The Mystery of Rampo

So provocative the censors banned it. So powerful it came true.

Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events just like his forbidden story. As the film progresses, fantasy and reality intermingle in a tale that draws heavily on influences from Poe and Stoker's Dracula. The film's strongly Expressionistic direction skillfully combines a variety of media (animation, computer-generated imagery, grainy black-and-white fast film stock, color negatives) for artistic effect.

Cast

Masahiro Motoki

Naoto Takenaka

Michiko Hada

Teruyuki Kagawa

Mikijiro Hira

Shiro Sano

Ittoku Kishibe

Nekohachi Edoya

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Junichi Takagi

Kirin Kiki

Julie Dreyfus

Yoshio Harada