The Blind Beast (Moju) 08/21/21
Yasuzo Masumura takes horror into kinky territory in an Edogawa Rampo shocker about obsession, namely, mixing sex and death. Michio is the tactile-fixated blind sculptor who imprisons model Aki to serve as an ultimate objectified ‘body’ — but she eventually joins him, taking the lead on a delirious suicidal journey of discovery. Probably once considered pornographic, the 1969 show is fairly tame by today’s NC-17 standards, and not as radically violent or abhorrent as one might expect — but it’s still loaded with weird, Dangerous Ideas. The sets are not to be believed — the unhinged artist lives in a surreal workspace surrounded by hundreds of oversized sculptures of body parts. Arrow’s revival Blu-ray optimizes the nightmarish visuals and provides expert comment. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
08/21/21