I have not seen DOOR or its ‘sequel’ DOOR II before. My loss I guess. Which now has turned to my gain, if you believe all of these such things. According to the press on this, they are ‘Two long-lost, extreme Japanese films’, with the first film DOOR being described as the ‘first Japanese ‘Giallo’ slasher film!’ Sounds great right!?! Well lets see. The first film sees stay at home mum Yasuko living in the 1980s apartment dream. Her husband and her son go to work and school and she is left to her own devices. There is only one issue, salesmen. Their unwanted solicitations often become confrontations. But when she shuts the door on the hand of one, it becomes the trigger for a stalking campaign that is both unpleasant and shocking. Truly shocking.

DOOR II has a different tone and guise. Ai is a call girl, her job is tinged with reward and risk. She uses a phone call exhange to filter prospective clients and ha no idea what type of man she will get. From the loving, to the sickly sweet, to the vicious and violent. When one seeks to explore their thrill in SM pleasures, Ai has no choice but to give in.

I am not expert in this genre or film movement but Jasper Sharp is. He seems to unpack a whole world of cinema from Japan and echo, in  his sweeping but occasionally clinical commentary on the first film, a delight in its variety. Well a delight in its very well informed unpacking of who this person is, what they did (lots of Pinko films apparently) and what this film means in one specific way. This is the only real extra of weight and so that means we need to be explorative about what this really means for the audience. Which led me to ponder something.

The rationale for a film ‘commentary’ is to allow a respected film commentator, historian, academic et al, to have their say. However there is a dilemma for them and for the target audience in this. How do you pitch something like this, a niche thriller, with a very singular, very intense and (with say no more than 2000 units) specifically enthusiastic watcher. This kind of audience is likely to know (or feel they know) everything already about these films, creatives, productions etc and are also very combative about it? For here is the problem. Can the commentary ever stand up to these viewers vomiting self assured knowledge?

Product Features

• Bonus Feature: Door 2: Tokyo Diary
• New digital remasters on both films, from their original negatives
• DOOR 1 audio commentary by Jasper Sharp
• Interview with director Banmei Takahashi
• Trailers for both features
• Slipcase with artwork from Gokaiju
• Reversible sleeve featuring both DOOR 1 and 2 artworks
• ‘Director’s Company’ edition featuring insert by Jasper Sharp – limited to 2000 copies