Murder in the Doll House (1979) Midare karakuri | Region-Free (Blu-Ray)

Title: Murder in the Doll House (1979)

Alternate Title: Midare karakuri

Genre: Mystery, Horror

Plot Synopsis:
A private detective investigates a series of murders targeting the family of a Japanese toy executive. The investigation leads him to a mansion featuring an intricate outdoor labyrinth and hidden secrets, where he uncovers a web of deceit and danger.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Susumu Kodama
• Writer: Hideichi Nagahara
• Cast:
  • Yūsaku Matsuda as the Private Detective
  • Hiroko Shino
  • Masaya Oki
  • Tōru Minegishi
  • Shin Kishida

IMDb Link:
Murder in the Doll House (1979)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Owen – ★★★☆☆
   “Another pretty obscure Toho horror/mystery film. This one was pretty decent, starring Yusaku Matsuda who played the antagonist in Horror of the Wolf. The music in this sounds a lot like Riichiro Manabe’s at points and it totally has that 70s feel. Matsuda plays a P.I. investigating a murder case in a pretty sweet mansion. The setting of this movie is really nice, with a large outdoor labyrinth made of greenery and a cave set. It has some nice effects too; we see a person getting lit on fire, another getting shot right through the eye. It’s a pretty decent film. That’s really all I have to say. It’s decent.”
2. hotsake – ★★★½☆
   “I don’t know what it is but I love Japanese mysteries. The characters were quirky and fun and the mystery was engaging even if I felt that mystery itself was kind of weak. I had a really good time watching this.”
3. El_Sobrante – ★★½☆
   “I’m probably heavily spoiled by Kon Ichikawa mystery films of this ilk because I found this one to be bland as hell. Matsuda is great as always and the one thing this director did right was to let Kunie Tanaka act like an outrageous bastard in every scene he was in, that was pretty funny. Besides that, the plot was full of holes and Matsuda just explaining everything at the end felt cheap and the plot twist that followed even cheaper. Not an offensively bad film but I was expecting more.”

Meta Description:
“Murder in the Doll House” (1979), also known as “Midare karakuri,” is a Japanese mystery-horror film directed by Susumu Kodama. The story follows a private detective as he delves into a series of murders within a toy executive’s family, uncovering hidden secrets in a mansion with an intricate labyrinth.