YOKAI MONSTERS: 100 MONSTERS (1968)
There are a lot of popular films about the kinds of Japanese folk lore surrounding ghosts and curses seen in Ju On and Ring. However, this time I'll be taking a a look at something different with the idea of a stranger kind of apparition. There's an entire range of supernatural creatures out there in the category of Yokai, with examples to be found in films like Isao Takahata's animated classic Pom Poko. You could spend days reading about this sort of thing. However our story in this case is also a tale of greedy land owners who plan to smash up a village and throw people on the streets to turn a profit. As a reuslt there's a lot of feudal drama mixed with a eerie atmosphere, as the spirits from traditional stories being told by candlelight start to appear in the real world.
The overall story is pretty predictable as a gang of thugs arrives to tear down a boarding house and a Shinto shrine, just so the corrupt town governor can progress his plans for a brothel. There's a lot of dodgy deals being made as people are threatened and extorted. Meanwhile a local tradition called the story of 'one hundred monsters' goes on, in which villagers tell spooky tales in the dark. As long as they remember to do a kind of curse lifting ceremony at the end of the night things will be fine. Of course it doesn't tale long for the storytellers to be invited over to entertain the wealthy bad guys, who have the same lack of respect for the final ceremony as they do for everything else.
The tales themselves make two appearances; one is in the opening as a man lost in the misty woods comes across some kind of hairy beast. It's pretty brief, but it's just strange enough to be a really good hook as the film begins. He just wanted a hug! The other is the part of the stories being told to the main villain, a story about two friends fishing at a cursed lake who ignore the warnings of a priest. Of course they soon find themselves in a bizarre situation as one fishermen's wife starts to act very strangely. I get the feeling that none of these yarns end particularly well. However, ultimately these are all we get in terms of first and second act spookiness, so the other ninety-eight stories are left to be imagined. It must take a long time for anyone to read through them all.
Things take a turn for the worse in the town as people are attacked. Soon a mysterious swordsman begins sneaking around, though he isn't particularly helpful until the final few minutes. There's also a jarring sub-plot about the son of the main property owner, who despite being at least twenty acts like a tiny child throughout the film. His father is certainly not a great parent but it's still odd to see someone desperate for a game of hide and seek as an adult. Eventually this leads to some more monster scenes (since only a child can see them in some cases) but it feels out of place when tone in the rest of the film is actually pretty dour. When affairs become bloodier and things seem at their most desperate the eponymous spirits start to intervene more directly.
Purely as a fantasy movie about there's a lot to enjoy here since a lot of the visuals really work. There are a few bad compositing effects when larger apparitions show up, but otherwise there's a nice mixture of make-up and costumes. The sinister wife in the second story is particularly effective, using silhouettes and clever editing to create a sequence that holds up incredibly well. Some of the creatures are clearly just puppets and rubber models, lending those moments a certain kind of weird charm. One scene that uses animation to bring paint to life is particularly nice. It almost gets too silly in a couple of instances, but the final set pieces involving proper 1960s horror blood and spirits without faces posing as humans is where things really come together.
The real question is who is this aimed at? I can recommend it to fans of weird cinema, or anyone who saw Daimajin and wanted something similar but not exactly in the same genre. It's got the same kind of bleak atmosphere a lot of the time, which isn't surprising as both are directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda. The sequel, Spook Warfare, is far sillier despite some gruesome moments. The yōkai themselves are mysterious and creepy here instead being the goofy characters they'd become later (particularly in Takashi Miike's modern take on this idea). Evil people who only care about money are driven crazy, while others are impaled on their own swords. There's no giant monster show down here, which may disappoint some viewers. But as a series each instalment is worth seeing as they're all different.
In the end this is a far more sombre affair than you'd be expecting from the creature designs that have become popular. But it's a better story overall because of the way it's handled in such a serious manner. The idea of selfish people being punished by supernatural powers is nothing new, so it helps that things are done with plenty of period style. Much of the film has aged really well both in terms of sinister visuals and effects work. There's often a lot of focus on the mundane aspects thanks to a steady pace, but stick with it. The mood of the story builds to a great climax as the parade of monsters starts to assemble. Those who have seen The Great Yōkai War will certainly have to check out where this all started. Everyone else, check it out.
4/5
BONUS REVIEW
DOGORA (1964)
Another blend of genres, this time we've got a gangster movie about diamond thieves crashing into a story about a space monster. A monster that just happens to that eat carbon. However it's not the same kind of crime and kaiju blend you get with Ghidora the Three Headed Monster. This is more of a straightforward science fiction story. The big threat is a 'space cell' that has mutated into an enormous life form and threatens the world by sucking up coal (and jewellery) in vast quantities right off the surface of the planet. Of course at first the officials think this missing property is being stolen, which leads us into the weaker human elements involved.
The creature itself is kind of fascinating to look at, like some sort of giant neon marionette. There's no man-in-suit effect going on here, just a lot of otherworldly visuals. It's a unique effect; sometimes it's briefly animated, and in other sequences there's just a huge multicoloured cloud swirling in the atmosphere. There's no lumbering monster smashing into city blocks, which make it much more interesting after so many similar Toho releases. Of course there's still a lot of destruction and the usual military minds still have to devise a way to shoot at the thing. Strangely the main plot about a science lab and a professor who has created a new type of false diamond is where this becomes the most engaging.
Things start to get fuzzy when they start talking about how a space cell is weak to wasp poison... but it's passable sci-fi nonsense. Unfortunately there's also a lot of time spent with the jewel thieves. Then there's a side story involving a Japanese detective (Yosuke Natsuki) and a mysterious foreign agent (Robert Dunham). These guys are really stiff. As strange as it may seem they should really have stayed with the professor and the other scientists. Following up on the horrifying threat of the creature starting to absorb carbon from living sources would have been better. Overall it's interesting enough but the pacing is all wrong and the great central monster gets sidelined to often. It's not too bad but it's probably just one for the Ishirō Honda fans.
3/5
