THE WATCHER IN THE ATTIC Restoration to Premiere on VOD and Digital

A restored version of Noboru Tanaka's 1976 film WATCHER IN THE ATTIC is set to premiere on VOD, leading digital outlets and Film Movement Plus, according to Omnibus Entertainment. The film, the second installment in Tanaka's Showa Era Trilogy, is based on a short story by Japanese novelist Edogawa Rampo and centers on murder, deceit and forbidden desire among the residents of a boarding house in 1920s Tokyo.

The newly restored classic premieres on VOD, leading digital outlets and Film Movement Plus on August 28, 2026.

Synopsis

The second film in Noboru Tanaka's 'Showa Era Trilogy,' the newly restored WATCHER IN THE ATTIC (1976) is an adaption of a short story by seminal Japanese novelist Edogawa Rampo. Starring Junko Miyasa (the second 'Queen' of Nikkatsu's Roman porno series) as Lady Minako, owner of a shabby boarding house in 1920s Tokyo, the film is a deviously grotesque and unapologetically voyeuristic tale of murder, deceit and forbidden love between the bizarre cast of characters living within it.

When one of the tenants, Goda (Renji Ishibashi), secretly witnesses Lady Minako perform a truly heinous act while spying on her through one of his attic peepholes, he is overcome with desire and begins plotting to kill a fellow tenant to demonstrate his love for her. Psychologically unbalanced, hauntingly atmospheric and ruthlessly erotic, WATCHER IN THE ATTIC, nominated for a Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival, is a full-tilt descent into a carnal, gothic nightmare with an ending you won't soon forget.

Film Details

WATCHER IN THE ATTIC (1976)

Directed by: Noboru Tanaka

Written by: Akio Ido (Screenplay), Rampo Edogawa (Story)

Cast: Junko Miyasa, Renji Ishibashi, Hiroshi Cho, Kyoichi Mizuki, Aoi Nakajima

Cinematography by: Katsu Mori

Genre: World Cinema/Crime/Horror/Erotic/Asian

RT: 76 minutes

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Sound: Mono

Language: Japanese with English Subtitles

WATCHER IN THE ATTIC stars Junko Miyasa as Lady Minako and Renji Ishibashi as Goda, a tenant whose obsession with her sets the film's plot in motion. The picture, directed by Tanaka from a screenplay by Akio Ido, was nominated for a Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.

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