All Night Long

Japan Shock are a company that never cease to amaze me, they continually have a knack for digging deep and tracking down some downright obscure and highly contentious films to add to their ever growing and impressive catalogue. So it was with no surprise that they once again took me unaware with the release onto DVD their most nihilistic series yet...the 'All Night Long' trilogy.

Kasuya Matsumura's 'All Night Long' is the first part of what could be regarded as a serious and harrowing look at the more depraved and violent side of human nature. The plots are very basic choosing to concentrate on the psychological effect on the characters minds of the events that befall them.

The first film begins in a somewhat abrupt way when four strangers are standing waiting at railroad traffic crossing when one of the group (a young schoolgirl) is approached by a passing psychopath who stabs her repeatedly. The remaining three young men tackle the assailant (albeit all too late to save the girl) and the horrific event brings the three together and they develop a bond that will lead to even more brutal and unfortunate misery.

Rape, violence, deceit and gang warfare are just some of the key elements to 'All Night Long's harrowing plot line, and Matsumura's handling of the subject matter is impressive to say the least. This first film in the series is the one with the highest production values, very much borderline with what you would expect from a mainstream movie experience. His direction is skilful throughout, delivering some high impact blows to the senses - even when the camera drifts away from actually showing you what is actually going down. That said though, whilst this first instalment is the most restrained of the three, it still packs a graphic punch when necessary to add to the horrors that unfold.

Another interesting point about this film (as the others) is the very varied characters that we meet along the way. Matsumura is obviously very conscious of human foibles (more so deviant ones) and makes sure all his characters are individual in a significant way. This though does also support the fact that the casting in the movie is first rate with many great performances from the cast as a whole who have developed the psychology of each character very well.

One other interesting thing of note with 'All Night Long' is the superb soundtrack which has an excellent killer theme tune that appears throughout the movie. A cracking retro riff reminiscent of the Italian movies of old that will have you humming the theme for hours after.

The Region 0 Pal disc from Japan Shock is pretty cool too, albeit sparse on the content front. The widescreen image is solid enough with clear sharp Japanese audio and optional English and Dutch subtitles. Extras wise all you get is a nicely put together stills slide show, but that's fair enough as its the film we're here to see at the end of the day and what a helluva movie it is!

A nice starting point for those new to this genre of movie that will have you dying to see the rest of the trilogy, and honestly, you really should be watching all three. Highly recommended.

Review by Alan Simpson