Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (2009)

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl is another wacky, over-the-top and ultra-gory film from filmmakers Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Meatball Machine) and Naoyuki Tomomatsu (Zombie Self-Defense Force, Stacy). If you are a fan of zany, weird and off-kilter horror films drenched in cartoonish gore, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl might be right up your alley!

Monami (Yukie Kawamura) is just your basic love-struck high-schooler mooning over the dreamy Mizushima (Takumi Saitô). She professes her love with a chocolate candy she presents him on Valentine’s Day, but when Mizushima bites into it he discovers it is filled with blood…Monami’s blood. Turns out she is really a vampire and wants to turn him so they can spend the rest of their long lives together. However, Mizushima’s current girlfriend Keiko (Eri Otoguro) doesn’t take the news too kindly…but after she confronts Monami she meets a bloody end (but perhaps not in the way you would expect). However, she is soon resurrected by her mad scientist father, who patches her together with body parts from her schoolmates and resurrects her as Frankenstein Girl. Frankenstein Girl then faces off against Vampire Girl in the final battle for Mizushima’s heart.

Ok, how can you go wrong with gore so over-the-top it’s comical, butt-kicking chicks, weird Japanese fashion, melodramatic high school angst, a Dr. Frankenstein mad scientist, vampires, geisha Frankenstein monsters, and some of the most seriously disturbing high school clubs this side of Sweet Valley High? You can’t, that’s how! Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl is a seriously strange film, but that’s why I liked it so much!

The majority of the film deals with the love triangle between Monami, Mizushima and Keiko in the setting of their high school. During this part of the film we meet the main characters’ classmates, including a group of Japanese girls pretending to be black (complete with extreme caricatures/stereotypes like big lips, Afros, gold chains, etc.) who run a black power club and another group of girls who belong to the wrist-cutting club. Both of these clubs and their members were so over-the-top that you just can’t help but laugh! It also pokes fun at stereotypical Japanese schoolgirl and gothic Lolita fashions.  Then there is Keiko’s dad, who at first appears to be a mild-mannered science teacher and assistant principal…however, it is revealed later that he is a cackling mad scientist who is killing off students to try to bring them back to life, Frankenstein-style. He even has a wacky costume complete with traditional Japanese robes, long white wig and Kabuki makeup. Again, another outrageous character you can’t help but laugh at.

The film carries this comical tone throughout, even during the gory fight scenes. The opening scene alone, where Monami battles three Frankenstein monster-like girls, sets the tone for the rest of the film because it is just so gosh darn goofy! Monami strips the skin off the girls’ faces and in the midst of it raining blood she neatly stacks the clacking skulls one on top of the other. The rest of the gore is equally graphic, but still humorous. And you can’t beat the final battle that occurs on top of a fake Eiffel Tower!

My one gripe is that the film focuses too much on the teenage angst and drama (even if it is in a satirical, humorous way) and we don’t get to see the Vampire Girl and Frankenstein Girl battle until the very end. Keiko doesn’t even turn into Frankenstein Girl until nearly the end, which is kind of a let down since this means Frankenstein Girl doesn’t get much screen time. And for being a vampire, Monami doesn’t spill that much blood with her fangs (no attacks on fellow classmates, for example), not to mention that she can walk in the sun (though too much exposure makes her woozy).

Despite these quibbles, I had a very fun time with Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. While it is not as shocking as other extreme Asian films, its silliness definitely won me over. And despite its ridiculous nature, the film spills quite a bit of grue. If you are a fan of bizarre and outlandish cinema, I highly encourage you to check out Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl!

Available from Amazon

Big Man Japan (2007)

We all know and probably love Japanese Kaiju flicks. Giant monster films like Godzilla, which feature men in suits stomping cardboard cities, have a special place in many a horror fan’s heart. So when I heard about Big Man Japan, a Japanese film that promised to both pay homage and spoof Kaiju films, I knew I had to see it. Surprisingly, Big Man Japan has a lot more heart than I expected, but definitely doesn’t hesitate to also include some odd-looking monsters and preposterous situations.

