Episode 4: THE MOTHER WHO VANISHED (HAKUJA NO WANA) ****
Directed by Akikazu Ota
Out hunting one day Shinpachi happens across a little boy named Shota and his dog. A storm hits and Shinpachi takes the boy to his home inside a temple looked after by a kindly elder. That night, Shinpachi senses five killers approaching the temple. The old man tells him to get the boy to his mother who works at a clothing shop in Edo. Shota is unaware his mother is alive. As the old man is struck down by a sword strike from one of the men, Shota suddenly loses his voice. Shinpachi makes it back to Yamabiko with Shota safely.
Gohei consults with doctor Gennai about curing Shota's loss of voice but nothing can be done. In an effort to learn why the five killers were after the boy, the Shadow Warriors investigate. Gohei goes to see Oyu, Shota's mother who works as a prostitute (under the name of Otami) in addition to the dye factory. Otami (Oyu) denies having a son but due to Goehei's insistence, she cannot resist displaying concern on her face.
A samurai named Arata Genzaburo follows and attacks Gohei upon leaving Oyu. It is discovered he was the one that killed the old man at the temple that night. Arata is also Oyu's lover and she suspects him trying to kill her son despite his insistence otherwise. The Igas follow him around and learn that he is part of a murder plot to find and kill Shota but the reason is still unclear.
Iga ninja Otoki goes to see Oyu in secret and explains to her that Arata betrayed her for a post in the Sanada clan and that the Yakuza are watching her every move. A plan is hatched to get her to Yamabiko to see her son. Once there, Oyu tells why she had to abandon her son. Shota is lord Sanada's heir. Some years back Sanada had a liason with a girl from a restaurant who got pregnant. Since Sanada already had an heir, the woman was ordered to kill the baby when it was born so as not to cause problems. Otami (Oyu) fled to Oume to raise the child away from harm.
Gohei suggests Oyu stay and work at Yamabiko to be with her son till it is safe for the two of them to go away together. However, the villains aren't far behind and they eventually manage to kidnap Shota.
Meanwhile, Shinpachi learns that Takanuki had poisoned lord Sanada to usurp his power. With the young Shota being the lords son, Takanuki wants him dead as he is all that stands in his way of overtaking the Sanada clan. Just at the moment Takanuki orders Arata to kill Shota, Oyu steps in the way of the sword strike. Lightning flashes just as it did the night the old man was killed.
Shota suddenly regains his voice and the Shadow Warriors appear to dispense justice on the evil-doers. After the fight, the remaining Sanada clan wishes to take Shota back to be clan leader but Shinpachi refuses but asks Shota what he wishes to do--his response is to return with him back to Yamabiko.
This is a long winded episode. There's lots of talking and very little action. There are a couple very minor scuffles but nothing really substantial till the last couple minutes. It's worth the wait as Shinpachi delivers one of his best "death speeches" before carving up his intended victim(s). He always conveys an intimidating and life ending sermon before delivering retribution but this one he utters whilst the fight is going on around him and it's particularly memorable.
Director Ota does a fine job of mounting a compelling program with fine character- izations. Less patient fans will be put off by the lack of action but sometimes stories need to breath in other ways besides continuous fight scenes. The episode itself is a gloomy affair as Shota never does learn that Oyu was his mother. The director adds a nice touch in that with a lightning strike Shota's voice is both taken away and given back during simultaneous life altering situations. There are no humorous moments and Kiki Kirin is absent from this episode. Sonny Chiba is also absent from much of the show save for the beginning and ending letting the younger cast shine as well as giving Gohei lots to do as well. Doctor Gennai is only seen briefly. A well handled dramatic episode that's dialog heavy and recommended for those that can appreciate a good plot.
DVD availability: http://www.fareastflix.com/p-kage02vol02dvd.html
Episode 3: THE HUMAN SACRIFICE (KYOFU! IKENIE NO YAKATA) ***
Directed by Ikuo Sekimoto
After witnessing a foreigner test a gatling gun for members of the Shibata clan by massacring a group of vagrants, the Hayate Kid is injured by the same powerful weapon. The evening prior Hayate was pursued by a group of men for thievery. He eluded capture with the help of a young girl named Chie. Becoming enamored with her, Hayate learns of her sick father, Kajiyama and endears himself with his company after catching fish to serve in his recovery.
