“There’s a hospital and people are wearing fake masks.” The film can be attributed to the so-called mystery films. Almost immediately after something strange begins to happen in the operating room, and the behavior of a lone maniac causes strangeness, it becomes clear - a tangle of lies and puzzles awaits us, which will be unraveled by the main character, by chance (or someone more certain?) who got into this strange hospital.
And all nothing: the script claims to attract the attention of the viewer, the play of the main actors does not repel – however, watching “Masked Psych” for the most part is simply boring. The last half-hour changes the picture. The same pressing moments are not supported by the appropriate musical accompaniment (which in the film is very small), the dialogues of the characters in such important scenes godlessly “merge” with empty chatter and incoherent throwing from chamber to chamber.
In the plot plan, there are also a lot of clichés and surprising twists. The same episodes with fabulous sums at the director of the hospital, as if a madman in a mask got into a medical institution not because of hostages, but purposefully robbed a certain bank. Flashbacks of the heroes – Shugo and Hitomi – often do not correspond to the moment, and therefore more cause bewilderment than allow you to better reveal their character and promote the plot. At first it is not clear what caused this need. Since in the future, the director does not follow the already planned path, paying at least some attention to the disclosure of characters, but feverishly rushes from one to another. However, be very careful and note every detail – they are very necessary in the same final episodes, when the script makes a sharp turn and plunges the viewer into real bewilderment. In many ways, this is the main feature of the whole film, because of which much is forgiven.
The atmosphere of the film reminds me very much of Shinjinso Murders (2019), and after watching the filmography of Hisashi Kimura, I understood why. Probably, this is a kind of directorial style or some drawback - to slow down the pace and heat just in those moments when the film requires the opposite, numerous clues-riddles, with enviable care scattered across all locations, whether it is a hospital or a hotel lost in the mountains. The Creator is so fond of such that at some point it seems as if he himself is confused, lost in all this. Numerous “empty” moments, meaningless dialogues, more boring than even promoting the plot. But “Murder in Shinzinso” had its own twist: it’s an ironic zombie detective. There are emotionally unstable characters, and excessive expression, and teenage romance. The Masked Psychic is a crime mystery film with elements of reflection on medical ethics, debt and profit. However, against the background of all of the above, it looks ridiculous, and again – often out of place and time. However, let me remind you – the film is still worth watching the last half an hour – you will be pleasantly surprised.
With the heroine of Mei Nagano, there is a lot of incomprehensible. How did she end up being held hostage by a maniac? What does this girl keep saying? What is her relationship with the man in the Piero mask? The actress managed well to embody in the image and convey the mystery of her heroine, and not so much with dialogue as with her behavior in the frame. It may have helped her a lot for such a young age. By the way, this is the first work of the actress in the detective genre. As Mae Nagano herself admitted, who celebrated her 20th anniversary on the set of “Psych in the Mask”: “Until now I have not had the opportunity to touch on such a topic full of secrets, but I think it is very interesting.”
Shogo Hayami is a “gray mouse” in the plot, which will eventually play a central role. Several times the creators make certain hints, at one point his mouth even reveals the true essence of one of the characters. So the attentive viewer expects several surprises at once. The turn closer to the end, although expected, but did not think that it would be in this angle.
A few interesting points:
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Japanese writer Mikito Tinen (published December 5, 2014). The writer himself, by the way, is also an active practitioner.
- Mei Nagano and Kentaro Sakaguchi already starred together exactly five years ago in the comedy My Love Story! (2015), having maintained a warm friendship since then. “We were happy to play a major role again,” they said in an interview. Cantra admitted that during the filming of all the episodes with his participation on the set, May was present, which greatly helped him, especially in those moments when he needed sharp psychological play. “When a difficult situation arises, I am always in the studio next door,” May said.
- The incident takes place at Tadokoro Hospital, a former psychiatric hospital. In fact, the role of this medical institution was performed by three buildings in different cities of the country. One of them is an abandoned hospital in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka province, which was used for its intended purpose until the end of 2018, and then empty. It was here that filming began at the end of September 2019. According to the memoirs of actress Mei Nagano: "In this abandoned place reigned a little creepy atmosphere." The filming took place in a real hospital.
7 out of 10