Japanese horror

Kibakichi 2

kibakichi2

Kibakichi 2 (2004)

Sakuramaru (Masakatsu Funaki), a renegade samurai, is cutting his way through the countryside and anyone who stands in his way. He is more than happy to cross paths with Kibakichi (Ryuuji Harada) because he has finally found a worthy opponent. Anju (Miki Tanka), another werewolf samurai, interrupts their battle by trying to kill Kibakichi herself in order to get revenge for her monster family. Kibakichi is injured and is cared for by a young blind woman named Tokoko (Aimi Nakajima) in a nearby village. A new threat emerges when three monsters decide to take over and all concerned parties are dragged into yet another Yokai war.

Kibakichi 2 opens promisingly enough with Sakuramaru cutting down an entire city with his sword but before long, the film slows to a crawl. There is plenty of swordplay and some monster action (needs more please) but the spark is definitely gone this time around. A melodramatic departure is always welcome (that’s just me) but not one as flat as the one here. The pacing of this film is terrible making the 80 minute running time feel like several hours. There are too many cheap shortcuts in the effects department that really stand out. There are fewer monsters in Kibakichi 2 than in the first film so the rubbery masks stick out even worse. Samurais attack with mouths full of fake blood, are cut down, and then spray their bloody spittle into the air.

The returning cast (Ryuuji Harada and Miki Tanaka) seems bored with the material but some of the new faces are up for the task. Masakatsu Funaki (Godzilla: Final Wars) is great as the Sakuramaru, the bloodthirsty berserker swordsman. Aimi Nakajima is also good as the sweet (and very cute) Tokoko who gets caught up in all the intrigue. As for Ryuuji Harada (Izo, Pyrokinesis), he takes the already stoic character of Kibakichi and makes him into a sleepwalker through much of the film. Miki Tanaka plays Anju as though she was constipated and just can’t seem to get into the battle scenes.

Kibakichi 2 is a big disappointment after the unbridled insanity of the first film. Not to say that Kibakichi 2 is your average flick. Oh no. Anyone who watches the samurai werewolf ballet sequence at the film’s climax won’t believe for a second that there is anyone even remotely normal behind the camera. Speaking of the samurai werewolf ballet, this is one of the weirdest and most endearingly pathetic filmic disasters I’ve ever seen. While witnessing this spectacle I felt was teetering on edge of madness. In fact, this scene is probably the only reason to sit through this movie. I just don’t know anymore.

I hate to compare a sequel to its predecessor this blatantly but while looking for, at best, a good companion piece or, at worst, an entertaining diversion, I found neither. Kibakichi 2 is brought down by its molasses pacing, sleepy cast, and restraint of the craziness that made the first film so much fun. Who knows what happened between the two films but my only hope now is that there won’t be a third.

Kibakichi

kibakichi

Kibakichi (2004)

Ryuji Harada plays Kibakichi, a swordsman and werewolf who is constantly under attack by bounty hunters while traveling through the countryside to escape his past. Kibakichi discovers a village of Yokai, monsters like himself that have assumed the personas of human beings in order to survive. The Yokai are working on a deal with the yakuza to give them a place to lead their lives as they want to. Kibakichi warns the Yokai not to trust humans and just as he is about to leave, the yakuza, led by Yomaji (Mubu Nakayama), betray the Yokai and launch a violent assault on their village. Caught in the crossfire, Kubakichi uses his superior sword-fighting skills and his powers as a Yokai to defend his kind.

Director Tomoo Haraguchi brings this wild and explosive horror fantasy film to life. Kibakichi superbly combines traditional Japanese monsters with action movie bravado resulting in a jaw dropping experience. The choreography in the sword fighting scenes and the stunt work in the film’s finale are excellent.

The special effects are simplistic but ambitious. The Yokai, taken straight from Japanese lore, look great and there is plenty of blood and gore (both red and blue) spilled throughout. Various filters are used to dowse the film in gorgeous earth tones, giving Kibakichi its own unique and proto-classic look.

