Yamagata sukurîmu

At almost two hours, it's too long, but this wacky, haphazard Japanese low-budget supernatural comedy had its charms. The story follows that of zombie samurai warriors fulfilling their ancient curse by returning to a small rural village to take revenge against the descendants who double crossed them. It's up to a couple of high-school girls on a history field trip, the weak-minded local hairdresser and his not-all-there grandmother to save the town.

There's so much occurring on screen in this interactive field-trip lesson that it's far from dull with its stooge-like slapstick humor (e.g. three deadpan zombie warriors hitching a ride), eccentric characters come and go with a fashion style matching their oddness and gleefully comic violence (e.g. town's folk getting turned into blue pasty ghouls after a samurai zombie goes around vomiting projectile blue liquid). Just expect more in the way of kookiness with a happy shiny facade, than gonzo special effects (although there is minor laser action) and over-the-top gore. Actually there's hardly any, aside from couple moments of blood spurts and a decapitated head. No biggie, at least we do get a schoolgirl with a mini chainsaw go against a zombie warrior with a samurai sword. Everything going on really does revolve around the vibrant and spontaneous interactions, even taking some time to develop its central characters early on.

Don't know if it was intentional or not, as it felt like there were a couple of visual nods to horror films like "Evil Dead 2" and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)". Or maybe I'm just seeing something that's not there?

What do you get when you cross a girls high school field trip with an ancient samurai warrior zombie? Some gags, spurting blood, a bunch of screaming, and a whole lotta trouble. "Yamagata Scream" surely knows how to give a zombie tale a bit more bite! It's the perfect Japanese comedy horror to lift your spirits in these dark months. Don't miss out!