"Tajuu jinkaku tantei saiko - Amamiya Kazuhiko no kikan" (2000) TV mini-series

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Eiji Ootsuka (novel)
Eiji Ootsuka (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 May 2000 (Japan)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Yosuke Kobayashi, a detective assigned on a homicide unit, saw his wife killed by a serial killer, Shinji Nishizono...

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Detective | Murder | Homicide | Panic

Cast

Naoki Hosaka	...	Kazuhiko Amamiya / Yôsuke Kobayashi / Shinji Nishizono
Tomoko Nakajima	...	Machi Isono
Ren Ôsugi	...	Tooru Sasayama (as Ren Oosugi)
Sadaharu Shiota	...	Masaki Manabe (as Sadaharu Shioda)
Yoshinari Anan	...	Kikuo Toguchi
Rieko Miura	...	Chizuko Honda / Chizuko Kobayashi
Lily	...	Yôko Yamamoto
Nae	...	Tomoyo Tanabe (as Nae Yuuki)
Satoshi Matsuda	...	Tatsuya Ueno (as Tomonori Masuda)
Fujiko	...	Mami Sasayama / Tooru's wife
Saki Ohara		(as Saki Oohara)
Hiroto Horibe
Chiaki Kuriyama
Shun Satô	...	Saku Ooe
Shun Ichijô	...	Hisashi Shimazu

Also Known As:

"MPD - Psycho (Multiple Personality Detective): The Complete Miniseries" (USA) (DVD box title)
"MPD Psycho II" (USA) (DVD box title)
"MPD Psycho III" (USA) (DVD box title)
"MPD Psycho" (USA) (DVD box title)
"Multiple Personality Detective Psycho - Kazuhiko Amamiya Returns" (International: English title)

Runtime:

54 min (6 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

UK:18 (edited version) | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Excellent Film

Movie Connections:

References "The X Files" (1993)

CSI meets Twin Peaks meets Matrix

Worth a look on DVD. This Japanese series melds a Twin Peaks like surrealism, with Manga inspired graphics and story line. Grumpy old detectives try to track down a mysterious being that jumps from person to person through the Japanese underworld, inspiring each one to go on a killing spree. Sounds clichéd, but some fantastic photography melded with oddly juxtaposed CGI and extremely graphic violence take it away from the norm. Pretty incomprehensible to start with, but strangely gripping none the less. In Japanese with English subtitles, which make it even more difficult to follow. First episode is excellent, but later episodes become more formulaic.