A camera crew follows around and interviews the seemingly ordinary Masaru Daisatô (Hitoshi Matsumoto), an unkempt man scorned by the populace who lives in a dirty bachelor pad with only his cat for company. He has his quirks, like having a penchant for both dehydrated seaweed and pocket umbrellas, but what really warrants a camera crew documenting his every move is that he is Big Man Japan, the only superhero left to fight the ginormous monsters that attack the country from time to time. When Masaru gets a call, he rushes to the nearest power plant where he is zapped with electricity and transforms into the humongous big man himself.

Even though Masaru or “Big Man” protects the country against monsters, most people hate him for all the disruption and damage he causes. He has a TV show, but his ratings are horrible and not even his agent can help boost his popularity. People make fun of him and his fights with the monsters.

Besides dealing with being unappreciated and battling strange creatures, Masaru also must deal with family issues, including his senile grandfather, who used to be one of the more famous superheroes, who periodically escapes from his nursing home to wander the streets after zapping himself into a Big Man. He also must deal with an ex-wife that hardly ever lets him see his daughter, whom he hopes to hand down the family tradition to.

No matter his problems, Masaru must protect the country and defeat the monsters that threaten his homeland.

Told in faux documentary style, Big Man Japan’s focus on Masaru’s life as a normal, yet scorned, man surprised me. That’s not to say that there weren’t many monster-fighting scenes, but I found myself enjoying the scenes with Masaru as an everyday man more. The humanity he exhibited and his perseverance to keep doing his job even when everyone hated him for it, kept my eyes glued to the screen.

The story, written by Hitoshi Matsumoto and Mitsuyoshi Takasu, is both hilarious and somber. There are many winks and nods toward Japanese Kaiju films, but the real enjoyment of the story came from seeing Masaru’s struggles in everyday life, whether they were with his deteriorating family, greedy agent or general public. The monster battles were fun and the monsters themselves inventive, but the action got repetitive pretty fast. I will probably be the only one who actually liked the documentary aspects more than the monster battles, which I found a bit too silly and out of place (even for this film). And the nonsensical finale just didn’t make a lick of sense!!

The CGI fight scenes were, for lack of a better word, colorful, with numerous zany monsters for Big Man to fight against. Among them was a zebra-striped monster with elastic arms that picked up skyscrapers, flipped them over its back and deposited them upside down before adjusting its comb-over. Other monsters included a giant Hellboy look-alike, a one-eyed monster (no joke), a stink monster in the middle of mating season, a one-legged monster and even a baby monster. The weirdest thing about the monsters was that no matter how otherworldly their bodies looked, most of them had human-like faces, making them awkwardly creepy! Plus, everytime one of them dies they get beamed up to “monster heaven”. The live-action finale, which was more faithful to traditional Kaiju as it had people dressed up in monster/superhero suits smashing up a cut-out city, was just weird and wacky.

I was expecting Big Man Japan to be just another homage to Japanese Kaiju flicks, but while it has its fun spoofing them, it also has a lot more heart than I first gave it credit for. Truth be told, though the monster battles were amusing, I wasn’t too into their style and they got repetitive pretty fast. I was much more interested in the documentary aspect of the film where we learn about the lead character more as a human being than as a superhero.

Big Man Japan certainly isn’t a film for everyone, but those with an appreciation for giant monster films will probably get a kick out of it!

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Tokyo Gore Police (2008)

If you have the balls to put “gore” in your film’s title, you better be prepared to live up to your audacity! With that thought, I popped Tokyo Gore Police into my DVD player, not expecting to be overwhelmed with a maelstrom of morbidity that my eyes hadn’t seen since…well, it had been a while. Yet, there I was – feeling queasy and getting ready to pray to the porcelain god for forgiveness that I had questioned the grue quotient of Tokyo Gore Police. I quickly discovered that “gore” was too tame a word to have in its title…and that I would be hard-pressed to find something a word to describe its cartoonish yet no-less-hurl-worthy avalanche of blood and guts.

In the future, Tokyo’s privatized police force is facing their biggest threat yet, something they call “engineers,” which are humans who are able mutate parts of their bodies into fleshy weapons. Ruka (Eihi Shiina, best known for her role in Takashi Miike’s Audition) is head of the police force’s elite engineer hunting squad and specializes in chopping up offenders with her samurai sword. She is also haunted by her father’s assassination and is out for revenge against whoever killed him. As Ruka cuts a bloody swath through Tokyo, simultaneously searching for her father’s killer as well as the one who created the engineers, the elusive Key Man, she doesn’t realize that the killer is closer than she thinks…and that she might have more in common with the engineers than her beloved police force.

