Shinya Tsukamoto's crazed, bizarre, utterly original early films, beginning with "Tetsuo" (1989), which won him a devoted cult following abroad. In the Japanese film industry, though, he was regarded as a pariah.
These films also trapped him in a "cyberpunk" persona, like a 1970s-era punk band whose fans still expect an energy and anger that long ago dissipated in a heroin haze.
Tsukamoto never crashed and burned, but he has changed, while remaining true to his demons. He has made stabs at broadening his audience, such as 2006's "Akumu Tantei" ("Nightmare Detective"), a horror-mystery that featured a hot young male star, Ryuhei Matsuda, as the title character, a sullen psychic who is gifted (or, as he believes, cursed) with the power to enter other people's dreams.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.