Meanwhile, the evil foreigner, Millard, barters for the sale of the gatling gun; a weapon that will enhance the stability of the weak Shibata clan. As an exchange, Millard demands the sight of witnessing the act of Seppuka as well as a woman of his choosing. The woman he chooses just happens to be Chie; having seen her portrait painted by none other than doctor Gennai. Chie's father, Kajiyama, is the accountant for the Shibata clan and he is ordered to pay the money for the gun. He protests vehemently against it and is arrested for his troubles. This incident secures both requests desired by Millard for his trade.
Upon visiting O'oka Tadamitsu, the duplicitous Hiranuma discusses the situation. O'oka has designs on the Shibata clans port. Noting its incredible monetary value, O'oka declares that the illegal purchase of the gatling gun be exposed which in turn will abolish the Shibata clan. Hiranuma will become the new governor and both he and O'oka will control the newfound wealth.
Iga ninja Koroku listens in on the conversation and is discovered. He manages to escape and tells the others of the plan. Believing that if she gives herself to the foreigner she will save her father, Chie is taken to the Shibata Mansion. Hayate goes after her. He encounters Millard and watches helplessly as he attempts to rape her. At the same time the Shadow Warriors are enroute to the Mansion. Enraged, Hayate attacks Millard. Waiting for Millard to arrive, Kajiyama prepares to kill himself. Millard enters but seems disoriented. He falls over dead just as the Shadow Warriors make their entrance and lay waste to the villains and destroy the gatling gun that nearly brought an end to the Shibata clan. Kajiyama and Chie head off away from the city to become farmers. She tells Hayate that when he changes his way of life, she will be waiting for him.
The end scene features a comical moment that has doctor Gennai scolding Shinpachi for destroying the foreign gun, "You have no appreciation for science!" he tells them. Shinpachi changes the subject when he sees Orin approach telling her she's just in time that doctor Gennai can finally paint a portrait of her much to his chagrin. She asks just how much she should disrobe for the event making Gennai the butt of the joke with the others having a laugh at both his and the oblivious Orin's expense.
The director from the previous episode returns for another suitably entertaining program. This one is clearly a star turn for Sanada who gets a love interest and also reveals a bit about his past and why he does what he does. Any fan of Sanada will definitely enjoy this episode as he's the central character and his then wild popularity is warranted with his charisma and photogenic looks. What's amazing about Japanese pop culture is that actors and actresses can be popular on both mediums--television and cinema.
It wasn't unusual to see a popular star in both giving fans more than enough entertainment value. There's not a great deal of action in episode three till the end but it's handled wonderfully especially the surprise entrance of the Shadow Warriors. With this episode being built around Sanada, future episodes would do likewise for other members of the Iga crew. Everyone gets a chance to shine at some point over the course of the 26 episodes.
DVD availability: http://www.fareastflix.com/p-kage02vol02dvd.html
CAMP 731 1988 aka MEN BEHIND THE SUN aka HEI TAIYANG (literal translation: BLACK SUN; also the English title of the sequel)
Pictures coming soon...
Directed by Mou Tun-fei
A group of young Japanese boys coerced into becoming soldiers in the Japanese Army see numerous atrocities and graphic experiments performed on Chinese citizens during WW2.
One of the most, if not the most, uncompromisingly brutal and sadistic movie ever made. All the more repellent in that it really happened. Director Mou was very brave to attempt such a film. He received numerous death threats from unknown parties when he traveled to Japan to lecture young Japanese students about the incidents that occurred to the Chinese populace in the late 1930's. Schools in Japan had their books altered leaving little mention of the incidents as well as many Japanese citizens claiming said atrocities never happened chalking it up to propaganda fables.
