Kekkô Kamen

In the past few years Hollywood has remade any number of Japanese movies ("Ringu", "Ju-On", "Dark Water", etc.) I for one can't wait until they get around to this one. This movie is set in a VERY strict secondary school where the evil vice principal for some reason is dressed up as a face-painted court jester and gets off on torturing his students. Fortunately, the students are protected by an anonymous super-heroine, Keko Mask, who dresses in a red mask, a red cape, and literally nothing else. She fights the bad guys with high-wire karate moves, delivering the coup de grace by wrapping her creamy thighs around their head and snapping their neck, or even more hilariously, dazzling them with her genitalia which in a parody of Japanese optical fogging glows like a high beam headlight. The evil vice principal suspects that Keko Mask is somebody at the school, so he devotes his time to strip-searching the females students and staff trying to find someone who "fits the measurements". This movie is such a hip satire that the school even has a lecherous American teacher (although he strangely teaches art rather than English and is played by an obviously Asian actor).

Some may be a little put off by the unhealthy Japanese fascination with uniformed school girls, but judging from all the obvious breast implants on display I doubt any of these actresses were actually underage. In fact, the youngest looking girl is the one who plays the adult guidance counselor (and who for some reason is dressed in spandex and a headband like a Nipponese version of Olivia Newton-John circa 1982). Besides, this movie is paragon of good taste compared to some of the animated and live-action "tentacle rape" movies of recent years. In fact, this movie has a fun, anarchic spirit to it that would probably appeal more to actual teenagers than adult perverts. It's certainly a lot more fun than teen-oriented movies Hollywood has been churning out the last fifteen or twenty years. Maybe Hollywood should take a lesson here . . .

Japanese Tomo Akiyama's Keko Mask (1993) is extremely enjoyable trash film and so fun to watch! There are also some sequels, but I haven't seen them since these films are hyper rare. Some kind of re-releases some day would be nice since I think many trash lovers would like these films. The tongue in cheek story is about one extremely strict school in which teachers think that it is okay to torture students in order to attain discipline, which is, according to the teachers, the most important thing in education. The school is lead by incredibly funny looking (just look at the costume!) human wizard/whatever, who is like principal in the school, and it only adds to the campiness that it is never explained why he wears such a costume since all other teachers are perfectly normally clothed. Well, the main thing about the film is its name, Keko Mask, who is some beautiful and masked fairy, who comes always to save the girls and students who are abused and tortured by the teachers! Yes, this superheroine is one effective female as she kicks and fights the evil teachers with totally cheesy soundtrack playing on the background. The most important thing is, of course, that she wears nothing but a cape and a mask with the rest of her body naked! Her identity is never revealed in these films, and also the credits say "Keko Mask: Unknown" while the actor names are listed!

The most hilarious thing in this film is how Keko Mask kills her enemies. She has a gorgeous, but lethal vagina! Yes, you read right. She kills her victims by flying in the air in front of them, spreading her legs and letting the enemies become numbly charmed of the view, after which she flies closer and snaps their necks with her legs! The most usual last line the characters say in this film are like: "I've never seen such a beautiful vagina" and "Now I can die in peace." This film is totally fantastic!!

There are also some great taunts towards Japanese society for example its attitude towards sex in films (Japanese censors optically fog/blur all the pubic hair in any film) and also about some restrictions among school students (like girls and boys are not allowed to talk in this film etc.) There's one great scene in which one nerd sees girl's bare you-know-what for the first time, and says "Hey there's no fog in it!" I couldn't help but laugh during this scene as I thought what do the Japanese censors think about this. Also, one character says in the end that he will return, if Japan Films allows to make the sequel. I'm glad it allowed as I've heard the sequels are equally outrageous. One sequel should include Blues Brothers (yes, THOSE Blues Brothers!) in it etc.

This is trash in its most enjoyable, funniest and also cleverest form and so it is a little shame these films are so hard to find. This would definitely be even greater experience, if it was little more fast moving at times as it becomes little boring at one point, but fortunately those segments are very few. This film has to be seen to be fully believed as there are so many trash elements I don't mention here and it wouldn't be even necessary to tell them all here. If you like trash cinema and films made with tongue in very cheek, I think you'll love this little gem as I do, and the director is definitely a genius in this field! 8/10 Perhaps the only film in which a shining vagina is this lethal?

The heroine wears nothing but a floor-length hooded cape and a mask. Her private parts glow. Seeing them causes bad guys to collapse in anguish. She defeats evildoers with flying gymnastic moves that allow her superpower be used to maximum effect. The plot is inconsiderable -- it's there, but only to satisfy our superstitious belief that a movie has to have one. There are lots of cute Japanese girls in school uniforms. If you ever have an opportunity to see it, do so. You won't regret it.