The streamlined plot revels in its traditional “lone swordsman” storyline but removes all traces of subtlety to keep in step with the director’s crowd-pleasing style. The action just keeps on coming rarely slowing to allow any audience to lose interest. Even the film’s message is trite: human beings ruin everything.

The actors in Kibakichi perform with a very representational acting style making the film feel like a bizarre theatrical production. This style complements the film’s script, which is laden with melodrama and moments meant to tug on the viewer’s heartstrings. Ryuji Harada is perfect as the stone-faced and deadly Kibakichi.

Kibakichi is one hell of an ambitious and truly weird film. It breaks all the rules of its multiple genres (just check out the yakuza’s arsenal) and yet still captures the conventions that make samurai films so memorable. Most viewers will find it difficult not to be blown away by the sheer bombastic audacity of the film’s climax. Followed by a crappy sequel.

The Last Supper

lastsupper

The Last Supper (2005)

Dr. Yuji Kotorida (Masaya Kato) is a ‘Godsend’ of plastic surgery. He is well-respected by both the medical community and the media but what no one knows is that he is a vicious and cannibalistic serial killer. In an anonymous blog, Dr. Kotorida describes the act of eating human flesh as the equivalent of making love. When his horrible secret is discovered by an insane detective (Hiroki Matsukata), Kotorida devises a plan to make himself famous as well as to escape from the police.

Finally, cannibalism is sexy again! Directed by Osamu Fukutani (The Suicide Manual), The Last Supper sports a menacing soundtrack and a somber (and sometimes chilling) mood. This shot-on-video cannibal horror flick may look cheap but it got my stomach churning (not an easy thing to do). The plot doesn’t get too bogged down in ‘realism’ like some of the CAT III Hong Kong gross-out flicks (Human Pork Chop, in particular).

The cast of The Last Supper may be somewhat stiff but all in all manage to turn in some decent performances. Horror actress Hitomi Miwa (Ju-On, Embalming) is excellent and I really liked newcomer Hibiki Takumi. Chinese actress Zuki Lee is quite good as Dr. Kotorida’s Hong Kong fling (and meal). Of course, it’s Masaya Kato’s show and he definitely goes the distance in one hell of a sick role. The award for the strangest performance in the film goes to Hiroki Matsukata (The Yakuza Papers). His detective character is one sick (very, very sick) bastard.

The only thing that keeps this movie from being a splatter cannibal classic is its low production values. Cheap sets and digital photography are perfectly acceptable for this trash film lover but when you skimp on the gore effects, now that’s an entirely different story. The severed heads suffer the most and are clearly mannequin heads with wigs tacked on. Also, the film’s fleshy finale isn’t exactly impressive but hey, the effort is there.

So my theories about cannibal nightclubs in Hong Kong have proven to be true. The idea that devouring a person’s flesh is a sexual act really sleazes up this one. Some of the flesh-eating is pretty dang gross (wait, when isn’t it?) and there’s a whole lot of blood and bargain-priced gore. The Last Supper is somewhat disappointing but a few nauseous and shocking surprises make it a worthy entry in the cannibal movie canon.

Matango

matango

Matango (1963)

On a sailing excursion, a mixed group of disenchanted socialites and working class sailors get caught in a storm. With their communication and navigation equipment destroyed, the group drift for days until they come upon a seemingly uninhabited island. While searching for food on the island, they discover an abandoned ship run ashore on the other side of the island.

Inside the moldy vessel loaded with radiation research equipment, a captain’s log records the crew losing their sanity over the lack of food. The log also warns against eating the matango mushrooms that grow on the island because they cause insanity. While the group struggles to find food and repair the sailboat to escape the island (especially after some ghostly apparitions appear one night), some become too hungry and consume the mushrooms despite the warnings. Before long, symptoms far worse than insanity begin to plague the matango eaters and the remaining crew must fend themselves against unimaginable horrors.

