The Embryo Hunts In Secret (胎児が密猟する時), released in July 1966, is the first film made by Japanese director Kōji Wakamatsu independently of any movie studio. It was released just months after he had left Nikkatsu and formed his own company, Wakamatsu Productions. At the time of its release Wakamatsu was quoted as saying "For me, violence, the body and sex are an integral part of life" which would predict the outcome and plot of the film.

Plot summary

A mentally unstable man keeps his girlfriend tied up in his small apartment and tortures her. He prefers to keep her naked, and she is subjected to various types of bondage, whipped, and tortured with a razor blade. He also brushes her hair, and applies make-up on her, though, and as the film goes on he continues to have a mental breakdown due to his deteriorating sanity. In the end the girl gets free and has her revenge against him.

Cast

Legacy

The film is said to be one of the "early examples of the stalker film".