Hysteric

The would-be Godard of Japan's porno underground makes another bid for the mainstream with this fictionalised reconstruction of a 1994 murder incident. Factory worker and night-school student Mami abandons her job and her nice, steady boyfriend Keiji to tag along with the violent and emotionally volatile Tomoaki on a crime spree. Hiding out in the absent Keiji's apartment, Tomoaki orders Mami to sexually lure the neighbour so that they can rob him - a plan which results in the man's death. Clearly shot in haste on a tight budget, the film soon becomes boring because (one easy voice-over aside) it fails to address the question which should have been its starting point: what keeps Mami in thrall to the psychotic Tomoaki?