Without doubt one of the most difficult films to sit through. After I saw it the one and only time, I thought about the film for days afterwards. It seriously depressed me in a way no other film had done before. The only other film that ever came close to this movies power is CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979). Other films have left me feeling dirty and somewhat mentally violated after viewing them, but nothing like this film. The constant reminder that these and unbelievably far worse acts of barbarism actually took place only re-enforces Mou's power as a director. What is even more astounding is that in light of what is shown, this film only barely scratches the surface of what happened to the Chinese during this tumultuous time in history.
One of the most harrowing scenes in all of cinema is found here and it's also a scene that caused much debate over the value of Mou's film; much like the intense scrutiny Ruggero Deodato found placed against him when CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979) saw release. The scene involves the Japanese doctor demonstrating "strength in numbers". A white cat is thrown into a room filled with thousands of starving rats. It takes what seems like an eternity for the helpless animal to finally succumb to his doom. The cat fights valiantly to survive, but again, as the doctor states... "strength in numbers..." in reference to the impending attack on America by the Japanese. The camera never flinches away from this most despicable geek show sequence. In fact, the shots of the cat in its death throes are the most difficult to stomach. This scene was removed for the films UK release as well as other prints around the world.
Another vexing scene concerns the live vivisection of a little boy. What makes this scene especially distressing is that the little boy was a recently deceased cadaver donated from his family specially for the film. What is most amazing is the boy's resemblance to the child actor portraying the kid who is used in the ghastly experiment.
The film itself is a cavalcade of cruelty and despair showcasing the many tortures and vicious experiments the Japanese "doctors" performed on their Chinese captives which they called "Maruta's" which means "material" or "log". They didn't consider their test subjects human and subjected them to many horrifying ordeals. These experiments dealt with freezing and extreme heat, gas and decompression chamber tests and testing of various diseases such as bubonic plague among other barbarous acts. The plague was also injected into flies concealed inside balloons which they were trying to unleash into the air and onto foreign soil. Before the means of doing this had been figured out, the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Of all the past Naziploitation movies, none of them hold a candle to this film. What Hitler did was minor (not to make light of those heinous crimes) when compared to the savagery perpetrated on Chinese, British, Australian, Russian and American soldiers and citizens during the war. It is a shame that this dark and gruesome time in man's history is not more widely known. Author Iris Chang wrote a NY Times Bestseller entitled, THE RAPE OF NANKING: THE FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST OF WW2. The book dealt mostly with the (now more widely known) Nanking Massacre and only occasionally touched on the devilish experiments of Camp 731. The Nanking Massacre is covered in Mou's equally nasty sequel, BLACK SUN: THE NANKING MASSACRE (1995). Mysteriously, Mrs. Chang died on November 9, 2004 of a self-inflicted gun shot wound on a rural road in Los Gatos, California.
Realizing it was a film of great importance, Mou Tun-fei had much trouble getting the film released in Hong Kong. Eventually, it did see release there but he was not allowed to advertise it in any way. No trailer, no poster; only the title on the marquee. The film was highly controversial overseas. The real-life accounts were at odds with the all too real animal violence seen which brought much speculation to the very realistic effects sequences. Considering the circumstances surrounding the real cadaver used, speculation arose that the effects scenes may have been more than just that.
Mou would return to the subject matter with his 1995 sequel, BLACK SUN: THE NANKING MASSACRE (1995). This film actually utilized real footage of victims. This footage was smuggled out of Nanking by a sympathetic Nazi (of all people); a mister John Rabe who had the footage hidden inside the threads of a jacket. This footage would end up as a propaganda film shown in US movie theaters during the war. Mou originally envisioned a trilogy but in lieu of the controversy, death threats and difficulty getting the films made, the third film never saw fruition (at least not yet).
However, there were two unrelated films that were released in HK proclaiming to be sequels to the original MEN BEHIND THE SUN. These were MEN BEHIND THE SUN 2: LABORATORY OF THE DEVIL 1992) and MEN BEHIND THE SUN 3: NARROW ESCAPE (1994). Both, believe it or not, directed by that Chinese Jess Franco, Godfrey Ho.
