I am rooting for the demise of the Japanese horror genre. Not that it doesn’t have artistic merit; there are many films I enjoy that fall under the expansive category of Japanese horror. But there definitely seems to be a dedicated little sub-genre called “dull” lurking in the shadows, waiting for the exact moment to unleash unfathomable direct-to-video hell. Of course, some would say that there is a large cultural difference – Japan’s direct-to-video market is a respectable business - but I would attribute such respectability to the fact that Lorenzo Lamas does not star in those films.

Tokyo Psycho, not to be confused with Toshiaki Toyoda’s film Pornostar, which is being released in Region 1 with the same title, is a movie that obviously wants to straddle the line between the traditional, slow-paced shocker and the balls-out, plotless, pointless gore flick (see also, the low-rent Guinea Pig series). However the film manages to make a few missteps and plants its mentality in the latter.

Tokyo Psycho features Yumiko, a young graphics designer who spends all of her time at the office with her co-workers and friends, Moe and Moe’s fiancé, Osamu. One afternoon, Yumiko finds a spooky-ass letter on her doorstep, a crumbled, burnt piece of paper with piano wire woven through and burns applied haphazardly, the inscription of “YOU WERE BORN TO MARRY ME.” This should keep her on her toes, but like any traditional horror movie fuck-up, the girl goes about her normal life. But she always has the nagging question in the back of her mind – who the hell sent the letter? Her questions seem to be answered when she remembers a boy named Mikuriya, a classmate who sent a similar letter to her years ago right before killing his mother and father.

Sure, in theory she should be going to police, but screw that! Yumiko hires a detective agency to see what Mikuriya’s been up to the past 10 years. With a little help she stumbles on Mikuriya’s apartment, which happens to be about five minutes away from her own home. Now this should really be strike three, but no – Yumiko actually breaks into the apartment only to find a shrine covered in piano wire and pictures of her. She flees the apartment (the first good choice she’s made the entire movie) only to faint outside shortly afterwards (oops).

Have no fear though, Osamu was passing by at the right moment and manages to drag Yumiko’s brain-dead ass back to the apartment he shares with Moe, who’s holed up in the hospital with womanly troubles. While getting better acquainted with Osamu, Yumiko comes to the realization that – oh no! - Osamu is actually Mikuriya! But come to think of it, Osamu is the only male main character in a cast of three, so there wasn’t much of a mystery to be had.

With the big surprise revealed, we’re now treated to about 18 minutes of actual payoff as Osamo/Mikuriya puts Yumiko through sadistic torturing. Can she survive her captor’s level of abuse? Did I just see a man simulate fellatio using a real worm?

Presentation
Tokyo Psycho was originally released on video in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. However the film was released theatrically cropped to a 1.85:1 ratio. Panik House decided to release the film in an intentionally non-anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer. The transfer is director approved and actually looks very good (for a cheapie video, that is), but using the cropped theatrical aspect ratio instead of the original aspect ratio annoys me. I think it stems from the fact that the theaters I go to tend to show films out of focus and misframed. You’re only missing a few bare walls, and with the director’s approval, it’s ultimately a non-issue. It looks swell, otherwise.

On the audio side, a new 5.1 dolby digital mix was created for this release. Tokyo Psycho is front-heavy through most of its running time, but when the film calls for shock sound effects or musical stings, it’s quite capable of delivering a good auditory jolt. Consider the direct-to-video origins and you won’t be disappointed. Also included is a stereo surround track. It might not feature the little flourishes of the 5.1 track, but the difference isn’t Earth-shattering

Extras
The DVD might not be packed, but Panik House throws in a few odd goodies, starting with the packaging: the initial printing of Tokyo Psycho comes with a neat little puzzle slapped on the cover depicting the cover art, which I immediately took apart and put into a baggie – minus one piece because I’m a jerk. Just as nice is the glossy sticker included, also showing off the fun cover art.

Taking a look into the disc itself reveals a few minor goodies, a behind the scenes mini-featurette and premiere footage manage to throw in about 10 minutes of fluff, while the rest of the material under the extras menu are only slightly more substantial. There’s a collection of posters and still galleries which fills out fairly nicely, a selection of really bizarre trailers for Tokyo Psycho, Blind Beast Vs. Killer Dwarf and Screwed, and ends with a collection of text-based extras. For some reason the production notes is simply a re-print of the back of the box, a selection of biographies for the director, writer and star, and most interesting of all out of the text entries, True Crime: The Inspiration For Tokyo Psycho gives a little background information on the murders who gave a little hope to Japanese movie makers.

What’s offered might seem paltry, but that’s not all of them. Under the set up menu, we have two commentary tracks, one in English with Panik House president Matt Kennedy and Japanese licensor Ko Nori, and one in Spanish with Enrique Calvez of cine-east.com. Since I don’t speak a lick of Spanish and there are no subtitles provided for said commentary (a bit of a bad move, but what more could be learned about the movie, really?), I was stuck with the English commentary. While I might have found the film less than spectacular, the commentary is surprisingly engaging as Kennedy keeps Nori talking about the origins of the film, information on the real killers who inspired the film, and general production tidbits. They might over praise the movie by a mile, but it’s a strong commentary.

And Now Some Parting Words…
If you’re looking for a film that tries to balance tension with exploitation, there might be something here worth your time, and Panik House’s release is strong enough to sweeten the deal, despite the suspect framing. But if the phrase “Japanese Horror” gets under your skin for all the wrong reasons, it’s a disc that’s easy to skip.