Tôkyô densetsu: ugomeku machi no kyôki (2004) Reviews

• Less isn't more in this case.

  wierzbowskisteedman2006-06-03

  Vague spoilers...ish "Tokyo Psycho" is about...well, not what the title suggests. While it might be suggested that the film is about a city wide manhunt for a deranged killer, it's actually confined to the escapades of a single woman and the nerdy guy from the back of the class who still has a crush on her from school. Still, "Sexually Confused Apartment Block Pervert" doesn't quite have the same ring to it, yet that is what the film concerns itself with. Shot in an almost documentary style and running at a very modest 78 minutes, "Tokyo Psycho" certainly doesn't outstay its welcome too much, however the short running time doesn't mean it is fast paced. It does get off to a reasonable start, with the central character having an unpleasant encounter with a nut who may or may not be Pete Burns from Dead or Alive...yet this doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the film. The characters is where the film really slips up. The "killer" really isn't threatening at all, and the central heroine is pretty hard to root for; yet this isn't so much the fault of the actress, but the fault of the writer who gave her nothing to work with. To be fair, the minimal cast does do its best; however with the clichés coming thick and fast (who'd have thought the stalker would have boarded up the windows of his apartment and plastered pictures of his target everywhere?) and a unsatisfying ending that disjoints the film even further (which takes some doing with the paper thin story), "Tokyo Psycho" doesn't leave a good or bad impression; it's just yet another average Japanese "horror" with little in the way of scares or thrills; destined to sink into the abyss of mediocrity.

• Cold, Clinical & Creepy - Highly Recommended!

  flickhead2005-11-01

  Tokyo Psycho is a very atmospheric telling of recent events involving the "Otaku" murders in Tokyo, Japan. It benefits from fine performances and chilling set pieces, but most of all from an almost medical sparseness. The cinematography takes full advantage of the very bare set design, which includes a lot of concrete and wood to create a claustrophobic intensity that director Oikawa exploits to maximum effect. I haven't seen a film with such an insidious use of music (which is to say almost none) since Todd Browning's Dracula, and yet the ambient noises that create a sonic background score are both sublime and disturbing, much like the film itself. The story follows a a pretty, young designer who is receiving obsessive love letters from an unknown admirer who she may or may not know. These letters quickly escalate to include body parts and threats, and the author of these valentines quickly becomes her assailant. The use of the DV video format makes the viewer feel like a voyeur to the terrors that unfold, and invokes a David Lynchian atmosphere of dread and suffocation while utilizing mainly daylight locations. In many ways the mood of the film is acid-trippy with sudden bursts of violence & tenderness in places where each is least expected. This is not a film for the "Boo!" crowd, as the disturbing nature of the unfolding narrative is creepier than it is scary, but this serves to indelibly imprint that mood and theme on the viewers psyche for weeks after viewing. Recommended.

• Not as bad as people are saying

  robotaffliction11032006-01-05

  OK, so I'll admit that this isn't the best movie ever made, but some of the other comments here are a touch harsh. Tokyo Psycho isn't supposed to be Ju-On or Ringu. This is a cool ass, low budget j-horror flick. And as a trashy, freak out, straight to video (or DVD, or whatever they call it these days) exploitation flick it totally works. I dug the washed out, stark appearance of the high-rise setting. Most horror films these days go for that post-Se7en look – filthy and dank and decaying, which looks cool, but has kind of become visual shorthand that tries to make up for a lack of actual scary stuff (see crap set piece films like Saw for example) and, more importantly, doesn't really jibe with reality. Most of us deal with over-lit, over-modern spaces. That sexy, 70's lower east side NYC look just doesn't exist anymore, and defiantly not in a place like Japan. Totally freaky stuff is secretly scarier when it happens in brightly lit spaces. This is totally a "throw in the DVD player when you're hanging out drinking and kicking it with a bunch of people" film. Not to be taken seriously, but still good, bloody low budget fun.

• A confusing crap-fest.

  RossLikesMovies2005-04-15

  ###possible spoilers### Tokyo psycho is about a woman who goes to a high school reunion. Before this she has received a blood stained letter saying 'you have to marry me'. From the outset this sounds quite interesting. Though unfortunately the film never developed or fulfilled my intrigue. The plot of the movie could be compared to the American horror valentine. In fact you may even call it a rip off. The first thing that struck me was the look of the film. The director has chosen to use, in the scenes of the 'tokyo psycho' moving around, a grainy camera. Similar to video camera style. A sort of crawling, slow moving angle. Which really doesn't work that well. The film in general looks very cheap. This is obviously a very low budget production. The settings are very bland and white. I'm also guessing that the film stock was cheap as this simply doesn't look like a film. It looks unprofessional in a way I can't quite explain. The main character, Yumi something or other, has virtually no personality. She just looks scared every now and then but has no depth whatsoever. The others characters don't fare much better. Her friend who's name I forget is also fairly wooden in her role. The only character worthy of a mention is the 'psycho'. He gives quite a demented, although random and unrelated to anything actually going on, type performance. Its almost like he stepped into the wrong film, as he seems a little out of place in this oak forest school of 'actors.' Eventually the story of Tokyo psycho becomes dull. Its not a long film but watching it became a chore. The script is fairly lousy and takes way to many liberties in getting to the point. For example the psycho is conveniantly posing as Yumi's friends fiancé. Oh the coincidence! The 'psychos' motives are never really explained in depth either. We are simply given a shallow, cliché, this is the loner kid kind of explanation. Theirs also no specific reason why the guy chooses to pick on Yumi. Even valentine came up with a better, although still crap reason. To conclude I have to say that I'm rather disappointed with this film. If you like films with wooden characters, a confusing, ridiculous plot and a dull storyline apply here. If not I recommend that you steer well clear. That everyone then? By the way it never really becomes clear why the film is 'Tokyo psycho'. I don't believe that tokyo was mentioned at all. By the way the subtitles are bad. The translations are often sloppy at best. Final thought: Nice boxart, shame about the film. Its destined for the bargain bins or more accurately, the rubbish bins as thats where my copies headed. Oh and From where I'm standing it seems they translated the Japanese title incorrectly. It wasn't Tokyo Psycho, it was Tokyo Bore.

• Rubbish

  kevbee2005-10-07

  I've just watched the DVD of this film. It ranks as one of the most awful films I've seen over recent years. The look of the film is dreadful - if you gave someone a cheap video camera and told them to film in a high-rise block of flats with a bunch of amateur actors, then you get some idea of what this film delivers. I don't think there was a sound man either - in an early office scene they were clearly using the mike on the camera - horrible echoes. But it's the pace of the film that really gets to you. It's so slow. No it's very slow. It's like a sloth on Valium. If you play the DVD at 16x then it becomes watchable. It's a remarkable thing that this film feels like its been going on for hours, when in fact the credits roll after only 75 minutes. Avoid at all costs. This film is complete pants.