Tokyo Gore Police plays like an over-the-top comic book. It’s flooded with bright colors, unbelievable villains and a kick ass heroine. It definitely lives up to the “gore” in its title. The film is a tsunami of blood, flooding each scene with wave after wave of the red stuff. There is also plentiful gore (not surprising since the director of this flick is none other than special effects genius Yoshihiro Nishimura, who was behind the special FX in The Machine Girl and Meatball Machine, with heads being popped open, human flesh being hacked into indiscernible pieces, people split in two, people morphing into mutants with chainsaws, guns, knives and even crocodile jaws as deadly appendages, boobs shooting out killer acid, penises as well as eyes turning into guns and so on and so on. The effects were all cartoonishly realistic and darn it if I didn’t begin to feel queasy after a little while! This is definitely one of the most gruesome and stomach-churning horror films I’ve seen in quite some time!

The storyline was pretty transparent, but it served its purpose well enough. The real focus of the film is of course the gore and carnage, but the story itself keeps you pretty interested. Plus, Ruka is one hot badass, so you have her to root for the entire time. I really thought the commercials and recruitment videos sprinkled throughout the film were pretty clever! I especially liked the ad that made suicide trendy and offered razor blades for cutting yourself in several different stylish colors! I thought these were clever stabs at consumerism and the privatization of government agencies.

My only problems with the film were several strange shots that slowed the pace of the film to a crawl and seemed to serve only as filler (filler was not needed…the movie is overly long at almost two hours). There were a few too many slow motion shots that just went on for too long and didn’t really serve a purpose. Case in point, in the scene where Ruka cuts the hands off an overly handsy train commuter, she pops her parasol to protect her from the rain of blood and the film tracks her as she walks towards the camera…and tracks…and tracks….and tracks some more. Thirty pointless seconds at least could have been edited from this scene, and there are several others like this that bog down the action.

When the action remains unmarred, though, it is a whirlwind of vicious destructiveness! I’ve already spoken highly of the gore, and the fight scenes are wicked as well. The scenes that feature Ruka and other police officers fighting the various engineers are thrilling, bloody affairs. The engineers are twisted, perverted creations – take the one scene set in an S&M club where engineers are the entertainment – one girl has stapled boobs, the other has been turned into a snail-like creature, another has a long, phallic nose and another has been turned into a flat, chair-like creation that pisses over everyone in the audience. Another engineer’s lower body turns into crocodile jaws, giving a whole new meaning to the term “vagina dentata,” while a male engineer sprouts a penis-gun. There are more and more insane creations in the film, many that you have to see for yourself to believe!

If you’re interested in a title like Tokyo Gore Police, you better be expecting tons of grue because that’s exactly what you get with this film! The blood splatter alone, with many, many shots of high-pressure arterial sprays that drench everything in their path – including the camera – would be enough to make this film a bloody cult classic, but it’s the inventive, gut-churning gore that really sets it apart. Except for a few flaws in pacing and editing, Tokyo Gore Police is a must-see for gorehounds everywhere!

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Death Trance (2005)

Death Trance is an outrageously fun and visually stunning martial arts/fantasy flick. I am by no means a martial arts or even a fantasy fan, but the film’s fast pace, excellent cast, flair, impressive action sequences and amazing visuals really got me hooked!

For years, people have been after an enchanted coffin that is said to grant wishes by whoever opens it in the Forbidden Forest. No one has ever been able to steal it from the monks, who guard it carefully in a remote monastery. Nonetheless, mysterious warrior Grave (Tak Sakaguchi) manages to snatch the coffin and begins lugging it towards the Forbidden Forest to cash in on its promised wish. Little does he know that the coffin is actually the resting place of the Goddess of Destruction, and, if opened, she’ll, you know, destroy the world.

