Reviewed By Jason Lockard
American audience have thrilled over Japanese Monster movies for years. Ever since the first time the iconic roar of the 50s Godzilla was hear in theaters. We would than go on to enjoy many other amazing monster movies such as Gamera, Mothra and more.
Arrow Video earlier this year released The Daimajin Trilogy on Blu-ray. Now from the producers of that classic film trilogy came another monster movie series. Now on special edition Blu-ray from Arrow Video entitled Yokai Monsters. And for those that don't know already the term 'yokai' means strange apparition.
Our Rating System:
****=Don’t Miss it!
***=Worth a look.
**=An Ok way to spend an evening.
*=You haven’t missed anything.
100 Monsters (1968) Vengeful creatures descend on arrogant nobles who have threatened to destroy the dwelling of some poor villagers. ***
Spooks Warfare (1968) Benevolent forest spirits band together to defeat a bloodthirsty demon that has taken over the body of a Japanese lord. ***
Along with Ghosts (1969) The murder of an old man on sacred grounds provokes the intervention of vengeful yôkai (Japanese spirits.) ***
The Great Yokai War (2005) A
young boy is chosen as the defender of good and must team up with
Japan's ancient spirits and creatures of lore to attempt to destroy the
forces of evil. ***
The first three films in this collection run just under 80 minutes each. They are extremely fast paced and exciting little adventures. Now The Great Yokai War however runs over 2 hours in length.
Now some people would watch these films with the kind of goofy looking monsters and say this is stupid. But in my opinion that is the kind of charm of these old Japanese films. It's these crazy off the wall characters. After all Godzilla was a man in a monster suit stomping on a miniature city, yet that film is a literal monster movie classic.
All four of these films are presented in high definition (1080p) with original Japanese language track and the option for English subtitles. The transfers of these films look absolutely amazing in high definition.
Now to have 4 films in one collection on Blu-ray is great, but add in the on disc bonus features and you got something special. Take a look at what is included on these 3 Blu-ray discs.
DISC ONE – 100 MONSTERS
* High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations and Original uncompressed Japanese audio
* Hiding in Plain Sight, a brand new documentary giving a primer on yokai for Western audiences, featuring interviews with experts Matt Alt, Zack Davisson, Kim Newman, Lynda E. Rucker and Hiroko Yoda
* Theatrical trailer
* US re-release trailer
* Image gallery
DISC TWO – SPOOK WARFARE / ALONG WITH GHOSTS
* Brand new 4K restoration of Spook Warfare by Kadokawa Pictures High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations and Original uncompressed Japanese audio
* Theatrical trailers for both films
* US re-release trailers for both films
* Image galleries for both films
DISC THREE – THE GREAT YOKAI WAR
* High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations and DTS-HD MA 5.1 original Japanese and dubbed English audio
* Brand new audio commentary by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes
* Archive interviews with the cast and crew, including Takashi Miike
* Short Drama of Yokai, two shorts detailing the further adventures of the yokai
* Another Story of Kawataro, two shorts featuring the continuing story of the kappa character in the film
* World Yokai Conference, a publicity event where Miike speaks about the film
* Promotional Events, video of the press conference to announce the start and completion of filming, as well as the premiere in Tokyo
* Documentary on the film’s young star, Ryunosuki Kamiki, and his experience making the film
* Theatrical trailer
* Image gallery
As a fan of documentaries I love the addition on those in this release. Some much information about these films and the culture and so much more. It is such as great addition. Than the two short films with more adventures of the yokai. That is a perfect little addition.
Also included in this huge set is physical bonuses of a 60 page illustrated collectors’ book. Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jolyon Yates. Postcards featuring newly commissioned artwork for each film by Jolyon Yates and a foldout ‘yokai guide’ poster illustrated by Jolyon Yates.
With this set including 4 films in HD and great amount of on disc and physical bonus features. This is going to be a must own for fans of kaiju or yokai films from Japan! But if you are just the average movie fan probably not so much!
If you would like to add the Yokai Monster Blu-ray set to your collection head over to Amazon.com and order your copy today.
Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) Arrow Video's Bluray set Yokai Monsters receives...
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