Plot: What’s it about?
The Bedroom is a popular underground club, where if you’re a man, you can get pretty much whatever you want. The club has all sorts of rooms and in those rooms, the clients perform their acts and then leave. The other participants are various young females, all of whom take hallusion, a very potent hallucinatory narcotic. While the girls have their minds bent and twisted by the hallusion, the male clients do as they wish. Some want sexual affections, some want to just look at the ladies, and some have much darker intentions for these women. In some cases, the men act out brutal and humiliating sexual fantasies, but these aren’t the worst of the crimes, not even close. It seems at least one client has started to murder the young ladies at The Bedroom, often with sick, sadistic methods after substantial amounts of torture. Kyoko is a female who has survived to this point and she suspects her lover, Kei is responsible for the deaths. But as she gets closer to the truth, will she discover something even darker than she expects?
I was surprised, but pleased to find The Bedroom had been released, as there hasn’t been in terms of Asian cult films on DVD. I’ve been able to import a lot of titles, but as far as Region 1 goes, we haven’t been very fortunate in this department. If you’re an avid Asian cinema lover, then you know of the Pink movies, which usually showcase a lot of skin, but are often very strange, to be sure. The Bedroom is no exception, as it features more than a fair amount of naked bodies, but it is also quite unusual at times. As directed by Sato Hisayasu (Naked Blood, Angel in the Dark), this movie has a tight, brisk pace and is shorter than most films, but uses the time in an effective manner. Hisayasu creates an atmosphere that is dreamlike in ways, with entrancing visuals and a nontraditional approach to the basic elements. I think it works well here, but due to the themes and overall oddball nature, I doubt this will win Hisayasu or the genre any new fans. The Bedroom takes all sorts of topics and blends them in, such as mind altering agents, amputation, gas masks, voyeurism, pornography, and of course, an underground fetishistic club of some sort. This is a very strange picture, but fans of Asian cult flicks will want to check it out, to be sure.
Video: How does it look?
The Bedroom is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. I wasn’t sure what to expect in this department, but the results are quite solid, though anamorphic enhancement would have been most welcome. The print looks soft at times and shows some wear signs, but this is very common with Asian films, so I won’t be too harsh due to these issues. I also saw some minor compression issues, but nothing too serious in the end. As far as Asian releases go, this one falls right into the middle of the herd, which is good news and bad news. The image is watchable and thankfully widescreen, but it should look better, even if just given an anamorphic treatment.
Audio: How does it sound?
Not much to discuss as far as technical stats here, as the included stereo mix is solid, but unmemorable. Even so, it is in Japanese and that’s good news, so the rather bland presentation is better than a crystal clear English track. The material is not too audio driven and this is just a stereo mix, so don’t expect much beyond the basics here. The vocals seem clean and never get buried under the other elements, while music & sound effects are in fine form, as far as a stereo option will allow, that is. This disc also includes English subtitles, which can be a little hard to read at times, since they’re white with no outlines.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes a selection of still photos, information on director Sato Hisayasu, and some text information on Asian Pink cinema.
