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Title: Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare (2003) Starring: Chikara Hashimoto, Tomoo Uchida, Gen Kimura, Yoshihiko Aoyama, and Gen Kuroki Director: Yoshiyuki Kuroda Rating: Unrated Runtime: 90 minutes Avg. Score: 5 Submit Comment Hits: 17

Review of Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare

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Comments for Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare

• Posted on 2006-05-09
  Spooks on the warpath
  
  Okay, it's a cheesy monster movie. But it's a GOOD cheesy monster movie.
  
  "Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare" is one of the best examples of old Japanese horror, with traditional monsters in a comic battle of wits and magic. While a lot of the costumes aren't very convincing -- unsurprising for the 1960s -- it's a funny and very weird story.
  
  A pair of Arab tomb-raiders are pillaging an ancient Babylonian ruin, when they accidently set free the ancient vampire Daimon. Daimon travels (for no apparent reason) over the sea to Japan, and takes over the body of the magistrate. After he trashes shrines, kills the dog, and starts sucking blood out of his servants, his daughter Chie (Akane Kawasaki) and her boyfriend Shinhachiro (Yoshihiko Aoyama) start to figure out that there's something wrong.
  
  Daimon also evicts the house's water demon (or kappa), who flees to the Monsters' Shrine to ask for help from other apparitions. The other spooks don't believe him, until a pair of fleeing children confirm his story. Now they must wage war against a creature much more powerful than any of them -- and even killing Daimon might not end the battle.
  
  Women with two faces. Kappas. Long-necked goblins. And ghosts with long weedy hair. Most of these aren't familiar to American moviegoers, but anyone who knows about Japanese lore will know why these are all in this movie. And it's loads of fun to see them try to oust the outside that's infringing on their turf.
  
  What makes this movie different from most period flicks is the sense of humor. The various spooks tend to bumble and make mistakes (including getting sucked into an enspelled jar), before finally taking on a hundred-foot-tall Daimon. And the dialogue tends to be kind of wacky, at least (there's a special "Monsters Social Register" book).
  
  Since this movie was made in the 1960s, there are a lot of rubber suits -- Daimon looks like a rubber dinosaur, and a lot of the spooks have papier-mache heads. And I won't get into that one-legged umbrella. But the actors do a good job with odd body language (like the kappa's flailing and crouching), and the humans even get some cool swordfights.
  
  "Yokau Monsters - Spook Warfare" lives up to its name, with plenty of Japanese monsters and goofy antics. A charming cult film.
  Score: 4
• Posted on 2006-01-05
  Fascinating insight into traditional Japanese superstition and storytelling
  
  These older fantasy Japanese films are terrific, and not necessarily in the ways that most people think. Imagine this scenario--North Pacific natives, with their Shamans and animism and such--find themselves on a large island where inherent limits of growth and scarce resources (and a few other things of course) promote the development of a fairly sophisticated culture with many roots straight into its tribal past. Then it quickly Westernizes within less than a half century and in such a way that it does not ignore its traditions but instead incorporates them. With these myths and legends going right back, untouched, to its early tribal days, by the time it gets around to creating fantasy films they tend to reflect a much different historical consciousness than their Western equivalents. Around 1960 the West produced Jason and the Argonauts and Japan saw these Yokai movies featuring individuals portraying magical nature creatures and wearing costumes strikingly not far removed from those used in rituals in the Northwest Pacific and certainly elsewhere. To approximate this phenomenon, Westerners would have to reference roots going back to before civilization, neolithic almost, largely forgotten history for the mass consciousness. I'd argue that Japan might be the single most astonishing nation on the planet.
  
  Anyway, that's the way to watch and appreciate this film, and the others in the series. Hardly Sid and Marty Kroft territory and not exactly kiddie fare, these Yokai flicks are, in fact, striking studies in cultural anthropology. They also stand alone as beautifully crafted fantasies, rich in visual magic, and a good education in first class fantasy film art direction.
  
