The second Japanese language feature by Hertfordshire-born writer-director John Williams (Firefly Dreams; Midnight Spin), Starfish Hotel is a neo-noir, erotic mystery thriller inspired by Alice In Wonderland and the novels of Haruki Murakami (After Dark; The Wind Up Bird Chronicle; Norwegian Wood), and reminiscent of the films of David Lynch (Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway in particular) and Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut,with a passing nod to Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko. Or so we've been assured.

Starring Koichi Sato (Ring 2; Battle Without Honor; When The Last Sword Is Drawn), Tae Kimura (The Sinking Of Japan; Train Man) and former model turned actress Kiki (Vital), the film spins an illusory story of one man for whom the lines between dreams, past memories and modern-day reality become progressively blurred by his immersion in the latest mystery novel of his favourite author.

Yuichi Arisu (Koichi Sato) is a white-collar office worker for a construction company who escapes from the dullness of his job and his apparently sexless marriage to wife Chisato (Tae Kimura) through the mystery novels of best-selling author Jo Kuroda. After meeting a man dressed as a rabbit distributing flyers for Kuroda's latest novel, 'Starfish Hotel', Arisu becomes haunted by dreams of the book and memories of an illicit affair he had with a beautiful young woman, Kayoko (Kiki), whom he met at a hotel of the same name.

When Chisato mysteriously disappears, Arisu, not knowing whether his wife has run away or been abducted, contacts a seedy private eye who he discovers was once hired by Chisato to follow him. The private eye obviously knows more than he is letting on but Arisu's investigations prove fruitless until the man in the rabbit suit provides a clue to Chisato's whereabouts – an exclusive, high-class brothel called Wonderland...

Starfish Hotel will be released on UK DVD by 4Digital Asia on 20th October 2008 at the RRP of £14.99. Special Features include a Making-of featurette and an interview with writer-director John Williams.