasty rash on his neck when he touches people. Seeing as he is madly in love with Fuyu but can't exactly touch her, he figures a way round this by killing her and taking her home to live with him?! This has to be my second favorite entry as it has some of the most surreal imagery - an almost hallucinogenic set-piece in Masaki's home (mind?) where he paints the dead actress multicolors then unsuccessfully tries to inject her with embalming fluid, resulting in a bloodbath. Plenty of black humor here too - when the police burst into Masaki's apartment he calmly pulls his head free from the rotting belly of his 'lover' and says "what?''. Atsushi Kaneko is one director I'll definitely be keeping an eye on.Overall, an excellent anthology which showcases a coupla up 'n' coming Japanese directors and which may also introduce a few more folk to the wonders of Edogawa Rampo.

greenhalcyon This film, an adaptation of four (really three) short stories penned by Edogawa Rampo, is unfortunately more stomach-churning than it is stylish. Given the uniform elegance of RAMPO NOIR's composition and design, that makes the ick factor pretty high. After the relative subtlety and effectiveness of the first piece, "Mirror Hell," the ensuing parade of erotic leeches, quadriplegic sex, sadism, mutilation and necrophilia should be enough to put almost anyone off their dinner. Potential viewers, you've been warned. The images, which are beautiful, will stay with you, but they'll probably inspire a queasy stomach more than they will a sense of fascination and horror. Here's hoping it was more palatable on the page.

julian kennedy Rampo Noir: 4 out of 10: My first though was Zardoz that wacky beyond belief Sean Connery sci-fi film. My second thought was Yoko Ono. Both thoughts along with Johnny Got his Gun and Sherlock Holmes flooded me during the four short stories that make up this J-horror anthology.First the good news this J-horror is one-hundred percent pasty white ghost free. Yup not an insect screeching wet haired concubine of the damned to be found in any of the pictures. The bad news…. Well let's look at the four pictures.Mars Canal: 1 out of 10: Naked man in arty picture flashes back at a violent rape while a rare static fills the otherwise mute soundtrack. Yup this was the Yoko picture. Fortunately it's only seven minutes.Mirror Hell: 6 out of 10: Think Sherlock Holmes but Watson is a dominatrix. Very straight forward narrative and is easily the most accessible of the bunch.The Caterpillar: 5 out of 10: is the Johnny Got his Gun picture. War hero suffers domineering bride with an over the top amputee fetish. Not as bad as I just made it sound… but close.Crawling Bugs: 6 out of 10: If this film is ever remade by a Hollywood studio I have two words for the main lead in this segment. Crispin Glover. This tale of obsession over both an actress and the bugs crawling on her skin would make a nifty Showtime Masters of Horror segment. Very arty I could see this both written, directed and starring Mr. Glover who certainly shares the films over the top weirdness.In fact the whole Rampo Noir movie feels a little like a made for cable anthology series except for the first film that defiantly has NEA grant written all over it. Definitely different but often a little slow and not all that good.The films have virtually nothing to do with each other in tone and are not strong enough to stand on their own. They do kind of remind me of Zardoz. A film to show your jaded friends who think they have seen everything.

fertilecelluloid This is an anthology film comprising four stories. The third story, "Caterpillar", directed by Hisayasu Sato ("Lolita Vibrator Torture", "Naked Blood") is the most horrific of the bunch. It plays like a big budget Guinea Pig episode and focuses on a man whose limbs have been lopped off by his wife. He wriggles about like a caterpillar, spewing bile and oozing pus, and enjoys a spot of cunnilingus now and then. The lighting is beautiful, the production design is handsome, and Sato has never directed anything so lush. The other three stories are also interesting, although the first story, about a devious mirror maker, is very slow. Final story, about a weird man's obsession with an actress, possesses a surreal quality and is dazzling to look at. The fourth story is so short it's hardly worth commenting on. All stories were inspired by Japan's Edgar Allen Poe, Edogowa Rampo, a splendid author of dark tales who was inspired enough by Poe to take his name. Terrific to see a film of such quality that is not afraid to offend or confront. I was reminded of Hideshi Hino's wonderful work while watching this and highly recommend you chase down "Caterpillar".