Trailer for Takashi Miike's "Yokai" monster flick!

[The Lizard]

http://www.yokai-movie.com/wm_l.html

I haven't loved everything that Miike's done, but this looks awesome!

It seems to be spoofing some of the classic Japanese yokai supernatural monster legends and the late 1960's series of Yokai films made by Daiei. I love that last scene where the rokurokubi sneezes!

 

[taku]

Other than that last scene, which seems to be a bit of dark humor, where do you get the idea that it's a spoof?

It happens to be a genuine update of Daiei's Yokai films.

 

[The Lizard]

Other than that last scene, which seems to be a bit of dark humor, where do you get the idea that it's a spoof?

It happens to be a genuine update of Daiei's Yokai films.

I said it was "spoofing", I didn't say it was a spoof film.

Although I will admit that I thought there was one scene with some creatures in a wrestling ring that, upon closer inspection, was just a guard rail of some kind. The Daiei films certainly had some elements of humor in them as well.

 

[TheVileOne]

Looks awesome. Anyone know when this is coming out?

The first Miike film I ever saw was Gozu, and it was insane. ****ing awesome but insane flick.

I heard that Miike is also working on his first English language film right now, anyone know about it?

 

[kritic]

I don't know anything about Japanese monster mythos, but that movie looks radical

 

[TheVileOne]

So is this like Miike's remake of the old Japanese Yokai movies?

 

[The Lizard]

So is this like Miike's remake of the old Japanese Yokai movies?

It looks like a remake of Yokai Daisenso, which was the best of the 1960's Yokai trilogy. Now the originals are available in the US! http://www.netflix.com/Search?v1=yokai&hnjr=1&ff2_submit.x=24&ff2_submit.y=6

I've noticed that the US release of the Yokai trilogy has Yokai Daisenso (AKA "Spook Warfare") as volume one, but that isn't correct. The movie 100 Monsters was released first in 1968, and Daisenso is actually the sequel where the traditional Japanese monsters introduced in the previous movie have to take on a savage Babylonian demon who invades their turf.

The third Yokai film, Along Tokaido Road, was actually pretty boring if I remember correctly.

 

[dpm07]

I would prefer to see a film that brings together Godzilla and Gamera.

 

[TheVileOne]

That would also be awesome. But you know, seeing Godzilla whoop GINO's ass was pretty cool too.

Anyone know when we might see this one (YOKAI) stateside?

 

[The Lizard]

UPDATE:

Here's the longer trailer for YOKAI (Windows Media) -- http://yokai-movie.com/movies/yokai_yokoku_big.wmv

Looks a little more kid-friendly than I thought at first, but still pretty cool.

 

[TheVileOne]

Looks awesome The Lizard, thanks. I'd rather see Miike do a "kid-friendly" movie more than anyone else. This looks twisted and fun. The look gives me a lot of Inuyasha vibes, but not in a bad way.

 

[Frank Manhattan]

Looks great!

 

[The Lizard]

Well, I finally Netflixed the subtitled DVD of The Great Yokai War and it was pretty entertaining. Even though Miike was going for something more family friendly and not gory, there are still a few weirdly disturbing parts in the film. Overall, the tone was funny and lighthearted despite the spooky parts.

Like most Japanese fantasy films, the special effects were all over the board. Some makeup and computer effects looked pretty good while others were obviously slapped together. The annoying cute fuzzy animal character that seems to exist in so many Japanese fantasy movies is here as well, and the silly thing looks like a cheap hand puppet that you'd buy at your nearest Toys-R-Us.

The basic spoiler-free storyline is that a renegade evil spirit is creating metal monsters by using the life-force of other supernatural Japanese ghosts and goblins. A young boy who is proclaimed to be the "Kirin Rider" in a village parade is pulled into the struggle between the good spooks and the evil ones.

Overall, the movie is great fun for fans of Japanese fantasy weirdness. I would suggest that before watching the movie, a non-Japanese will want to look up info on the various types of traditional Japanese ghosts and goblins, as well as Googling up things like the "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro" comic book and the Setsubun bean-throwing festival.