All Night Long Collection (1992-2009, 6 movies)

Directed by: Katsuya Matsumura

Writer/director Katsuya Matsumura helmed all six of these films and it's very clear that he has something to say about the human condition. After all, the tagline on the DVD box is "Human Beings are Garbage". The first two films deal with seemingly normal teenagers who resort to violence when put in extreme situations. In that sense, the movies aren't that far away from Lord of the Flies or Battle Royale. Also, the movie comments on the state of teenage life in Japan. The characters feel pressured to succeed and there are very few adults in the movies. (The ones that do appear in All Night Long 3 are just as perverse and disturbed as the kids.) Several of the characters mention that there parents are never home and no one seems to be looking out for these children. All Night Long 3 doesn't fit the mold exactly, as Kikuo seems fairly disturbed as the movie begins, so it's not all that surprising when he goes crazy.

While the All Night Long movies make some interesting points, viewing them isn't like watching a political debate. Matsumura doesn't pull any punches with the content, and the films are filled with violent, disturbing imagery. (All Night Long 2 has the most disturbing subtext, while 3, with its garbage rummaging, contains the most foul ideas.) Due to this, most will be put off by the films. The movies are very dark and brooding, and there is no comic relief in any of them. The nihilistic tone of the films never lets up and viewing all three at once is an ordeal. In fact, Matsumura may go too far, as All Night Long becomes ludicrous towards the end when it becomes apparent that anyone can be a victim.





When a trio of high school students bear witness to a brutal murder, their lives are forever changed in this dark tale from director Katsuya Matsumura. Unable to comprehend the morbid bond that has formed between them as a result of the harrowing experience, the students' own potential for violence boils to the surface when one of their female friends is attacked by a group of vicious rapists. As the three students make a pact to track down their friend's attackers and extract bloody revenge, they embrace the violence that they once feared – unleashing a savage tidal wave of death and destruction.








All Night Long 2: Atrocity introduces us to Shunichi (Masashi Endo), a shy, bespectacled boy who like working with models. For reasons which aren't explained, he owes money to a violent homosexual gangster (whose name is never given), whose gang beats and tortures Shunichi. Shunichi feels that his life is taking a turn for the better when he makes some new friends. However, the gang attacks them as well, leading Shunichi to erupt in violence.

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All Night Long 3 is subtitled "The Final Chapter", but as with Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, this title is a lie as there have been three more All Night Long films. In this third installment, we meet Kikuo (Yuji Kitagawa), a shy boy with glasses (are you beginning to see a pattern here?). Kikuo's hobby is placing pest strips at garbage dumps so that he can catch flies to feed to his carnivorous plants. One day, he begins to go through some garbage bags and finds one belonging to a young woman. He begins to routinely steal her garbage, thus learning about her and becoming obsessed with her. As Kikuo (who looks like the Japanese version of Urkel) learns more and more about the woman, he begins to spiral into madness.

IMDB

"All Night Long R" was released on DVD only in Japan, but I managed to track it down. The film is not as savagely violent as the previous two movies "All Night Long 2" and "All Night Long 3", but the tone of it is definitely disturbing and depressing. It tells us about obviously disturbed Japanese individual named Yuuki who captures two Japanese girls. One of them, Reika,is brutally murdered and her captor cuts her up and takes her body parts like ears and breast.The second girl is chained to his bed and he performs a hideous experiments on her body. "All Night Long R" is a rather slow-moving horror film that offers plenty of shocking violence.The acting is excellent and the killing of a Japanese boy is extremely vicious and cruel. Sometimes the film has a mood of a very sad romance. So if you're a fan of Katsuya Matsumura's works give this gem a look.

IMDB Reviewer

When a young woman witnesses a suicide she is so overwhelmed with sexual excitement that she masturbates, unaware that she is being observed by a strange man. Later he invites her home where she is wined and dined. Soon she wakes up to find herself locked in a cage. Of course their twisted and sadomasochistic relationship will end in a sadistically explicit bloodbath… The version of "All Night Long 5" I have is in Japanese, but the above synopsis is general gist. I'm a big fan of Katsuya Matsumura and I absolutely love the first three "All Night Long" movies."All Night Long R" is also pretty good whilst still being deeply disturbing.Unfortunately "Initial O" is too long and sometimes dull, so I was a little bit disappointed.Still there is plenty of sex and some unsettling sexual torture on display. There is not enough gore,but some scenes (for example throat slashing or castration) are particularly nasty. "All Night Long O" looks more like extremely dark drama/romance with surprisingly nasty edge than horror film, but if you're a fan of Japanese horror give it a look.

IMDB Reviewer

When a young woman witnesses a suicide she is so overwhelmed with sexual excitement that she masturbates, unaware that she is being observed by a strange man. Later he invites her home where she is wined and dined. Soon she wakes up to find herself locked in a cage. Of course their twisted and sadomasochistic relationship will end in a sadistically explicit bloodbath… The version of "All Night Long 5" I have is in Japanese, but the above synopsis is general gist. I'm a big fan of Katsuya Matsumura and I absolutely love the first three "All Night Long" movies."All Night Long R" is also pretty good whilst still being deeply disturbing.Unfortunately "Initial O" is too long and sometimes dull, so I was a little bit disappointed.Still there is plenty of sex and some unsettling sexual torture on display. There is not enough gore,but some scenes (for example throat slashing or castration) are particularly nasty. "All Night Long O" looks more like extremely dark drama/romance with surprisingly nasty edge than horror film, but if you're a fan of Japanese horror give it a look.

IMDB Reviewer

Enjoy!