Mou Tun-fei got his start directing Shaw Brothers movies. He was one of a few up and coming New Wave directors at Shaw's at the time. He directed what is called the Chinese version of SALO (1975), LOST SOULS (1980). Mou also directed one half of the Shaw horror anthology, HAUNTED TALES (1980). He also directed the gruesome kung fu thriller, A DEADLY SECRET (1980). These films would foreshadow where Mou would be a handful of years down the road. As it stands today, MEN BEHIND THE SUN (1988) is a grueling and dark testament of man's inhumanity to man that only grazes the surface of what was, in real life, far more cruel and ferociously sadistic historical horrors. A time that hopefully, will never be repeated.
This review is representative of the World Video DVD. There is an English dub in addition to Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks.
DVD availability: World Video, Japan Shock (Netherlands; region 0)
TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD aka LA NOCHE DEL TERROR CIEGO 1971
Lone Fleming (Betty), Cesar Burner (Roger), Maria Elena (Virginia)
Meeting up with a childhood friend for a weekend getaway, Virginia leaps from the train they are traveling on when it appears her female friend has some romantic interest in the man she is accompanying. The train conductor refuses to stop because of satanic legends permeating the area. Virginia makes her way to an old abandoned temple deciding to stay the night there. As night falls, zombie-fied, skeletal creatures arise from their tombs and attack the young woman. She manages to escape their clutches but the zombie monks climb atop undead horses, give chase and eventually kill her.
Later, her two friends, Betty and Roger, go looking for her and uncover a terrible legend. The Templars were Knights of Christ who were ex-communicated for blasphemy. They were hanged and crows ate out their eyes. Centuries later, they occasionally arise from their graves awakened by the hauntingly loud boom of a ghostly bell to seek new victims for their blood sacrifices. During the finale, Roger, Betty and a couple of seedy bandits are cornered in the temple. One survives and boards the passing train as the Templars give chase. The bloodthirsty knights manage to board the train where they systematically slaughter the passengers.
Amando de Ossorio's first entry in his popular quadrilogy was a big hit when first released. At the time Spanish horror was frowned upon and seldom attempted mainly because of the censorship laws in Spain. The one man who initially got the Spanish horror boom in motion was Paul Naschy and his Universal /Hammer homages. These films, amazingly, were not as popular in their homeland but more so in America and other countries.
Ossorio's movie was a bit different from Naschy's approach. Instead of using popular horror movie creatures as a template, he chose the historical Templar Knights who were soldiers of Christ. Their exploits are well documented and they were feared by the King who believed that their growing popularity with the common people would bring about dissent. Inevitably, the Templars were hunted down and executed as heretics.
Ossorio plays with the facts a bit as well as changing the mythology from film to film. Ossorio even incorporates some vampire lore with a hint of Romero's slant on zombies from his NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968). After Virginia's body (the young lady from the beginning) is delivered to the morgue we see an eccentric morgue attendant playing with a turtle in a bowl. In the background you see Virginia's slashed and chewed corpse lying covered on a table. The sound of the eerie church bell from the monastic Templar burial site can be heard in the distance.
Shortly after, you see the sheets move as the corpse rises in the background as the attendant is unaware of what is transpiring behind him. The now undead Virginia gets closer and closer until she puts the bite on the careless man. The scene is very creepy as is a similar scene soon after as the revived Virginia attacks a woman in a mannequin shop. A blinking red light adds a sinister ambiance as she casually stalks the young woman inside the locked warehouse filled with ominously spooky mannequins.
In regards to this scene, it's interesting to note that earlier in the film when Virginia stayed overnight inside the temple, there is a shot of her undressing in front of a fire. The flames heighten as she undresses; her body barely concealed by the licking flames. Later during the mannequin shop attack, the girl sets a dummy on fire and knocks it into the zombiefied Virginia. We see as she is burned to death, the flames consuming her body much as they did in the earlier, symbolic shot. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but the scene is a striking piece of foreshadowing.
