Nightmare Detective review

Kyoichi Kagenum possesses a rare and extremely valuable gift: he is a dream analyzer that has the ability to repair the minds of those he meets. While his gift is in high demand, Kyoichi is bitter and resentful since his life seems to be comprised of fixing the shattered psyches of all those around him. Just as he vows to never use his gifts again, a rash of suspicious suicides begin to occur all over town—committed by someone who possesses a gift similar to Kyoichi’s.

Nightmare Detective is a great film. A thriller/suspense/horror, it evokes a wide range of emotions that tend to always end in fright and fear. Demure and consistent acting from Ryuhei Matsuda make Kyoichi a deceptively charismatic and relatable character that the audience clings to throughout the film. The movie’s dark and gory enough to be considered a horror, but a lot of the elements stem from a suspense/crime genre that gives Nightmare Detective a distinct edge over the typical horror flick.

Japan has always had an incredibly strong tradition of producing revolutionary horror films like The Ring and The Grudge. If you ignore the atrocious American remakes of both, Nightmare Detective can proudly take its place in the long line of powerfully bloody Japanese filmmaking.

Expect to see the American remake any month now.

Screenshots:

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