This has got to be the strangest motion picture from Toho Films in the 1960s (aside from Frankenstein Conquers the World). Ishiro Honda, director of the original Godzilla and many other Kaiju (giant monster) films, brings the wild and weird Matango (AKA Attack of the Mushroom People AKA Fungus of Terror) to life. With sumptuous cinematography and a genuinely tense and creepy atmosphere, this is definitely not your average mushroom-horror film.

Another lavish part of the film are the sets and the locations. The magnificent tropical island blends seamlessly with the dank jungle where the matango thrive. The abandoned ship which the castaways use as their home on the mysterious island is very detailed and creates many opportunities for spooky moments, none of which are missed. The costuming and the makeup on the mushroom creatures as well as the humans in the process of turning into giant mushrooms are both top notch.

The cast is awesome and expertly conveys the growing tension aboard the claustrophobic quarters they find themselves as well as their terror as they begin to realize something is terribly wrong on the island. It’s hard to imagine a cast looking at the script for Matango and not jumping ship (literally). From the gratuitous musical number(s), overtones of sexual repression, hallucinogenic mushroom use, and seven and half foot laughing phallic symbols, these folks had their work cut out for them.

Matango is custom made for fans of creepy horror films or just plain freaky Japanese cinema. With themes of urban decay and the loss of innocence poured into its already intoxicating concoction, this film is impossible to ignore and will no doubt be showing up time and again on the shelves of J-horror and Toho buffs. I implore you. Please, do not eat the mushrooms.

 

The Guard from Underground

guardfromunderground

The Guard from Underground (1992)

Akiko Narushima (Makiko Kuno) just started her new job in the art acquisition department of the Akebono Corporation and things couldn’t be weirder. The department doesn’t exist according to her unfriendly coworkers and the management is no help at all. Mr. Kurume (Ren Osugi), the head of her department, is a pervert and Mr. Hyodo (Hatsunori Hasegawa), the president, couldn’t be any more apathetic about running the company. To make matters worse, Fujimaru (Yutaka Matsushige), the security guard and ex-sumo wrestler, has gone berserk and is murdering Akebono employees one by one. Now locked inside the building, Akiko, Hyodo, and a handful of survivors must find a way to escape before they too become human pretzels in Fujimaru’s hands.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Pulse) writes and directs The Guard from Underground, an odd slasher potboiler with a pinch of comedy and a fistful of bizarreness tossed in. The film’s pace is quite deliberate; building the tension very slowly breaking only for dry humor and unexpected moments of extreme violence. Logic is not a strong point here and the plot does not hold up to very much scrutiny. The swirling score is quite odd and has a circus-like feel to it. Gore effects are mostly decent but some of the bone shattering moments look awkward and unrealistic. Luckily, the kill scenes here rely on brutality and not special effects wizardry.

Makiko Kuno plays Akiko, the heroine of the story, who senses something is wrong in the office building long before anyone else. Kuno is a pretty good actress (and maybe it’s a problem with the script) but it’s difficult to get much of an impression of her character in the film. The frighteningly talented Ren Osugi (MPD Psycho, Uzumaki) is very funny as the eccentric and perverted middle manager, Mr. Kurume. In his first film role, Yutaka Matsushige (Ringu, One Missed Call) makes for an imposing killer through menacing behavior and coolly delivered lines. Hatsunori Hasegawa (Gamera: Gaurdian of the Universe) plays Mr. Hyodo, the one person who seems thoroughly disinterested in running the company, quite well.

While The Guard from Underground may not make a great deal of sense and the pace isn’t exactly lightning fast, the film is moody and twisted enough to hold the attention of horror fans looking for something strange. Although nowhere near as violent or wild as something like Evil Dead Trap, it’s still interesting to see the Japanese take on the slasher formula with the seemingly unstoppable killer (Fujimaru) and the final girl (Akiko). The bleak and claustrophobic feel of the film is a sure sign of things to come from Kurosawa who later caused more than a few theater seat soilings with Pulse.