Toshiharu Ikeda

Asian Cult Cinema #18, 1998

Toshiharu Ikeda

"Much of the violence in EVIL DEAD TRAP is as shocking as it is graphic: eyeballs are slowly punctured and sliced as the camera closely lingers; spears thrust through floors, and walls trap and puncture their victim, creating a morbid sculpture."

-- - Video Watchdog No.18, 1993

Date Title Source IMDB DVD Reviews

1980 Sukeban Mafia DVD IMDB

1980 Sex Hunter DVD IMDB DVD

1981 Blue Lagoon DVD IMDB

1981 Angel Guts: Red Porno DVD IMDB DVD

1984 Mermaid Legend DVD IMDB

1984 Cursed Village in Yudono Mountains DVD IMDB DVD

1985 Scent of a Spell DVD IMDB

1988 Evil Dead Trap aka Shiryo No Wana DVD IMDB B K

1991 Misty DVD IMDB

1991 Scorpion Woman Prisoner:Death Threat DVD IMDB DVD

1992 Red Foliage DVD IMDB

1993 Evil Dead Trap 3: Broken Love Killer DVD IMDB DVD

1996 XX: Beautiful Prey DVD IMDB

1996 XX: Beautiful Beast DVD IMDB DVD

1996 Key DVD IMDB

For a complete filmography go to the IMDB

Born: Japan
Through the 70's, Toshiharu Ikeda worked as an assistant director for Nikkatsu Studios, usually teamed with filmmaker Masaru Konuma, involved in such renowned pink classics as FLOWER AND SNAKE (1974), NOBLE LADY: BOUND VASE (1977) and WIFE TO BE SACRIFICED (1974). In a personal interview, he confessed that his duties included "grooming the starlets" or "snipping the pubic hair to avoid an objectionable shot." In 1980, Ikeda made his directorial debut with SUKEBAN MAFIA - simultaneously satirical, rousing, sexy and character driven. Certainly a rarity in the "pink film" (pinku eiga) arena.
He followed this with three more films for Nikkatsu, SEX HUNTER, BLUE LAGOON and ANGEL GUTS: RED PORNO. This last film was based on Takashi Ishii's manga and was part of the ANGEL GUTS series. He collaborated with Takashi Ishii on several more films, including MERMAID LEGEND - (a unique variation of the standard vengeance theme, sort of a classy (albeit very bloody) version of I SPIT IN YOUR GRAVE), SCENT OF A SPELL and EVIL DEAD TRAP.
EVIL DEAD TRAP has been called "Japan's greatest contempory horror film" and for good reason. It combines many of the elements that characterise Dario Argento's films (including the score), as well as some of the themes often explored by David Cronenberg. His next few films were more "thrillers" than Horror films and include RED FOLIAGE and EVIL DEAD TRAP 3: BROKEN LOVE KILLER.
Recently he has made XX: BEAUTIFUL PREY, XX:BEAUTIFUL BEAST and KEY. The XX films are based on the popular "XX" books of novelist Arimasa Osawa, collections of short stories featuring deadly or forceful women. These movies are not sequels but are conceptually similar. All highlight women in pivotal, customarily male roles. XX:BEAUTIFUL PREY, is easily the best of the series (5 episodes to date). It is a tense psychological shocker set against the perverse backdrop of aberrant S & M behavior.
- Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia - Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1997.
- Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia - The Sex Films, 1998.
- Asian Cult Cinema #18