IslandGuru
Who payed the critics
Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
Teddie Blake
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
winner55
I got the first three of these films in a set and thought this the big finale, but apparently more episodes have come out - I'm not sure why....Although the word "homoerotic" ought to include art concerning lesbians as well as gay men, it is usually used for the latter, so we will have to coin a new word here, "lesbo-erotic". The "Eko Eko" series is a lesbo-erotic witch story about a young white which battling the dark forces of Satan and his kin. Earlier entries had explicitly sapphic material, this operates a little more implicitly and will be more accessible for main-stream audiences.I also found the story easier to follow and easier to bear here. The series as a whole is amusing at best, but let's face facts - it's trash. Considerable effort has been made to duplicate the old Hammer Vampire films of the early 1970s. Well, there's nothing wrong with that, that's why this series is amusing; but "art"? The best horror film you're likely to see in quite a while? Afraid - not. Although the story is tighter than the other entries, the fundamental problem with these films altogether is their lack of coherence. You will get confused here - very confused.What the hell is Satan doing in Japan anyway? And how did H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu suddenly pop out of nowhere here? And why am I watching a Japanese direct-to-video remake of Hammer horror films from the early '70s?well, I had a couple hours to waste....well, that's about it, folks; you could probably do worse, you can certainly do better.
Evan A. Baker
This excellent film is visually very similar to the works of Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson. It is creepy, and I love the use of the Elder Gods from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. In addition to being involving and genuinely scary, it has that certain undefinable "cool," just the right dynamic camera angles and groovy exaggerated sound effects, a few good blasts of blood, all mixed together in just the right proportions.
guardian-4
This has got to be one of the DUMBEST movies I've ever seen! Even for a cheesy Japanese splatter-flick it's bad! And it's not even a splatter flick - it sells itself on the "Maximum Gore Dangerous Little Gal" ticket but for all of its boasting I've seen bloodier episodes of Mattlock.In a nut-shell: Mix two parts Buffy The Vampire Slayer, one part Sailor Moon and a splash of IMPLIED oh-so-chic girl-on-girl action. Add a deserted school dorm, someone's overgrown garden and seven young gals who should have been in school that day and BINGO - you've got Misa: Dark Waste of Time.It's horribly shot. The music is dreadful. There isn't a character in the script. The plot is non-existent. And the 'actors' (and I use that term loosely) should go back to their day jobs.Basically a movie made to cater to Japanese salary-men and their unending desire to see girls in high school uniforms. If that's what butters your toast, go for it. If you expect something more - forget it!!
ZUMMUD
This movie is based on 70's famous comic EKOEKO AZARAK by Shinichi Koga, as well as the T.V. series of the same title in 1997. The movie is basically the movie version of the T.V. show, so it is more joyful if you watch EKOEKO AZARAK The Series and EKOEKO AZARAK The Second before you watch this movie. The movie itself is, however, overwhelmed by the charm of Hinako Saeki, the young actress who played the role of Misa Kuroi, the most formidable high school witch, while the motif of Cthulhu Mythos (originally constructed by H. P. Lovecraft) and other elements are losing its power due to its low production cost. So it's the best to enjoy Hinako Saeki's atractiveness rather than waiting for a flashing SFX or CG effects. The story line of the movie is focusing on the traumatic events of the young girls who are killed for the dark ritual. Then Misa Kuroi, the most powerful high school witch (also called Misa The Dark Angel), has to fight with her black magic power to protect her friends. So the story line is not truly matching with the motif of Cthulhu Mythos, so the image is simply used as another force of darkness that tries to devour the dark power of Misa, rather than the dry and mindless terror that Lovecraft has meaned. This is certainly watched as Another Tragedy of Misa, so it should be watched rather as a superheroine's tragedy than horror. This became the very last movie of Bang-Ho Chou, who played the role of Satoru Kuroi, the uncle of Misa and the master of surgery by magic. His serious and sometimes comical act has deepened the emotional side of the movie, as he portraited a hospitable uncle for Misa. The original comic by Shinichi Koga also has featured the surgeon uncle, since the character has been a loving one for the author. In conclusion, this movie is a good chance for the U.S. and European fans to watch a heroine figure that is totally different from Ripley in Alian series or Bond Girls in 007.ZUMMUD (Ji-Mudou)
