Search - Yokai Monsters - Spook Warfare on DVD

A Flying Babylonian Vampire Asparagus Monster Versus A Leagu

Robert I. Hedges | 06/08/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Yokai Monsters Spook Warfare" is one in an established series on Japanese films about weird spirit monsters battling evil. Made in 1968, this movie is not for you if you need the latest in digital weaponry and gore, but it is entertaining for its stunning originality and peculiarity. This film would probably be most appreciated by the Japanese as it takes much of its substance from Japanese folklore and traditions, almost none of which are known outside of Japan.

The story commences with some fairly boring narration about an ancient evil spirit, Daimon, who is entombed in Babylonia 4,000 years ago. All was going swimmingly until a couple of explorers unleash Daimon the demon, who promptly decides to relocate to Japan for a reason I cannot entirely comprehend. The film is in Japanese with English subtitles, so occasionally nuance and subtlety of thoughts aren't well conveyed, therefore it's entirely possible that this makes more sense than it seemed to for a typical native English speaker. Daimon promptly makes his way to the Izu Magisterial Palace, where the kind Magistrate, Hyogo Isobe (Takashi Kanda,) is patrolling his grounds during a storm. He is killed by Daimon, who promptly takes his body, which is a good thing if he wants to fit in, as Daimon's normal form vaguely resembles a flying stalk of asparagus with talons. When the Magistrate comes back to his home he finds his devoted assistant samurai Shinpachiro Mayama (Yoshihiko Aoyama) and his daughter, Lady Chie (Akane Kawasaki) greeting him along with their dog. He kills the dog with his sword and starts tearing his home apart, insisting that all religious artifacts be destroyed. Dismayed by this rapid personality change, Chie and Shinpachiro (who are dating) try to figure out what's going on.

It doesn't take them long with a little help from their friends. The first of the "Japanese apparitions" to appear is Kappa the Water Imp, whose appearance made me laugh out loud. He has a flat head and a duck's bill, and I wondered if Sid and Marty Krofft has consulted on the film, as this is definitely as weird as "Lidsville" (I would love to have seen Charles Nelson Reilly as a samurai, but I digress.) Kappa diagnoses the problem as demonic possession, and summons his army of apparitions, while Shinpachiro consults with his uncle, a Buddhist monk, to learn how to defeat the demon. I will admit that I grew quite tired of his uncle's chanting (though the subtitles are amusing,) but was intrigued by their plan to defeat Daimon. Kappa (whose chief weapon is head-butting,) introduces us to lots of very strange creatures: the Two-Headed Woman (Keiko Yukitomo) is actually pretty creepy as she has a normal and quite lovely face on one side of her head, and a horrible witch face with excessively long nose on the other. (I greatly enjoyed the scene where she confuses and terrifies the two guards. Watch for it.) There is a little guy who has the head of a beet, and there's Ikuko Môri as the Long-Necked Monster, whose neck resembles part anaconda, part Stretch Armstrong. My favorite of the monsters by far is the Umbrella Monster. Most of the monsters are played by actors in costumes, but some are not. The Umbrella Monster is one of the mechanical characters, and it is absolutely as weird as it gets. He is an umbrella with one leg, eyes, and a really long tongue which he uses both to lick his enemies with, and for communication.

Through concerted efforts the forces of good get Daimon to leave Isobe, but he comes back as the new Magistrate, who orders Shinpachiro executed for the murder of Isobe, as Shinpachiro is the only honorable samurai who understands what is actually happening and is a genuine threat to him. This death sentence revitalizes the Japanese apparitions, who call on their peers from across the country to mount an all out attack on Daimon. Daimon clones himself and at one point becomes gigantic (Godzilla sized in his asparagus monster form,) which proves to be his downfall, as one of the now much smaller apparitions is able to blind him, leading to his ultimate defeat and justice for their cause, and assuredly future romance for Lady Chie and Shinpachiro.

The film can definitely be viewed as a camp classic, but it is more than that. It is extremely imaginative, and entertaining as a classic good-versus-evil story. The special effects are not that spectacular (I did like the ending shot of the apparitions reverting to the spirit world even though it was a bit overlong,) and the continuity is sometimes a bit hard to follow, mostly due to language and cultural barriers. I have to admit that when watching it I occasionally had thoughts of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," and actually considered the title "Lady Chie and Her Pets" for my review, but in the end I decided to be more respectful as I liked the film too much. This is too original and too bizarre of a movie to view only as a camp classic, so feel free to laugh if you must (there's times you will have essentially no choice,) but also enjoy an amazingly original example of 1960's Japanese cinema, and view it for the cultural oddity and artifact that it is."