Hasami otoko (2005) User Reviews

Interesting but overambitious psychological thriller

[thither · 7/10 · 3 February 2006]

This is an interesting psychological suspense film which is very much in the tradition of other Japanese films like Cure (Kyua, 1997) and Angel Dust (Enjeru Dasuto, 1994).

*** Minor, first-act SPOILERS follow ***

The movie proceeds along two main narrative lines. In one, the police hunt for the "man behind the scissors," a serial killer who kills his victim with scissors and has apparently killed three victims. In the other, we follow this killer and his female companion as they also try to solve a murder. This sort of dual cat-and-mouse game makes for an interesting variation on the usual police procedural.

*** End spoilers ***

Overall, The Man Behind the Scissors (that's the English title on the DVD I rented) is a good effort and offers a good deal more depth than the average slasher film. It's hampered by a somewhat disappointing last act, though.

Unfortunately, the film has a few too many subplots, and by the end of the movie things begin to drag and the film loses a lot of its focus. There are a lot of twists in the movie, and it could have done with a lot fewer. In addition to this, not all of the narrative threads are equally compelling (in particular, the part of the story concerning the police doesn't have nearly the same level of psychological zing as the other part).

Despite the lackluster ending, though, it's smarter than average, and worth a watch if you enjoy thrillers of this type.

Scissor shock

[polysicsarebest · 7/10 · 7 October 2008]

Man Behind the Scissors is an interesting and somewhat bizarre psychological film about a killer, a copycat killer, and the police trying to find both killers. Though starting out fairly straightforward, the film has many twists and turns and it keeps viewers on their toes. The story is quite good throughout, and the music is surprisingly unnerving and minimal. The atmosphere is pretty great. Also, you gotta love the fact that a film from 3 years ago looks like it was filmed in the 80's. Performances are good for most of the characters...

The biggest problem with the film is definitely its inconsistency in tone. At times, it tries hard to be as serious as possible and it usually works. However, whatever bleakness the films conveys is immediately broken by a bit too much campy humor from the stupid, bumbling police officers; specifically to blame is the lead police officer who just acts completely ridiculous throughout the whole thing.

The film could have used some editing to make the pace better as the film is a big too long and cluttered, especially at the end. Also, some more bloodshed would have been nice, though the film is definitely not really even about the murders but the psychology involved behind them.

This film really could have been something special and I definitely recommend one viewing of it, as it does seem genuine in trying to do something different. I have to agree with another review; this film is definitely a bit too in love with its own ideas and it doesn't really let the characters develop enough. A good effort but it was just missing... something.

You Failed Again

[Meganeguard · 6/10 · 11 February 2006]

There are many types of people in the world. Some make you feel comfortable while others make your skin crawl. Some fill you with energy while others suck it from you like a vampire. In Hasami Otoko, Toyokawa Etsushi's character Yasunaga denotes pure terror.

A cool collected killer, Yasunaga hones the blades of pairs of scissors until they are razor sharp. He desires to make the perfect kill. To kill with one clean pierce with no mess and to leave his victim a pristine corpse. Yasunaga is not a rapist or a mutilator; he is only a killer searching for the perfect kill. However, he will not just kill any girl. The girls he kills must be not only attractive, but strong in their studies as well. With such high criteria, it is obvious that finding appropriate victims is not that easy, so Yasunaga enlists the help of Chika, a pretty, but downtrodden woman who not only searches for Yasunaga's victims at her job, but who also accompanies Yasunaga when he kills. Although she thinks it is horrific, Chika is so subservient to Yasunaga that she would probably kill herself if he asked her to. In fact it seems she is a bit jealous of the murdered girls because Yasunaga seems to deem them worthy of being killed while he lets her live.

One night, after a day of scouting out Yasunaga's next victim, Yasunaga and Chika attempt to learn more about the area in which the intended victim lives. However, instead of garnering new information, they find her dead with a pair of scissors protruding from her throat. It seems someone else wanted to murder the girl and pass it off as if the Scissor Man had done it instead. With this knowledge, Yasunaga and Chika begin their own search for their intended murder victim's killer.

Filmed by the same director who created Evil Dead Trap and Angel Guts, Scissor Man is a relatively bloodless film for one about a serial murderer. Also, the film is a bit campy. The dialogues between the detectives will almost make one cringe with their Scooby Doo-esquire findings of clues and summarizations of who perpetrated the crime. However, despite this, there are some parts that shine. While Toyokawa Etsushi's acting is quite wooden, his character gives the semblance of a man who although calm and collected could burst into violence at any moment. Some scenes are almost painful to watch because one can almost feel the violence emanating from his being. Also Aso Kumiko does a good job portraying a woman so broken by hardships that she is willing to do anything for a man because there is some chance that he might show some affection for her. Obsessed with death and dieing, Chika attempts suicide several times in the film by doing such things as self-asphyxiation and poisoning herself only to be reminded by Yasunaga that she failed again. Quite strong moments for a relatively weak film, but they are really not enough to make one watch this film again.

I'M HERE WITH YOU

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 17 June 2019]

The film opens with a couple luring a teen girl into the open and then she has a scissors in her throat. "The Scissors Man" has struck. Problems arise when our killers happen to be at a scene of a copy cat killer and must toss the pair of scissors they are carrying. Now "The Scissors Man" must find out who the copy cat killer is because...

The problem with this film is that I figured out the clever twist shorty after the copy cat killing. This made the film a bit lame for me. After that killing, the movie becomes mostly a slow moving crime drama.

Parental Guide: No F-bombs, sex, or nudity.

Fantastically Psychological

[MisterPibbs · 10/10 · 17 January 2006]

To start off, i never heard anything about this movie or knew anything about it before i bought it, but boy am i happy i bought it. This movie despite being very unknown is really fantastic. It really gets a new twist and turn every second. One second you think you might know the ending and all of a sudden it twists again. This movie keeps you on edge all the time and keep you glued to the screen, it was really awesome. There is actually no way to better explain this movie because even if i try to explain it, i will give away one of the MANY twists of the movie. Personally i really recommend this movie because it was really fantastic and very psychological.