  I think a lot of people get disappointed in these movies because they're expecting something camp and cult-y and on that level they just don't deliver. Sadly, since the Seventies or so, a lot of fine Japanese studio product from the Sixties and earlier has been unconscionably lumped in with Z-movies like "Teenagers from Outer Space" or Mexican wrestler flicks. Hip and trendy people looking for cultural goofiness were attracted to them for this reason; this film is even distributed by a company called "Rubbersuit" and that pretty much sums up the attitude. This is unfortunate, and I'd say it's also disrespectful to works that clearly had a lot of talent and imagination poured into them. Many of these Japanese products have excellent acting and first rate costumes (rubber suit aside--even the first "Alien" from that series was a rubber suit and anyway, those things aren't easy to fabricate or make work!). Stick any sci-fi or fantasy film made in the West from 1950 to 1975 (excepting Harryhausen's work which is sui generis, still underappreciated, and deserving of individual study, and any vintage Mario Bava--the man who could make $20 in props look artistic) against these remastered, subtitled, wide-screen Japanese films and you will be shocked. Many of these "camp" Japanese films are, at the least, better looking, more visually coherent, and far more magical. Notice that the Japanese even integrated stock footage more artfully, taking time to even (gasp!) match up the real jet fighter type to its special effects miniature--something even the best American films didn't bother to take time doing. [In an "equivalent" vintage American movie,"The Black Scorpion," (incredibly an O'Brian of King Kong fame flick) a train wreck features a steam locomotive whose tender clearly bears the legend "Lionel Lines"!] All in all, this is excellent entertainment that needs to be appreciated on its own terms. I'm glad to see them available on DVD. Check out similar offerings from Tokyo Shock and Rubbersuit's other films, especially "Daimajin."
  Score: 5
• Posted on 2005-11-13
  Apparition Register
  
  Supernatural samurai morality tale shot in rubbersuitmation. Shows what kind of stuff can happen when blood-drinking daimons get loose.
  Score: 5
• Posted on 2005-08-09
  Rokuro-holy cow!
  
  I definitely loved this movie. There wasn't too much action, because most of these yokai don't have any real offensive magic. And the fight between the Kappa and Daimon around the beginning was just hilarious, albeit a little one-sided. There were a few bad parts, though. The last scene, where the spirits wander off into the mists is a little too reminescent of stuff like Godzilla and is far too drawn out. And my favorite type of Japanese yokai, the rokurokubi (long neck) is barely in it at all, although she does have a few scenes. So, if there's anything better, I'll take it. Until then, this is the best I can get. 4 stars.
  Score: 4
• Posted on 2004-10-06
  Very strange... but loads of fun!
  
  I guess this is Daiei's take on the british Hammer monster movies of the 1960's. But instead of ripping the monsters off Hollywood movies, they came up with some of the craziest, and coolest, monsters I've ever seen! Yokai Monsters has gotta be my favorite Kaiju/Samurai flick (there's quite a few).
  
  However, the movie doesn't start out too good. First, we get to hear some mindless bable from a narator that sounds like he doesn't know what he's saying. Then, it cuts to the ruins of Babylonia, where we see two Arab guys speaking English in strange, muffled voices. There lines consist of something like this: "Oh I found it. Ooohoohoohoo!" Next, they go into a cave and, for no apparent reason, begin hacking away at the rocks with pickaxes. The ceiling starts caving in, but they don't seem to notice. Enter Daimon, the green Dracula with a funny head.
  
  Thankfully, it gets better. A few scenes later, Kappa shows up. Even though he's extremely goofy, I thought he was cool. The battle that then ensues between Kappa and Daimon is edge-of-your-seat action.
  
  Kappa runs away, and finds the rest of the Yokai (spirit monsters). One of my favorites is Two-Face. On one side, she's a pretty Japanese girl, on the other, she's the ugliest thing you'll see in your life. I liked the scene where the two guards find Two-Face. One guard sees her pretty side, while the other gets the crap scared out of him. This scene made laugh, and gave me the creeps.
  
  One part that doesn't make much sense is the final battle. It takes place in a foggy, almost dream-like setting, making it hard to understand what's going on. However, I did like the final shot of the Yokai taking off into the mist.
  
  Overall, like Daimajin, this is not for all kaiju fans. But if you're like me, and like samurai flicks, and wierd monsters, you'll enjoy this strnage, fun, and exciting Japanese monster movie.
  
  PS: The special effects are really good.
  Score: 4