Description
Title: Evil Dead Trap (1988)
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Plot Synopsis:
Nami Tsuchiya, a late-night television host, receives a mysterious videotape depicting a brutal murder. Intrigued and disturbed, she assembles her crew to investigate the location shown in the tape—an abandoned military base. As they delve deeper into the eerie site, the team encounters a series of deadly traps and a lurking killer, leading to a harrowing fight for survival.
Cast and Crew:
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Director: Toshiharu Ikeda
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Writer: Takashi Ishii
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Top Cast:
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Miyuki Ono as Nami Tsuchiya
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Yuji Honma as Daisuke Muraki
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Aya Katsuragi as Masako Abe
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Eriko Nakagawa as Rie Kawamura
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Hitomi Kobayashi as Rei Sugiura
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YouTube Trailer: Evil Dead Trap | Trailer
IMDb Link: Evil Dead Trap (1988)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
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bbergman11 – ★★★★☆
“Evil Dead Trap guides its viewers into areas that are not only terrifying within the confines of the conventional sense, but they are also horrific within the unique manner of avant-garde as well. As such, it is sometimes more genuinely fear-inducing for the viewer to not understand the context of the images on the screen than the actual images themselves. As confusion is a natural element and proponent of fear itself, Evil Dead Trap places into the method clearly making it a memorable experience.” -
coz22998 – ★★★½
“A late-’80s horror oddity that feels like Argento wandered onto a Guinea Pig set with a camcorder and a crate of VHS slashers, Evil Dead Trap is the sort of movie that defies easy categorisation. Directed by Toshiharu Ikeda and produced by Ring creator Takashi Shimizu, it’s a gleefully nasty slice of Japanese exploitation that starts like a giallo and ends in Cronenbergian body horror territory…with plenty of puddles of blood along the way.” -
jkreviews – ★★★★☆
“This was a banger of a J-horror film, and one that I could see myself watching again for sure. It’s brutal and creepy throughout, with some really solid death scenes for 1988. There are some pacing issues, and it’s in dire need of a rebranding, as I assumed it was some Japanese Evil Dead rip off before I watched it.” -
cyman – ★★★★☆
“Audiovisually, Toshiharu Ikeda’s work has more in common with a giallo than with a traditional slasher, only to enter into completely bonkers territory towards the final act. The kills are juicy and gruesome, as well as extremely well crafted and creative. EVIL DEAD TRAP is a bit too long for its own good though, but on the whole it is definitely unpredictable and stylish J-Horror cinema.” -
jmack24 – ★★★★☆
“This is probably one of the best movies I’ve watched purely on a whim. Legitimately jaw dropping at times. Directed to damn near perfection. The ending is incredibly out of nowhere though. Like, that didn’t come out of left field, that shit came from mars man. Shit was insane. It’s honestly the only reason this isn’t a 5/5 but god damn man it was so close.”
Meta Description:
Explore Evil Dead Trap (1988), a Japanese horror-thriller where a TV host investigates a snuff film, leading her crew into a deadly trap-filled nightmare.
Title: Evil Dead Trap 2: Hideki (1992)
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Plot Synopsis:
A reserved projectionist named Aki becomes entangled in a disturbing series of murders after befriending a free-spirited woman named Emi. As mutilated bodies of young women appear across Tokyo, Aki is plagued by visions and a mysterious force that may be linked to a traumatic past. With reality unraveling and violence escalating, Aki must confront a monstrous entity tied to her psyche—Hideki.
Cast and Crew:
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Director: Izô Hashimoto
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Writers: Izô Hashimoto
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Cast:
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Shoko Nakajima as Aki
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Rie Kondoh as Emi
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Shirô Sano as Kurume
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Masahiro Satô as Shigeharu
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Sei Hiraizumi as Detective Ishida
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IMDb Link:
Evil Dead Trap 2: Hideki (1992)
Reviews from Letterboxd
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FilipeFurtado – ★★★½
“A rather fascinating psychological horror with a woman slowly falling into madness. Bleak and intense in a way only early 90s Japanese genre films could be.” -
nathaxnne – ★★★★
“An underrated gem. Beautifully eerie with incredible atmosphere and one of the most unique killers I’ve seen in horror.” -
Merzbau – ★★★
“Less an outright sequel and more a thematic follow-up, but it stands well on its own. It’s slow-burning, with some great gross-out moments and a hauntingly bleak tone.” -
LauraK – ★★★½
“Strange and surreal. I love when horror veers into the weird and dreamlike. This has that oppressive atmosphere that stays with you.” -
Wayne Malmrose – ★★★½
“A disturbing and highly stylized descent into madness. More introspective than the first film, but no less unsettling.”
Meta Description:
Explore the haunting psychological horror of Evil Dead Trap 2: Hideki (1992), a chilling tale of murder, trauma, and madness directed by Izô Hashimoto. Dive into this atmospheric Japanese thriller, complete with Letterboxd reviews and YouTube trail
Title: The Brutal Insanity of Love (1993)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Plot Synopsis:
A police officer investigates the apparent suicide of a young woman and uncovers a disturbing connection to a university professor and his wife. As she digs deeper into their entangled relationship, a cycle of betrayal, obsession, and murder unfolds, revealing the horrifying extent of human cruelty masked by love and respectability.
Cast and Crew:
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Director: Toshiharu Ikeda
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Writers: Takashi Ishii
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Cast:
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Shiro Sano as Tetsuro Muraki
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Kimiko Yo as Nami Muraki
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Megumi Yokoyama as Yoko Mizuhashi
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Kenji Imai as Fujisaki
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Yuma Nakamura as Fumie Okagawa
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IMDb Link:
The Brutal Insanity of Love (1993)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
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feihong – ★★★☆☆
“While the 2nd Evil Dead Trap took themes and ideas from the first movie and reworked them into a similar film in a somewhat different style, Evil Dead Trap III takes the ‘new style’ mandate and swings for the fences. The style is very different, a kind of cool, dreamlike precursor to Angel Dust.” -
benjybox – ★★★☆☆
“I’ve seen this described as the prototype for Kurosawa’s Cure and Ishii’s Angel Dust. I totally get the comparison but in reality this didn’t hit me nearly as hard as those masterpieces.” -
zeromantis – ★★★☆☆
“Yeah, definitely a messed up little love story, some giallo hints, easier to follow but slower. Not so much bonkers and lacking the gore of the first two.”
Meta Description:
A dark psychological thriller from director Toshiharu Ikeda, The Brutal Insanity of Love (1993) blends crime, mystery, and erotic obsession as a police investigation unearths hidden violence within an academic couple’s twisted relationship.