As Grave marches on towards his prize, a strange little girl (Honoka Asada) and coffin in tow, he faces off against others who would like nothing more than to take the coffin from him to have the wishes for themselves. An apprentice monk named Ryuen (Takamasa Suga) is dispatched from the monastery to stop Grave, or at least find the “Chosen One” who will be able to fight off the Goddess if she is unleashed. The monk and Grave are joined by punk wanderer-warrior Sid (Steven Seagal’s son Kentaro Seagal) and mysterious woman named Yuri (Yuki Takeuchi), both who have different motivations for acquiring the coffin.

Will Grave reach the Forbidden Forest and have his wish granted? Can Ryuen stop the coffin from being opened? Who is the adorable little girl that tags along after the coffin? What do Sid and Yuri have to do with the coffin? Who is the Chosen One and how will he or she stop the Goddess of Destruction if she is unleashed?

These questions and more are all answered in the quirky, action-packed and fun Death Trance! The film blends styles from the past, present and future to create a crazy atmosphere where anything goes! For example, old-fashioned medieval samurai costumes and swords are used alongside modern motorcycles and guns, creating a fantasy world removed from our own. The costumes themselves are impressive, from the two gothic Lolita warriors to the bad-ass feudal Japan samurai robes that mix leather, studs, satin and metal. Not only are the costumes over-the-top, but so are some of the characters, including a pair of blood-sucking ninja spiders and a group of zombies!

The amazing fight scenes only add to the wild and fantastical edge of the film. Considering Death Trance is from the same people that brought us Versus, it’s easy to see why it is such a fast-paced, action-packed film. The fight scenes are absolutely flawless, packed with energy and carefully framed with the camera, giving you the impression that you are actually there. The final battle alone, featuring the Goddess of Destruction and Grave suspended in mid-air as they hack and slash at each other, is a special FX marvel. As they fight, their droplets of blood float around them like blooming red flowers, creating a truly mesmerizing set-piece.

As for the acting, Tak Sakaguchi (who also starred in Versus and Battlefield Baseball) does an amazing job as the bad ass Grave. Girls, get ready to swoon because the combination of his fighting skills (he does all his own stunts) and high cheekbones make Sakaguchi a real lady-killer! The rest of the cast, including Takamasa Suga, Kentaro Seagal and Yuki Takeuchi, do a wonderful job as well, both in the fight scenes and with the humor sprinkled liberally throughout the movie.

Some may complain about the overly simplistic plot that doesn’t delve too deep into the mythos of the coffin or the “Chosen One.” I was a little let down that the film lacked in the story department, but that didn’t really dampen my love for this film at all. The rest of the film is so bombastic and bad ass (yes, I realize I’ve now said “bad ass” three times in this review!) that it can withstand the lack of plot.

I really am at loss for words to describe just how awesome Death Trance is. Whether you are a fan of martial arts films or not, Death Trance will impress you with its fast-paced action, cute humor, heart-pounding fight scenes and beautiful visuals.

Don’t miss out on the entrancing Death Trance!

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Evil Dead Trap (1988)

Evil Dead Trap is an outrageous, bloody entertaining cult Japanese horror flick from 1988. It is a far from perfect film, but it kept me entertained!

Late-night talk show host Nami (Miyuki Ono) features a segment on her show where she plays viewers’ home videos. After a lame round of entries, she receives an unmarked tape that features a tied-up woman getting tortured and killed. Not sure if it’s real or not, she rounds up her faithful crew and tracks down the abandoned building that was featured in the video. They split up to find any evidence of the murder being real, but soon find themselves stalked by a masked killer who kills in gruesome fashion.

I really wasn’t expecting much out of this movie, but it sure was a treat! There are many scenes and set pieces that are reminiscent of the direction of Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, Sam Raimi and even David Cronenberg. Director Toshiharu Ikeda obviously took a cue from these directors to craft a stylish and well-shot film, while not skimping on the gore. The Fulci influence is evident in the opening scene where a woman’s eyeball gets skewered, as well as in following murder scenes such as where another woman becomes a human shish-kabob. Argento’s influence can be seen in the set-up and framing of different shots as well as in the score. Raimi’s influence can be seen in the way the camera moves and follows the action. The last part of the film is purely Cronenberg, with some definite “body horror” going on. Despite all these influences, Evil Dead Trap doesn’t feel like a rip-off at all, but more of an entertaining mish-mash of different directors’ styles.

