The village of Tsuyama, Japan became a massive crime scene on the night of May 21, 1938. A 21-year-old Toi Mutsuo used a shotgun, katana, axe and daggers to slaughter 29 people which was nearly half of Tsuyama’s population. It’s one of the most infamous mass murder episodes in the history of Japan. Village of Doom is a fictionalized version of the events that led up to that fateful night.
Instead of Mutsuo Toi, the 1983 movie renames him Tsugio Inumaru (Someday, Someone Will Be Killed‘s Masato Furuoya), but a lot of the elements between Mutsuo and Tsugio are the same. Tsugio is also bit of a sheltered guy having been raised in a remote village by his grandmother after his parents have died. During the opening scene, he’s cheering on a local man taking the train who is joined the army and will be heading off to the war in Manchuria. This should seem noble except Tsugio trips and bites the dust. He isn’t overly brave as he lets three local thugs steal his grandmother’s chicken. Most of the town thinks he’s rather smart, but peculiar. His dream is to join the Japanese army. Things are looking good for enlistment until he meets a military doctor who declares he’s suffering from tuberculous. He’s sent away with a sense of shame and uncertain of his future. Things get weird in the town when he discovers Yobai. This custom has married women of the town let single guys sneak into the house while they’re husbands are away. It’s swinging village. Tsugio finds himself a bit popular with the ladies when he sneaks inside after dark. He doesn’t enjoy the stud life for long. Things get nasty in the peaceful village to the point where Tsugio cuts the power line and goes on his rampage.
The last 25 minutes of Village of Doom is all about that fateful night. While director Noboru Tanaka was mostly known for erotic films, he creates a bloodshed nightmare when Tsugio tears the town apart. The brutality is raw and unrelenting on the screen. He wears a pair of flashlights on his head that spotlight his victims. Tanaka has a handheld camera following the action like he’s hunting down the villagers, too. We get right in the middle of his bloody atrocities. While this is a fictionalized account, the third act reflects how horrific things became in reality. Village of Doom won’t let you forget what happened after the power was cut on May 21, 1938.
The Video is 1.85 anamorphic. The 1080p image is clean so you’ll get a sense of countryside life. The Audio is Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono. You’ll hear way too much on the night he goes human hunting. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary with Arme Venema and Mike Leeder gets into the true story aspect. They talk about how Mutsuo Toi was robbed of his family’s wealth by the uncle who shipped him off to the country to live with the grandmother. We get the history of director Noboru Tanaka who was a major force in pink film industry. They discuss why one scene is exceptionally tough to watch because of an actor doing it in real life.
Dark Asia with Megan: Case #57 Japan’s Darkest Night, Tsuyama Massacre (15:03) gets into the facts of the killings. There are photos of the real Mutsuo Toi and the village. Megan mentions Mutsuo was obsessed with a true crime story that he used as the basis for a novel. We learned about the tradition of Yobai. How did Mutsuo find so many victims that night? People in the village didn’t think they needed to lock their doors.
Promotional Gallery (2:50) has press photos, a press book with behind the scenes shots, posters, a special ticket, press reports and VHS boxes covers.
Theatrical Trailer (1:19) has us see the smartest guy around turn into a killer.
Unearthed Classics present Village of Doom. Directed by Noboru Tanaka. Screenplay by Bo Nishimura & Takuya Nishioka. Starring Masato Furuoya, Misako Tanaka, Kumiko Ôba, Isao Natsuyagi, Midori Satsuki, Shino Ikenami, Izumi Hara, Renji Ishibashi & Yasuhiro Arai. Running Time: 106 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: October 22, 2024.
