Ever since I saw photographs from the Japanese Yokai Monsters movies from the 1960s, I'd wanted to see them. Luckily, all three were released on DVD in the US recently (as 100 Monsters, Spook Warfare, and Along With Ghosts). Now, Takashi Miike, one of Japan's top directors, has (sort of) remade Spook Warfare, giving us a unique monsterfest. But you might want to do some homework before seeing it, because there's a fair number of in-jokes.
'Yokai' are ancient characters from Japanese folk tales and ghost stories. They are spirits of people, animals or objects, but often appear in a new or combined form, like an umbrella with an eye and a leg, or a cat crossed with a human. They can be good luck or bad luck and are often specific to different Japanese villages or regions. It's difficult to translate 'yokai' as there's no direct English equivalent, which is why they're described variously as demons, goblins, spirits or monsters.
The story begins with Tadashi, a 12-year-old boy who has moved to the countryside from his home in Tokyo. He's getting bullied at his new school and is missing his family. But after he is chosen to lead a local festival, he discovers a new group of friends, mischievous spirits who live in a deserted house in a nearby forest. These Yokai are afraid that their own friends are being kidnapped by a powerful demon, Kato, who is transforming good goblins into bad demons. He's recruiting for a war with the human race, by summoning the spirits of machines and industry in the form of a massive flying factory monster! Unless the yokai can work together, Kato is going to begin with the obliteratation of Tokyo.
Director, Takashi Miike has a reputation for hard-edged, gory movies and extreme horror. His episode of Masters of Horror: Imprint couldn't even be transmitted in the US. But he's versatile enough to make light-hearted Japanese TV shows and family films, such as Zebraman. Of course, he still provides plenty for adults to watch, and some elements of the story are a shade too dark and a little too sexy for younger children.
Article comments
1 - Aaron Fleming
Sounds pretty good, and, as with all Miike flicks, I look forward to seeing it. Hopefully it'll be better than the dull Izo. It does seem as if it'll be a return to the fun and extravagent excesses of the wonderful Zebraman, so here's hoping.