With thick, smudged eyeglasses and decked in scruffy beard and permanently tousled hair, Sumida (Masakiyo Sumida) hardly appears like the typical villainous protagonist—a man with muscular dystrophy, who initially seems to be coping with his situation adequately. Sumida communicates via a speaking computer, enjoys punk music and porn, and loves drinking beer. Often ignored and treated like background scenery, his social life primarily consists mostly with drinking and going to concerts that his friend Take (Naozo Hotta) performs in.

Shot in black and white with a shaky hand held camera, Go Shibata's low budget drama Late Bloomer (Osoi hito) dispassionately explores the dark side of an unlikely serial killer. Sumida seems relatively "normal" for a guy with MS. His condition restrains his emotional responses initially, but we see that these change when he suspects a new collegiate co-ed volunteer care giver (that he has a crush on) is more interested in his buddy Take than she is in him.

Sumida now turns more taciturn, pecking out fewer and fewer words on his text-to-speech computer as he silently smiles without changing his expression. He is crushed, but only admits his pain to another similarly afflicted friend with MS, and he hints at revenge. You'd hardly think such a slow moving guy could go on a killing spree, especially if he's acting alone (unlike one of Romero's Night of the Living Dead carnivores). His friend doesn't seem to take his threats seriously either, even offering his own neck if Sumida is so bent on blood-letting. But it's more like calling his bluff—an attempt to demonstrate that lusting after a normal girl can only lead to frustration and heartbreak, and Sumida should get over the temporary pain.

Sumida's first murder proceeds predictably—motive driven and using a method in harmony with his physical condition. Yet this does disconnect him from humanity. Sumida descends into a random psycho slashing spree that serves the director conveniently—an easy way to finish off the film instead of developing his character further.

Shibata plays for shock value, relying on slow motion and stop motion effects to sever aortas during Sumida's nightly outings. Late Bloomer doesn't add much profundity to the human condition. While it does refuse to stoop to more standard sentiments regarding the "handicapped" and remind viewers that they are human and possibly dangerous, the film merely skims the surface—acting more like a sketch than serving as a serious character study.