Watcher in the Attic

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11/17/2013 Based on a story by acclaimed Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo, Noboru Tanaka's 'Watcher In The Attic' is decidedly absurd erotic horror and a prime example of the ero-guro elements that began to grace the 'pink' film genre in 60s/70s Japan. Renji Ishibashi plays Saburo Gouda, a bored innkeeper who spends his spare time spying on his tenants through strategically placed holes in the attic floor. One day, whilst spying on the wealthy Lady Minako (Junko Miyashito) having sex with a man, he witnesses her, knowing that she is being watched murder him. This event sparks of an obscure relationship between the two in which the lines of pleasure and pain become blurred and increasingly violent murders become the norm. 'Watcher In the Attic' is primarily about voyeurism, and throughout the film viewer's themselves are often put in the seat of Saburo, gazing powerlessly upon the estranged tenants as they partake in even stranger activities; there's a priest who sexually assaults a girl via confession, a woman with a bestiality fetish, and even a man who dresses as a clown whilst having sex. It is during these moments that Noboru feels his most distinguished, successfully offsetting the films somewhat glacial pace with comments about sex and the bestial nature of man. Despite this the film often feels as if it is being ambiguous for ambiguous' sake, taking moments past the point of relevancy and into the realm of forced unenjoyably drawn out art-house cinema. That's not to say that the often-powerful comments made throughout the film are irrelevant however (the ending especially being truly powerful), merely that they occasionally become lost among the director's own pretention. Verdict: Full of intrigue and art, Watcher In The Attic becomes lost in its own sense of obscenity and a 78 minute runtime that feels almost twice as long as that. See more 05/14/2009 It's the booming 1920's of Tokyo, where the closed doors of a boarding house contain many secrets within them, specifically a landlord who spends his time crawling through the attic and spying on his tenants in this very bizarre and sexually explicit film. For being done in 1976, the picture quality and whole look of the film is still beautifully preserved, which is unique given the fact that this film is fairly dark in it's storytelling. As the watcher delves deeper and deeper into his game of voyeurism, he happens upon a rich, bored housewife who picks a street clown up to have sex with at the boarding house. She knows she is being watched and it only fuels her sexual obsessions, eventually leading to her killing the clown in lust. This drives the watcher too and together, they become a dangerous combo of sexual depravity. Surely enough, more bodies start to pile up. It's tough to rate a film that wants to be so beautiful and yet so ugly. The acting is better than expected and some of the plotlines are a bit predictable, but fun to watch. I'm sure in '76, none of what happens in this film could be considered predictable by anyone. The man inside the chair is a nice touch, though (you'll know when you see it). Overall, this wasn't a bad film at all. Definitely a cult film as well as a rarity amongst Japanese film. Also, the ending is a bit chilling, which helps after a somewhat comical climax. I liked it. See more 01/20/2009 This movie is bizarre, it really shows what freedom can mean to these romano porno directors. I was really intrigued by this film as it shows the destructive effects of love and displays it and not talk or even rationalize it in any way, this movie lets us peek into this world and lets us observe it in a voyeuristic fashion, like the title implies. It has this feeling of shame that it puts on the audience, to crave and yet think of the morality involved. See more 12/27/2008 really strange *hit going on here ! See more 12/21/2008 Amazing. This movie is made up of adaptations of numerous Rampo shorts and put together it's a real bizarre sort of masterpiece of weird cinema and one of the creepiest final scenes I've ever seen. See more 11/15/2008 Very good Rampo adaptation and a great Mondo Macabro disc as well. Weird sex and creepiness abound. See more Read all reviews

Watcher in the Attic

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