The 1980 Japanese film is part of Impulse Pictures' "Nikkatsu Erotic Films Collection," which would equate to a hard-R rating here. While nudity is often, it's all above-the-belt, frontally speaking, and this work in particular is like a Skinemax flick with an actual plot, and where sex is integral to the story. Well, sorta.
That story centers on Saeko, who, while out cycling, is raped in broad daylight by a man in black — not Johnny Cash, but a man decked-out head-to-toe in black, mask included. The attacks continue around her apartment building, such as a schoolgirl being attacked fatally and found twirled in the jungle gym as if trapped in a spider's web.
Giving Zoom In an immediate infusion of WTFs, the victims' genital areas burst into flames. Why? Take all of 68 minutes to find out. That abbreviated running time keeps the movie from becoming the one-trick drag it would be at half an hour more. Recommended to open-minded fans of horror, crime and suspense films, particularly the Italian giallo subgenre. Dario Argento would be proud ... and maybe even turned on. —Rod Lott