Ikeda’s direction, the set-pieces and the gore are what stand out most in this film. The acting is okay, but no one really stands out, though the actors do hold their own. They definitely expressed terror pretty well and the death scenes were all very believable.

The story seems like the typical, cookie-cutter slasher…a group of young people are stuck in an abandoned place and are violently dispatched by a masked killer. As each of them is killed, a lone heroine emerges who, instead of running, turns to fight the killer. The ending is where the film veers off into strange, Japanese monster territory. The ending is so outrageous and unexpected that it doesn’t quite fit into the rest of the film and it did dampen my viewing pleasure. Yet, its strangeness is what makes the film that much more endearing.

The death scenes are extremely well done and the characters get very varied deaths. Gorehounds will delight in the fountains of blood and the different devices that the killer uses for each character’s death. The majority of the cast is female, and of course they receive the most brutal and grisly deaths, while the lone male suffers an off-screen beheading.

Speaking of female treatment in this film, there is one horribly awkward rape scene that just seemed completely out of place and dragged on and on. It was so bad that I couldn’t even tell it was a rape scene at the beginning. There’s another sex scene set in one of the abandoned buildings that seemed pretty out of place too and kinda halted the action of the film.

Despite these quibbles, I found myself wholeheartedly enjoying Evil Dead Trap! If you love strange and gory foreign horror flicks, I would highly recommend Evil Dead Trap!

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Red Room (1999)

Gore? Gore? Where did all the gore go?!

Touted as a nasty, gory torture flick, I rushed out to watch Red Room only to be vastly disappointed with this strictly unentertaining, misogynistic film.

Straight outta Japan from director Daisuke Yamanouchi's twisted mind, Red Room is pretty nasty, but scenes of repeated and violent rape, annoying characters and a thin storyline had me reaching for the fast forward button multiple times. Four people, a 17 year old, a young woman and a married couple, play the King Game for a chance to win 10 million yen. They are locked in a dingy, red-lit room and made to play a card game where whomever pulls the king card gets to have the other players commit horrible acts upon one another. The object is to be the last person standing, therefore winning the 10 million. Things start innocently enough, with a girl being spun around and around in a chair for five minutes straight until she pukes. From there, things escalate and we get multiple violent rapes, including one where the man shoves a lightbulb into a woman's vagina until it breaks inside of her, a woman having to drink pee as one of the players pisses on her, the couple beating the stuffing out of each other, a penis being bitten off and tons more depravity.

Now, I like my depravity as much as the next horror fan, but I just couldn't enjoy myself during this flick. Shot on video, it already looks like an amateur porno, and that's what it felt like for the most part. The thin storyline and the exposition scenes involving the card game felt like they were just there to connect the scenes of rape and torture. It's just too much "shock for shock value," which I find incredibly cheap and just plain boring. Also, it was mostly a splatter flick, using lottsa blood, but kinda lacking in the gore department.

Many fans of the Guinea Pig films or other extreme Japanese cinema will enjoy this, however. If your interest was piqued by the synopsis, by all means check out the Unearthed release of Red Room, but don't say I didn't warn ya!

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Reincarnation (Rinne) (2005)

Reincarnation is one of the few new Asian horror films that is actually good. It is directed by Takashi Shimizu, who also gave us Ju-On, but don't expect any Ju-On-like scares...the terror here is more psychological than anything else.

In 1970, a doctor massacred 11 people (including his two small children) at an isolated hotel before killing himself. The motive for the murders was never discovered. In present day there have been a rash of mysterious disappearances coinciding with the filming of a movie about the massacre. Two seemingly unconnected girls, a college student and an actress in the film, begin having nightmares and visions about the hotel and the massacre that took place there, and when they visit the hotel, they discover that they, and those that have disappeared, may be the reincarnations of those that were murdered there so many years ago.

This film held me rapt from the first scene to the end credits...I was transfixed to the screen for the whole hour and a half, never even checking my watch (always a good thing). The storyline is interesting and is reminiscent of Kubrick's The Shining. The 8mm footage that the doctor took of the massacre is chilling and adds a real, documentary feel to the film. The first appearance of the ghosts of the murdered people is truly creepy and had me gripping the seat for the rest of the movie. I loved the whole premise of a movie-within-a-movie that gave us an accurate re-creation of the massacre.

