Dark Story of a S*x Crime: Phantom Killer (1969) | Region-Free (Blu-Ray)

Title: Dark Story of a S&x Crime: Phantom Killer (1969)

Alternate Title: Gendai sei hanzai ankokuhen: aru torima no kokuhaku

Genre: Drama

Plot Synopsis:
A young man in Tokyo becomes a voyeur, observing women from a distance. His obsession escalates from watching to committing acts of s&xual violence and murder. The film delves into his psyche, exploring themes of alienation, desire, and the ease with which violence becomes routine.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Kôji Wakamatsu
• Writer: Masao Adachi
• Cast:
  • Eri Ashikawa
  • Kenji Fukuma
  • Arisa Hanamura
  • Toshiyuki Tanigawa
  • Ken Yoshizawa

IMDb Link:
Dark Story of a S&x Crime: Phantom Killer (1969)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Falconeer – ★★★★★
   “Before discovering Koji Wakamatsu’s ‘S&x Crime: Phantom Killer,’ I considered Norifumi Suzuki’s ‘Star of David’ to be the roughest and most disturbing of the ‘pink’ genre… But this ultra-rare print of an early Koji Wakamatsu film has surfaced… and this one may have that movie beat. ‘Phantom Killer’ is supposedly an early template for Wakamatsu’s later film ‘Serial R@pist.’ That movie, one of the ugliest pink films of all time, is almost impossible to sit through, but ‘Phantom Killer’ is definitely a masterpiece of nihilistic art… Complete with a climax that is completely unforgettable and shocking, this is definitely worth tracking down for fans of the genre. It’s one of the strongest pink films of all time, especially considering that it was filmed in 1969.”
2. Bob McQueen – ★★★★
   “Incredibly stylish messed up little gem of a movie. It’s about a dude who witnesses a brutal act and then becomes fixated on s&x with violence being the means to get it. He gets a hold of a knife which distorts his rationale into thinking he has power. But he doesn’t need to commit violent acts; he starts having s&x on the regular only to find that he doesn’t enjoy it as much as those acts. The movie has all those scratchy film quality to it, not sure if it was intentional or if the film was poorly taken care of. There’s two abrupt switches to bright vibrant color during his attacks, switching from the dark shadowy black and white as he stalks and creeps. Better than I expected it to be. It’s still offensive, obviously with the subject matter, so I can’t recommend it to all.”
3. Avirup – ★★★★☆
   “Incel cinema. Boredom, inadequacy, frustration, and just the general pathetic, miserable existence leading to violence. One of Wakamatsu’s best.”

Meta Description:
“Dark Story of a S&x Crime: Phantom Killer” (1969), directed by Kôji Wakamatsu, is a Japanese drama exploring the descent of a young man from voyeurism to violent crime, reflecting on themes of alienation and the normalization of violence.