As for the Blind Dead themselves, they are one of the most memorable and original creations in all of fantastic cinema. These monsters are blind so they find their prey through sound alone; even the sound of a heartbeat can alert them to a potential victims location. Their centuries old cloaks, their bony hands reaching out with swords drawn to slash, stab and skewer their victims before sucking the blood from their bodies. The long dead horses they ride, whose scenes are shot in slow motion, stick in your mind as they are quite a striking image. The Templars even have small tufts of hair dangling from their bony chins for added effect. The soundtrack from Luis Anton Abril is desperately in need of a CD release. It is one of the most frightening horror movie scores of all time. It is questionable if Ossorio's movie would have the same effect with a different, less surreal score.
One of the oddest aspects of Ossorio's four Blind Dead films is the inclusion of rape. Each film has one. In the first film, there is a lesbian sub-plot involving Virginia and her girls school friend, Betty (played by Lone Fleming), who now seems to enjoy the company of men. This is what leads to Virginia jump off of the train when jealousy overtakes her senses.
However, this is really just a deception. Betty has no interest in men but yet prefers to pretend she does. Just before Virginia jumps from the train, Betty tells her she has never forgotten her and that she hopes Virginia feels the same way. Betty then says, "You remember what I taught you?" just as a flashback begins and reveals the time that Betty had seduced her friend while they were in a girls school together. It's not really made clear just why Virginia jumps from the train; could it be that she was shunning Betty's advances wishing only to have relationships with men? It would seem so since she was upset when it appeared that Roger was very much attracted to Betty.
Later in the film, Roger and Betty enlist the aid of a group of small time criminals that know the area around the temple since no one else is foolish enough to go there. During the conclusion, the leader of the gang shows interest in Betty. She says she has never been able to enjoy the touch of a man. Then, the hoodlum forces himself on her, slaps her around a bit before finally stripping her naked and raping her. Afterwards, he nonchalantly hands her a cigarette! Each succeeding film features a scene like this. It is not known (to me at least) why Ossorio included such bits. Did he have some kind of emotionally destructive altercations with the opposite sex? Or was it just crass exploitation?
The films plot is nothing special. There really isn't any plot to speak of. The film is mainly just a series of drawn out set pieces--The opening bit involving Virginia exiting the train, her exploration of the decrepit temple followed by her death from the Templars. The middle portion is a brief search followed by two scenes of Virginia claiming victims and the explanation of the history of the Templar Knights. The final bit involves the cast making a trip to the temple to see if the legend is true. The train conductor that refused to stop earlier in the film because of the strange occurrences and frightening legends indigenous to the area, gets his final comeuppance. The violence isn't limited to the conductor as the Templars board the train and lay waste to the many innocent people aboard.
The imagery, the atmosphere, the outrageously spooky music and the Templars themselves are the reason to watch TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD (1971). Ossorio wrings every bit of tension out of the set pieces he can and pushes the terror to the max. There are also numerous scenes of illogical behavior. During the final bit at the end, Betty takes an incredibly long time to get on the train (even with help). The slow moving Templars have, by this time, reached the train and dismounted their steeds. It could be said that she was nearly frozen with fright but nonsensical behavior is a mainstay in horror movies so it's nothing to really fuss about.
The US release had some of its scenes shuffled around and some of its violence excised. The film was trimmed down from around 100 minutes to just under 80 minutes. The film was a mainstay on the popular syndicated show ELVIRA'S MOVIE MACABRE during the 80's. Strangely, the bloody train massacre finale was shown intact on the Elvira program but was cut from the Paragon video release!
Ossorio followed this success with three sequels each one lesser than the one before it. It should be noted that John Carpenter must have seen the second and third films before he made THE FOG (1979). That film, about the ghosts of wrongfully murdered lepers returning on a ghostly vessel inside an ominous fog to get revenge on the tiny seaside town that lured them to their death a century before. The idea of a 100 year celebration of the history of the town is similar to Ossorio's second film RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD (1972) in which a small township celebrates the 100 year celebration of the execution of the Templars by the townspeople.