The acting was wonderful, and I especially loved the actor who played the director and the expressive actress playing an actress in the film-within-a-film. The cinematography was great as well with beautifully ominous shots of the hotel and the eerie massacre shot all on 8mm by the doctor.

The build up to the climax had perfect pacing and the climax had a jaw-dropping moment. Reincarnation is one of the best Asian horror films I've seen in a while. It is suspenseful, has an interesting story, has some shocking parts (the on-screen death of the children, especially) and makes the viewer think. I am waiting for it to be available on DVD because I definitely want to add it to my collection.

If you love Asian horror movies, I highly recommend this film. Even if you aren't into the Asian horror genre but want something different from your typical hack-and-slash American horror that is more intelligent and engaging, go see Reincarnation!

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Ichi the Killer (2001)

Last week I finally got to watch this Takashi Miike film and of course was equal parts horrified and intrigued. This is a film notorious for it's brutal violence, gore, disturbing images and sadomasochism, so of course Ichi the Killer is a cult favorite of many people. Well, it definitely had all the above, and then some!

A yakuza boss goes missing and his protege Kakihara vows to find him and seeks revenge on his kidnappers. Kakihara revels in violence, equating it to love. He is a sadomasochist and throughout the movie we see how extreme he can be, whether he is cutting out part of his own tongue or jabbing long, sharp needles into a yakuza member that hangs suspended by many hooks through his skin. Kakihara loves torture, both giving and receiving it, and we learn later that his missing boss was the only one he truly enjoyed this from.

Kakihara eventually discovers that Ichi, an infamous sadistic killer, has killed his boss. Kakihara awaits the day that he and Ichi will meet, as Ichi may be the only one who can satisfy Kakihara's need for pain. What Kakihara doesn't know is that Ichi is a confused and frightened boyish young man, not the great sadist Kakihara imagines. Ichi is being manipulated by Jijii, who would like to take out as many yakuza gangs as possible, though his motives are a mystery. He utilized Ichi for his fast and brutal slayings, though Ichi always falls into a blubbering mass of tears afterward and must always be persuaded to kill again.

There are many twists and turns in the film, and while sometimes it's hard to keep up with Miike, it's well worth it in the end. His characters, as usual, are interesting and over the top. Black humor is used liberally throughout the film along with strong violence. This film is not for the faint-of-heart, though gorehounds will absolutely eat this up. It is bloody, it is disturbing and it is very uncomfortable to watch some of the scenes. Yet the clever twists and turns and the quick action make for a very entertaining film.

If you haven't already, check this film out if you like Asian cinema with lots of violence!

On Amazon!

The Booth (2005)

Another Japanese horror movie, but definitely not a typical one.

Via Netflix:

When he's forced to evacuate his regular studio for renovations, Shogo (Ryuta Sato), a popular radio disc jockey, temporarily moves into the building's mysterious Studio 6, which has stood empty ever since its last occupant committed suicide. Trouble is, it doesn't take long for strange things to start happening inside the new booth, prompting Shogo to wonder whether he's losing his mind -- or seeing ghosts.

This movie was pretty intense, with a caller phoning in to Shogo's radio show to quietly but repeatedly call him a "liar." From there, things began to get even creepier. As Shogo begins to question his sanity, so does the audience, as we aren't quite sure what is real and what isn't.

The story is told from Shogo's perspective, and each time he is called a liar from the mystery caller, we are treated to a flashback of him being especially nasty to someone, usually his coworkers. Shogo slowly starts to lose it, as he suspects his coworkers to be seeking revenge, while more and more of his listeners want to know about the paranormal activity happening inside The Booth.

I liked this movie much more than I anticipated I would. It stayed far away from the typical J-Horror scares dealing with small children or women with long, black hair, and instead sent a slow, but progressive shiver up my spine.

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Seance (2000)

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films always leave me speechless. I saw Kairo (aka Pulse) a while ago, and was left amazed. Upon finishing the film, I was disappointed, as I had completely different expectations of it, but I couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterward. It was so dark and nihilistic about the human condition, about how people are so disconnected from each other. After thinking about it, I realized I really did like it. The US remake of it will undoubtedly be crap, opting for jump scares instead of the mounting dread, and will probably take the tone in a completely different direction.

