Joseph Luster
February 14, 2008 
Overworked and underappreciated, the Nightmare Detective has one hell of a dirty job. With the ability to enter people’s dreams, he can analyze them and discover the root of their issues, an ability that tends to leave him unstable and suicidal himself. When detective Keiko Kirishima (played by pop idol Hitomi) takes a case involving mysteriously violent suicides that point to the victims’ dreams, she enlists the aid of this dream investigator, hoping to catch the person behind deaths that are starting to appear more and more like murders from within the mind.
Those familiar with any of director Shinya Tsukamoto’s previous works-whether it be a mind-bending classic like Tetsuo or a more recent film like Vital-will know right off the bat to expect anything but the ordinary from this horror flick, known Japan-side as Akumu Tantei. The name of the game here is atmosphere and dread, something that both director and cast work hard toward achieving, and is ultimately pulled tightly together by pay-off in the form of grisly death scenes and an incredibly effective, pounding score courtesy of long time Tsukamoto composer, Chu Ishikawa.
The star of the show, naturally, is the Nightmare Detective himself, played by Ryuhei Matsuda (Blue Spring, Izo). His tortured disposition isn’t hammy or overdone, but subtle and quiet; a role that makes the 24 year-old actor seem much older than he really is. Hitomi is surprisingly subdued, as well, as a detective dealing with a strange case, one that also happens to be her first look at a crime scene away from the photos on her desk. Shinya Tsukamoto steals most of the scenes, though; playing the part of “0,” a man they suspect may be behind the dreamy suicides.
Practical effects abound in Nightmare Detective, which, while to be expected given the source, is still refreshing. There’s a nice balance between blurred handheld intensity and a steady aim at the violence in the movie that doesn’t flinch or turn away. Throw in a little Jacob’s Ladder and you’ve got one of the most intense and bizarre horror flicks in a long time, as well as one of Tsukamoto’s best in general.
It’s astounding that Tsukamoto manages to get better and better with each film, while maintaining that intangible rawness that makes up his style in the first place. This is a director that can spend an entire day mulling over a single shot, but still comes out with a final product that seems more alive than something strictly and laboriously planned out. A Making of featurette accompanies the movie on this disc: making up a package that most definitely shouldn’t be passed up. With a sequel in post-production already-Tsukamoto and Matsuda in tow-there couldn’t be a better time to go all Freddy Kreuger and dive headfirst into Nightmare Detective.
Studio/Company: Dimension Extreme
Available: February 19, 2008
Rating: Unrated
