Japan’s Gakuryu “Sogo” Ishii broke his decade-long sabbatical from feature filmmaking with the 1994 serial killer drama ANGEL DUST (Enjeru dasuto). It anticipated quirky Japanese crime dramas like ORGAN (1996) and CURE (1997), and also the 1995 sarin gas attack by the Aum Supreme Truth doomsday cult, which is foreshadowed by the film’s subject matter (involving deadly doings in the Tokyo subway) and its depiction of a very Aum-like cult.
ANGEL DUST (1994) Trailer
Tokyo: One Monday evening, at 6 PM on the Yamanote subway line, a woman is murdered by an unidentified someone who injects a lethal substance into her chest. The following Monday at the same time another woman is killed in a similar manner on the Yamanote line, and on the next Monday another, while on the succeeding Monday evening a woman in a residential area breathes her last after being drawn to a dryer in a deserted laundromat with what look like human body parts swirling inside it.
Setsuko (Kaho Minami) is a criminal psychologist known for having a near-psychic affinity with the criminals she investigates. This stems, it seems, from that fact that she was the former assistant, and lover, of the disgraced ex-shrink Rei Aku (Takeshi Wakamatsu), a creepy hypnotist who runs a “re-brainwashing” service for members of a “Supreme Knowledge” cult that’s been sweeping Japan. It just so happens that the first victim of the subway killings was given the re-brainwashing treatment, and Setsuko becomes convinced Aku is behind the killings.
Yet Setsuko finds herself increasingly falling under Aku’s spell, and entering into a hallucinatory reality typified by public fainting spells and a personal breakdowns. Setsuko comes to suspect that she might have somehow assisted Aku in the murders, and that perhaps her ex-lover isn’t so terrible after all.
Bizarrely, the ANGEL DUST US VHS release insisted on using THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995) as a comparison, but the aura of psychological disquiet that pervades the film is unique. It’s marked by a rigorous stylization far removed from the anarchy of previous Sogo Ishii films like BURST CITY (Bakuretsu toshi; 1982) and THE CRAZY FAMILY (Gyakufunsha Kazoku; 1984). ANGEL DUST’s mood is unnervingly quiet and contained (some scenes are presented in complete silence), with violence that’s notably restrained, if not kept entirely offscreen.
If anything, the film is too studied and stylized for its own good. The perilously thin story could have been related quite adequately in a fraction the 116-minute runtime, with scenes (such as the black and white video recordings of Aku’s re-brainwashing sessions) that drag on far too long and don’t lead anywhere very interesting.
There are enough positives, however, to make for a worthwhile film. Ishii’s filmmaking sense, even after a 10 year break, is fully evident throughout, imparting a powerfully atmospheric depiction of downtown Tokyo and a skilled utilization of a disarmingly up-tempo score, exemplified by an irresistible end credits riff on the Zombies’ “Time of the Season.” The disturbing real-life parallels only heighten the effect.
THE TIME OF THE SEASON Music Video
Vital Statistics
ANGEL DUST
Twins Japan
Director: Gakuryu “Sogo” Ishii
Producers: Kenzô Horikoshi, Eiji Izumi, Tarô Maki
Screenplay: Sogo Ishii, Yorozu Ikuta
Cinematography: Norimichi Kasamatsu
Editing: Sogo Ishii, Hiroshi Matsuo
Cast: Kaho Minami, Takeshi Wakamatsu, Etsushi Toyokawa, Ryôko Takizawa, Masayuki Shionoya, Toshinori Kondo, Yukio Yamato, Jin Akiyama, Tomoroo Taguchi