The ghostly fog enshrouded ship features in Ossorio's third film, THE GHOST GALLEON (1973). A seriously lackluster affair whose only points of interest are several well done atmospheric sequences and a nicely done, but downbeat ending. By the fourth film, the quality returns somewhat to the first and second entries but the ending feels a bit rushed. The film, NIGHT OF THE SEAGULLS (1975) has modern day Templars in addition to the dead kind, sacrificing the daughters of a frightened fishing village to their fish God.
All four present wonderful ideas and hauntingly surreal imagery involving the Knights Templar. Ossorio had planned to re-visit his most famous creation but died before he was able to do so. The Templars would later feature in a few other movies including the rarely seen John Gilling movie CROSS OF THE DEVIL (1975) and in Jess Franco's pornographic MANSION OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985). The Knights Templar will forever be remembered as one of the most original and frightening of Europe's heritage of cinematic horror.
This review is representative of the US DVD box set.
DVD availability: Blue Underground
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Out hunting one day Shinpachi happens across a little boy named Shota and his dog. A storm hits and Shinpachi takes the boy to his home inside a temple looked after by a kindly elder. That night, Shinpachi senses five killers approaching the temple. The old man tells him to get the boy to his mother who works at a clothing shop in Edo. Shota is unaware his mother is alive. As the old man is struck down by a sword strike from one of the men, Shota suddenly loses his voice. Shinpachi makes it back to Yamabiko with Shota safely.
Gohei consults with doctor Gennai about curing Shota's loss of voice but nothing can be done. In an effort to learn why the five killers were after the boy, the Shadow Warriors investigate. Gohei goes to see Oyu, Shota's mother who works as a prostitute (under the name of Otami) in addition to the dye factory. Otami (Oyu) denies having a son but due to Goehei's insistence, she cannot resist displaying concern on her face.
A samurai named Arata Genzaburo follows and attacks Gohei upon leaving Oyu. It is discovered he was the one that killed the old man at the temple that night. Arata is also Oyu's lover and she suspects him trying to kill her son despite his insistence otherwise. The Igas follow him around and learn that he is part of a murder plot to find and kill Shota but the reason is still unclear.
Iga ninja Otoki goes to see Oyu in secret and explains to her that Arata betrayed her for a post in the Sanada clan and that the Yakuza are watching her every move. A plan is hatched to get her to Yamabiko to see her son. Once there, Oyu tells why she had to abandon her son. Shota is lord Sanada's heir. Some years back Sanada had a liason with a girl from a restaurant who got pregnant. Since Sanada already had an heir, the woman was ordered to kill the baby when it was born so as not to cause problems. Otami (Oyu) fled to Oume to raise the child away from harm.
Meanwhile, Shinpachi learns that Takanuki had poisoned lord Sanada to usurp his power. With the young Shota being the lords son, Takanuki wants him dead as he is all that stands in his way of overtaking the Sanada clan. Just at the moment Takanuki orders Arata to kill Shota, Oyu steps in the way of the sword strike. Lightning flashes just as it did the night the old man was killed.
This is a long winded episode. There's lots of talking and very little action. There are a couple very minor scuffles but nothing really substantial till the last couple minutes. It's worth the wait as Shinpachi delivers one of his best "death speeches" before carving up his intended victim(s). He always conveys an intimidating and life ending sermon before delivering retribution but this one he utters whilst the fight is going on around him and it's particularly memorable.
Director Ota does a fine job of mounting a compelling program with fine character- izations. Less patient fans will be put off by the lack of action but sometimes stories need to breath in other ways besides continuous fight scenes. The episode itself is a gloomy affair as Shota never does learn that Oyu was his mother. The director adds a nice touch in that with a lightning strike Shota's voice is both taken away and given back during simultaneous life altering situations. There are no humorous moments and Kiki Kirin is absent from this episode. Sonny Chiba is also absent from much of the show save for the beginning and ending letting the younger cast shine as well as giving Gohei lots to do as well. Doctor Gennai is only seen briefly. A well handled dramatic episode that's dialog heavy and recommended for those that can appreciate a good plot.