With Seance, Kurosawa left me speechless again. This film was made for TV in Japan, yet manages to surpass most US theatrical films in beauty and substance. A couple, Sato and Junco, live disconnected lives. They seem to still be in love, but aren't quite connected anymore. Sato works as a sound engineer while Junco is a psychic who specializes in seances. Junco also works with a psychologist to prove that psychic phenomena is real. Meanwhile, a little girl is kidnapped from a playground by a man hoping to collect a ransom from her parents.

The kidnapper takes the little girl into the woods, where Sato happens to be recording some woodsy sounds for his job. The little girl escapes from the abductor, and hides in one of Sato's sound equipment cases. Sato then leaves to go home, locking up the case with the child inside. The case sits in his garage, without him or Junco knowing what is inside.

The police catch the kidnapper, but during the capture he is hit with scaffolding and goes into a coma. The police have no clues to the little girl's whereabouts, so they enlist the help of Junco. The police give Junco a handkerchief that belonged to the girl, but she doesn't sense anything until she gets home. Here Junco senses the girl nearby and discovers her in the garage.

Instead of going to the hospital or calling the police, Junco insists that she and Sato keep the little girl there. Junco wants to turn the situation to her advantage, to make her a rich and famous psychic. Her and Sato string the police along, telling them where to find the girl's shoes (that they placed themselves) and assuring them that Junco just needs a little more time to find the girl.

Things quickly go wrong when the little girl dies and Junco and Sato have to cover up more and more and deal with the girl's ghost, while Junco still tries to make a name for herself.

This film was not scary, but like Kairo, it creates a mounting sense of dread. I enjoyed it, but it's not for everyone. It is very slow paced and very quiet. Kurosawa manages to find dread in well-lit, airy places, not an easy task to pull off. There are only a few ghosts in the film, the most prominent being the little girl's ghost. Check this out if you are into more mature horror, like Kairo.

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Infection (Kansen) (2004)

Infection (aka Kansen) is another Japanese horror movie, but one that does not focus on creepy kids of long haired women. Instead, it deals with a horrific infection that starts to spread in a desolate hospital and the doctors that try to figure out how to stop it before they get infected. And really, that description just doesn't do justice to this terrific little film.

The infection starts when a patient is left by an ambulance at the hospital's ER, even though the hospital is taking no more patients. It seems the hospital is struggling financially - the staff hasn't been paid, medical supplies and drugs are getting sparse, and most of the patients have been sent home because of the hospital's inadequate facilities. A few of the staff members stay late to care for the few patients left, but strange things start to happen. The staff mistakenly kill a patient after injecting him with the wrong drug. To cover up their mistake, they decide to speed up decomposition so no trace of drugs will be found when an autopsy is performed. Meanwhile, this mystery patient with a strange infection is left on their doorstep. Soon, they discover that the infection is causing him to liquify into a green goo.

The infected patient disappears and the doctors are baffled since he has no muscular tissue left to move around freely. Soon, other staff are behaving oddly, and it is discovered that they too are infected. The survivors can't figure out how it is spread or exactly what the infection is, until it is too late. The ending is a little bit confusing and it will be especially confusing to anyone who hasn't seen or doesn't appreciate Asian horror films. It doesn't make too much sense, but I believe it makes the viewer think about one's perception of reality.

The film really sets up the atmosphere with the deterioration of the hospital. In the beginning of the film, the hospital is busy and bright, but as it progresses it gets darker, spookier and more empty. The green goo (and the noises of liquefying human flesh) are quite icky, for lack of a better word. There are some nice scare sequences, but it is mainly the dread throughout the film that is most effective. I did enjoy this film, even with its lackluster ending. If you are into Asian horror films, but want something different from the standard creepy child/long haired woman scares, look no further than Infection.

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Uzumaki (2000)

Ah, what a giddy ride Uzumaki is! It reminded me of something Tim Burton would direct in all his whimsical, twisted glory.

