A blind sculptor kidnaps an artists' model and imprisons her in his warehouse studio – a shadowland of perverse monuments to the female form. Here a deranged passion play of sensual and sexual obsession is acted out in world where sight is replaced by touch.
Production
The warehouse set — grotesque body-part sculptures that swallow the frame.
Acting
Mako Midori's transformation from victim to willing participant, then something else.
Direction
Masumura's unblinking camera refuses to look away from the grotesque.
Director
Yasuzō Masumura
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adapted from Edogawa Rampo's 1931 novella; Masumura was part of the Japanese New Wave pushing against studio constraints with transgressive content.
JP
