Tokyo Psycho

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre horror Starring Seiji Chihara, Yuka Hayashi, Sachiko Kokubu, Mizuho Nakamura, Masashi Taniguchi Directed by Ataru Oikawa Publisher Panik House Entertainment External Links Panik House

A fundamental rule of storytelling is that plot is created through conflict. Movies without conflict are movies without plot. We have such experimental films, many of which end up in museums rather than theaters because they are made to be "viewed" rather than "watched." We also have the occasional flick that accidentally pushes the envelope of what might fairly be considered plot by making its protagonist so passive that there is never any real conflict at all. Tokyo Psycho is such a film.

Yumiko Oosawa's (Sachiko Kokubu) life unravels when she receives strange letters from a stalker. Her stalker's aggressions escalate, and Yumiko eventually finds herself alone with him on a remote part of the coast where she must kill or be killed. This, in itself, is not a bad premise for a horror film. If Yumiko had any backbone at all, Tokyo Psycho would have a suspenseful plot.

As it stands, however, this film is about as tense as boiled cabbage. Poor Yumiko can't put up a fight (or even run) though her life clearly depends on it. As creepy letters pour in and get increasingly grotesque, Yumiko uncovers clues about the identity of her stalker. She then learns that her prime suspect, a former classmate, is a known murderer and mentally ill to boot.

Because the norms of the horror genre require that we suspend disbelief when someone wanders into a dark alleyway alone or fails to call the cops at the first sign of trouble, we can forgive Yumiko for taking almost no action in her own defense thus far. However, when the psycho sits down at her kitchen table, promises to marry her, giggles as he lacerates his hand on a shard of her tea cup, and then leaves, we expect her to get moving and do something about her plight.

Instead, our "heroine" passively submits herself to her stalker's bizarre fantasies. She is captured, bagged, and taken to a picnic by the shore where the psycho lovingly drizzles worms on her face. It is at least possible that we are supposed to accept Tokyo Psycho as a sort of "yuck-fest" whose purpose is simply to make sure that each scene is grosser than the last. If so, there is not enough "yuck" in this film to make it stand out as a decent example of its kind. Roth's Hostel is a better bet for near-plotless gore.

In spite of its narrative flaws, Tokyo Psycho manages to be watch-able. For better or worse, Director Ataru Oikawa's adoption of the grainy, handheld "realism" of our time lends a certain credibility to performances that might otherwise seem clumsy or exaggerated. Kokubu's performance is pleasant enough; she pulls together a character that we care about, even if we can't stand her passivity. Though not exactly the true-crime horror it purports to be, Tokyo Psycho is a Asian horror flick based in human psychosis rather than supernatural causes. Recommended only for those dedicated to the genre and all its flops.