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Released by: ADV
Released on: May 20, 2003
Director: Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Cast: Yoshihiko Aoyama, Hideki Hanamura, Chikara Hashimoto, Hiromi Inoue, Mari Kanda, Takashi Kanda
Year: 1968
The Movie:
Loosely based on some fascinating Japanese folklore, Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare is about as over the top any Japanese monster movie you're likely to see. If you thought that the monsters from Ultraman or Kikaida were crazy, wait until you check out this monster-mash.
Daimon is a kind of evil bird vampire creature who has been laid to rest in the ruins of Babylonia. When some ill brained treasure hunters inadvertently awake him from his eternal slumber, he awakens, kills them all, and heads off to Japan (knocking over the unfortunate crew of a sea ship on his way).
When Daimon arrives in Japan, he kills a magistrate named Lord Isobe and assumes his form so that he can infiltrate the territory but Isobe's daughter and one of his loyal samurai are clued in that something is wrong when he begins to exhibit some very abnormal behavior.
Isobe/Daimon begins eating some of the local children, causing two of them to flee into the nearby forest, where they befriend the Yokai Monsters, a group of friendly forest spirits, who decide to work as a team and save Japan from the evil of Daimon.
The closest thing this can be compared to is a combination of Kikaida and Daimajin. It has the look and period setting of the Daimajin films but the light hearted adventurousness of the Kikaida episodes. The film is literally a rubbersuit monster fan's dream come true. There are all manner of strange and bizarre creatures on display in this film, and one need only look at the cover art to get a small idea of what the movie holds in store.
While it's not at all well acted and the effects by today's standards are rather primitive, if you're able to look past that and enjoy it for what it is - an insane, over the top, old school monster romp - then you're bound to have a good time with it.
Video/Audio/Extras:
ADV has seen fit to give Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare a pretty nice 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen presentation. Some of the darker scenes are a little bit muddy and there is a bit of grain and speckling present throughout, but for the most part it's a clean transfer with nice colors and quite a bit of sharp detail.
The audio is in it's native Japanese and the mix is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. Though there is a bit of background hiss in a few scenes, overall the dialogue is clean and the kitchy musical score is balanced nicely with the sound effects.
The extras section contains the original Japanese Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare trailer, the new U.S. Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare trailer, and 'Coming Attractions' trailers for Yokai Monsters - 100 Monsters, Yokai Monsters - Along With Ghosts, The Complete Daimajin Trilogy, Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, and Destroy All Monsters.
The Final Word:
If you love monsters, (and let's face it, monsters are pretty damn cool) then you owe it to yourself to take a look at this truly bizarre and obscure Japanese film.