is a 1989

1989 in film

-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...

 Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese pink film in the supernatural thriller genre directed by Masahiro Kasai. It was chosen as Best Film of the year at the Pink Grand Prix

Pink Grand Prix

The or is an annual Japanese film award ceremony which recognizes excellence in the pink film. Known as the "Academy Awards of the Pink Film", the ceremony attracts a diverse audience of industry personnel, film scholars and the general public....

 ceremony.

Synopsis

A woman mysteriously develops psychic powers and the ability to contact spirits of the dead. Tōru, her avaricious husband, convinces the woman to hold seances, charging people money to contact their dead. When the King of Hell learns of this business, he kidnaps the wife. Attempting to rescue his wife, Tōru travels to the underworld with a Chinese monk. On the journey they encounter scenes of horror and sexual perversion.

Cast

• Nao Saejima
  Nao Saejima
  is a Japanese AV idol and model of the 1980s and 1990s who also starred in photobooks, V-Cinema, and feature films, including Nikkatsu's Roman Porno series.-AV career:...
  
   as the wife
• Tōru Nakane
  Tōru Nakane
  is a Japanese actor who was born in Tokyo, Japan on November 6, 1957. He has appeared extensively in pink film and on television. The pink film critics Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser commented in 1998 that "he is generally considered one of the best actors in the pink business."-Pink film:Nakane's...
  
    as Tōru
• Bunmei Tobayama
• Yuka Ishihara
• Kyōko Hashimoto 
• Taikei Shimizu

Background

Masahiro Kasai filmed Abnormal Excitement: Nao Saejima for Cinema Ark and it was released theatrically in Japan by Xces on October 13, 1989. Japanese critics were impressed by Adult Video star Nao Saejima

Nao Saejima

is a Japanese AV idol and model of the 1980s and 1990s who also starred in photobooks, V-Cinema, and feature films, including Nikkatsu's Roman Porno series.-AV career:...

's surprisingly professional performance in her role as the psychic wife. This film led to her appearances in several more theatrical releases, including the lead role in director Hisayasu Satō

Hisayasu Sato

is a Japanese exploitation film director. He has worked prolifically in the pinku eiga genre. His best known works are the pink film The Bedroom , and the V-Cinema splatter film Splatter: Naked Blood . He is known for his "sledgehammer" filmmaking style, and using his exploitation career to tackle...

's mainstream Meet Me In The Dream: Wonderland (1996). The pink film community named Abnormal Excitement: Nao Saejima the Best Film of the year, and Masahiro Kasai was given the award for Best Director and Kyōko Godai was named Best Screenwriter.

In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser give Abnormal Excitement: Nao Saejima a rating of three out of four stars. Writing that the film is another of Kasai's inventive takes on the pink film genre, they judge the cast to be very good. Tōru Nakane

Tōru Nakane

is a Japanese actor who was born in Tokyo, Japan on November 6, 1957. He has appeared extensively in pink film and on television. The pink film critics Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser commented in 1998 that "he is generally considered one of the best actors in the pink business."-Pink film:Nakane's...

, widely regarded as one of the best actors in the genre, gives a typically fine performance. Allmovie notes that the scenes in the underworld contain some "mildly titillating setpieces".