The story: People in a small Japanese town start to obsess over spirals. A girl and her best guy friend try to figure out what's happening before all their families and friends are overtaken by this otherworldly obsession. This film is chock full of atmosphere, cool special effects and an interesting story. This film is original, and while some parts aren't entirely believable or explained (giant human slugs) it is still well worth seeing.

The film isn't outright scary, so don't go in expecting Ju-On, Ringu, etc. It is definitely creepy, though. Watch for the man that commits suicide in a washer, so he can become a spiral himself, or the woman who becomes obsessed with warding off anything with a spiral shape, including cutting off her own fingerprints and ears. The film was beautifully shot, with scenes getting progressively darker as the town's fate with the uzumaki was sealed. It was also interesting how whimsical music juxtaposed with the creepy scenes.

Well worth your while, especially if you like Asian horror films and want to branch out beyond Ju-On or Ringu.

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The Locker/The Locker 2 (2003)

In my slight obsession for all Asian horror-themed films, I decided to check out The Locker, even though it looked like a gigantic Ju-On rip-off. I believe I am in the minority when I say that Ju-On is one of my all time fave J-horror films. Ju-On had me covering both my eyes AND ears in fear. I had nightmares...I was scared! It still gives me the shivers when I watch it, and I still can't help hiding in the blankets with my hands covering my eyes it creeps me out so much.

Anyway, back to the original point of The Locker...I ordered it from Netflix, and when it came I found that the DVD contained both The Locker and The Locker II! Oh happy day! The Locker begins with six college-age kids on a camping trip - all about hooking up, drinking beer, and having a grand time until one of the girls hears a baby crying...No one believes her, of course. The next day they all go back to the city. One of the girls has stashed her schoolbooks and such in a locker which is believed to be a lucky locker that grants wishes. Well, soon everyone from that happy camper group is dead, except for one girl. Seems they all died of shock (ok, so they've thrown some Ringu copying in here as well...) The locker is evil, EVIL!! Soon we discover that about 5 years ago an abandoned baby was found in the locker...now the spirit of the baby girl (now 5 years old) is out for revenge! Child-sized handprints show up everywhere and the sound of a baby crying is frequently heard.

Ok, kids freak me out as it is -- but this movie just didn't do it for me. Murderous 5 year olds with long black hair just don't scare me. Just kick the little bugger! It had the same old tricks as Ju-On, tho much less scary. Blah, The Locker, Blah!!

The Locker II wasn't much better - one of the girls who died in the previous movie used to tutor a middle school girl, now the middle school girl is intent on solving the mystery of the locker. This one seemed pretty ho-hum as well, except for the scene where the three bitchy and popular girls are attacked in a parked car by the ghost. It is much better than it sounds, believe me!

You know, I actually felt really bad for the 5 year old locker ghost. Her mom didn't want her so she shoved her in some dirty and isolated locker, and now people keep demanding good luck from her. Well, SCREW THAT! I'd seek revenge too and cause a bit of a ruckus. I still don't see how people could be shocked to death by this lil' ghostess (did ANYONE ever read that book about ghostesses with toastesses? It was one of my faves growing up, but I believe it was an older book - looked like from the '50s or '60s or sumthin). She was just soooo adorable - except for her Cousin It hair - girl needs a trim! If I had a confrontation with her, I would want to give her a big hug! Alas, that's what the lone survivor did in the first Locker, and she ended up dying anyway in the sequel. Psh...I still woulda shown the love!

Bottom line, if you want second-rate Asian horror and are petrified of kids, especially ones with super crazy Cousin It hair, rent The Locker and The Locker II. Otherwise, I really wouldn't bother...I'm already forgetting about these movies.

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Wild Zero (2000)

Wild Zero is a Japanese movie that mixes rock 'n' roll (Japanese punk band Guitar Wolf features prominently in the film), an alien invasion resulting in flesh-eating zombies, a crazy short-shorts wearing club manager, and the theme that love (and rock 'n' roll) conquers all. This movie was B-grade GREAT!! It was silly, comedic, featured a great punk soundtrack and had zombies! Guitar Wolf was great and really hammed it up...I think I may just have to buy this now.

Plus, the Japanese rock 'n' rollers don't look half bad...and the drinking game in the special features is out of control!!

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Originally posted on Fatally-Yours.com January 20th, 2006.