DVD Review: ZOOM IN: SEX APARTMENTS (1980)

 
ZOOM IN:  SEX APARTMENTS
Directed by:  Naosuke Kurosawa
Distributed by Impulse Pictures / Synapse Films

 As most of you know, I love Japanese horror films.  Not the mainstream Japanese films (Ringu/Ju-On, ect.), but the lower key, independent films from Japan (THE UNTOLD STORY, EBOLA SYNDROME, etc).  Another horror sub-genre that I love is exploitation films, and once again, the Japanese filmmakers really outdo our American counterparts.  The Japanese always turn it up a  notch and just go a little further than we would here in the States.   Proof of this is  the subject of my latest review, ZOOM IN:  SEX APARTMENTS.   It's a crazy title for an even crazier film.  Here is the basic plot of the film from the Synapse Films website:

Saeko, a woman with a mysterious past, is hit with a rock and brutally raped by a man wearing a dark mask and black gloves. Her life is spared, but soon brutal murders befall the residents of the Kibougahara Apartment building. The victims are beaten, killed, and their genitals are set on fire. Saeko has her suspicions about the killer’s identity, but will she live long enough to unmask the pyromaniac?

  The first thing I realized after watching this film is that I had just watched a Dario Argento movie, had Dario Argento been Japanese.   The movie had that feel to it, like an early giallo film of Argento's from the early 1970's.  Even the killer has the classic look with the black trench coat and black gloves.   Dario Argento would be proud!

 As I mentioned, the Japanese always seem to take it a step further, so instead of a mystery man just killing the women of the apartment complex, he goes one step further and lights their genitals on fire.  Not in the sexy sense of the term, but literally pours lighter fluid on their genitals and ignites them.  Crazy stuff for sure.  

If you are a fan of Japanese horror/exploitation films, this is one you will want to check out for sure.


ZOOM IN:  SEX APARTMENTS is available now on DVD and contains the following special features:

*   Newly Translated Removable English Subtitles
*   Original Theatrical Trailer
*   Liner notes from Japanese film scholar, Jasper Sharp



CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD