Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf (2001) Môjû tai Issunbôshi

Movie Rating NR Contains: Violence Graphic Violence Gore Sex Nudity Mature Situations

Director: Teruo Ishii Movie Genre: Mystery, Exploitation Country: Japan Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf Score Card The following scores are based on a 0.0 to 10.0 rating scale Hover your mouse pointer over the name of each scoring category below for a description Direction: 4.0 Writing: 6.8 Acting: 3.2 Cinematography: 2.0 Sound and Score: 3.2 Functionality: 6.0 Presentation: 6.4 Genre Comparison: 7.0 General Comparison: 3.8 Overall: 4.7 Reviewed 2006-12-16 22:06:26

Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf was cult movie director, Teruo Ishii's final film. The plot consists of two separate but intertwined stories. In one story, Lily Franky plays Monzo Kobayashi, a dime-store mystery novelist who decides to follow a dwarf home after watching a cabaret show. While following him, Monzo notices that the dwarf is carrying the severed arm of a woman. Monzo brings this to the attention of his detective friend, Kogoro Akechi, played by Japanese auteur director, Shinya Tsukamoto. The story that makes up the other half of the plot is about Ranko Mizuki, a dancer in the cabaret show that Monzo was watching. Ms. Mizuki is being stalked by, and eventually gets kidnapped by a blind man known only as the Blind Beast. While being held captive, Mizuki is subjected to various forms of sexual degradation and torture. Surprisingly, Mizuki finds this treatment endearing and starts to fall for the Blind Beast. Detective Akechi's character serves as the link between these two stories, as he is currently investigating both cases.

This picture had a considerably low budget and was shot on video as opposed to film. Unfortunately the aesthetics of video make everything on screen seem amateurish and unimpressive. Minato Suzuya and Takashi Yagi's production design has also suffered greatly from the budget constraints. The minimalist sets and set pieces look like they were made out of spare parts. It is possible that Ishii decided to take this approach to give the movie some stylistic merit. Instead, the overall poor quality of the visuals makes the sets look like rented artifacts from a dozen various high school plays.

The main thing that Blind Beast vs Killer Dwarf has going for it is its infectiously intriguing story. The sheer impossibilities of the narrative can satisfy almost anyone's guilty pleasures. This movie features a blind serial killer torturing women in his secret lair made of body parts and a malformed dwarf depositing severed limbs all over town in an effort to blackmail an enemy. The utter absurdity of this narrative's main points is positively irresistible. Unfortunately, no matter how interesting the story is, this movie still suffers from major flaws.

Even though the quality of Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf is quite low, it is still a lot of fun to watch. The acting is sub par, the visual effects are atrocious, and the production design is flawed beyond repair. The most fun thing about this movie is its unashamed nature. Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf is no masterpiece, but it never tries to be. The majority of the entertainment value of this movie lies in its ability to display something that audiences can't see anywhere else. This movie, along with many of Ishii's other cult pictures, is an acquired taste. Fans of absurdist, exploitative "trash" cinema will likely find this movie hard to pass up.