Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl

'Only in Japan' comes to mind when you watch "Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl" ("Kyûketsu Shôjo tai Shôjo Furanken"). It is one of those outrageous Japanese blood-fest movies. It is so over-the-top that it is bizarrely entertaining.

The story is odd and bizarre, yes, as they tend to be in this particular genre of Japanese gore movies. And it is something that has to be seen in order to be believed. As such, I will not even attempt at a synopsis that does the movie Justice.

The effects were as to be expected from a movie like this, and the blood was abundant by the gallons. If you enjoy state of the art effects and CGI, then you should not be watching the Japanese gore movies. The effects do serve their purpose well enough, in my opinion, and will often have you laughing.

It was a real treat to see Eihi Shiina in this movie, despite it being a small role. Lead actress Yukie Kawamura really carried the movie quite well.

All in all an entertaining movie and well-worth a watch if you enjoy this genre of Japanese gore.

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl is the blood-soaked adaptation of a popular manga. Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Helldriver) helms this masterpiece of Japanese new-wave ultra-violent splatter, a genre most notable for its juxtaposition of cute actresses and extreme violence. In typical Nishimura fashion, the insanity meter is cranked up to 11. Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl stars gravure idol (and full-time goddess) Yukie Kawamura and Eri Otoguro (Onechanbara: the Movie) in the respective title roles as they battle for the affection of their classmate Jugon (Takumi Saito). It also features a great cameo by the queen of Japanese horror, Eihi Shiina (Audition, Tokyo Gore Police).

When Monami (Kawamura), our Vampire Girl, transfers to a new high school in Tokyo, she soon attracts the ire of the resident lolligirl clique, and their bratty leader Keiko (Otoguro), by giving Jyugon a blood-filled chocolate for Valentine's Day. It isn't long before the school nurse becomes aware that something isn't quite right with a sample of Monami's blood and passes it along to Keiko's father, who also happens to be the vice-principal and a (very!) mad scientist, the self-proclaimed successor to Dr. Frankenstein. Upon confronting Monami, Keiko ends up dead and (you guessed it) is rebuilt by her father as Frankenstein Girl and an epic battle ensues that is truly mind-blowing in both its violence and its creativity.

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl boasts the traditional gore effects for which Nishimura is best known: gallons of blood-spray, uncomfortable wrist-cutting scenes, and disturbingly distorted human bodies. It also contains a lot of fairly well-executed CGI that doesn't really detract from overall immersion in the film.Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl never takes itself too seriously and it's in this frame of mind that the film is best enjoyed. It incorporates comedic elements, including the catchy J-Pop soundtrack, and a healthy dose of social satire which anyone familiar with Japanese pop-culture is sure to enjoy. There are several memorable scenes, my personal favorite being when Monami dances in a rain of blood as it sprays from the neck of a recent victim, a scene which, in my mind, captures the essence of what this genre is all about.

In fairness, Nishimura's films, and pink violence in general, is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. If you are a fan of other films in the genre, such as Machine Girl, Meatball Machine, and Tokyo Gore Police, you will love this film. If you are a gorehound with a penchant for old-school special effects and horror-comedies like Re-Animator, Dead Alive and Evil Dead 2, you will love this film. If, however, you happen to be a close-minded film elitist who insists on little things like continuity, realism, and unquestionable plot structures, you will probably spontaneously combust within the first five minutes (probably around the time that Monami rips the skin from the face of a Gothic-lolita zombie with her teeth, exposing an animated skull).

When it's all said and done, Nishimura provides us with a fresh and exciting take on these two iconic, but worn-out and often predictable, monster stereotypes. The true beauty of films like Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl lies in their unpredictability and refusal to be constrained within the existent boundaries of film logic, physics, or even political correctness. Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl epitomizes what this genre is all about and, while not quite as good as Tokyo Gore Police (but, then again, what is?), it is definitely one hell of a awesome movie.

Not knowing anything about the manga or this adaptation, the only thing I could say about the flick as I sat to watch was that the name and fundamental premise sounded like fun. For better or for worse, this also kindly informs just what we're getting into with the opening scene alone: abject low-grade cartoonishness that technically fulfills the promise of a splatter "horror-comedy" while not specifically being either horrifying or funny, and practical effects including proliferate blood and gore that are shamelessly augmented with the mid-2000s computer-generated imagery that has emphatically aged poorly. Brought to bear within even just the next couple scenes, there is also a significant parodying element here that would probably be more meaningful to someone who lives in Japan rather than anyone who lives anywhere outside the archipelago - not least as the notions being parodied include youth fashion that is questionable (Lolita) or outright objectionable (the ganguro style that at its most extreme is simply blackface taken to a deeply offensive new level). Moreover, between the bare-faced production values, the obvious CGI, Nishimura Yoshihiro and Tomomatsu Naoyuki's brashly forthright and immoderate direction, and in turn the pointedly unsubtle acting, cinematography, and editing, the nearest comparisons one may drum up are the Z-grade dreck of The Asylum, or the most outrageous, "devil may care" flippancy of the far reaches of amateur horror. 'Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl' sure is a thing.

None of this definitively precludes the possibility of the film being enjoyable. After all, as Nishimura adapts the source material, there are plenty of good, ridiculous ideas in the narrative itself. The core characters of Monami, Keiko, and Mizushima are all minor joys, not to mention Keiko's "vice principal but also mad scientist" father. The sheer irreverent ludicrousness of the characters, and of the scene writing and plot they feed into, are ripe for absurdist or even surrealist entertainment in line with exploitation flicks of the 70s and the "video nasties" of the 80s. I appreciate the absolute gusto that everyone contributed in their individual capacities, whether that means that blood and gore, the overwrought and ham-handed music, the downright garish costume design, hair, makeup, and production design and art direction - and, sure, even the editing, the cinematography, the acting, the direction, and maybe even that CGI. I don't believe all such inclusions, guided to the ends that they were, represented the best choices, but all involved clearly knew what the assignment was and they unreservedly embraced the preposterous tenor. With that said, I do think some aspects are perfectly unnecessary. Chiefly, those cultural tidbits that get parodied serve no purpose whatsoever in the storytelling, least of all the racist ganguro club. They are present with no importance to speak of, and the gratuitous inclusion instead does nothing more than to diminish the potential of whatever it is that this feature could have ideally been.

And, well, as to the rest - the reality of the utmost boorishness, juvenility, kitsch, chutzpah, bombast, and intemperance? The oversexed school nurse and her secret role, the pure bluster of that mad scientist, the buckets of blood and gore that are sometimes plainly senseless even relative to the likes of Peter Jackson's 'Dead-alive,' the very tongue-in-cheek and over the top music, the almost pointless fragments of more distinctly earnest and careful storytelling, and so on? There really are great ideas in these eighty-five minutes. And ultimately, if Nishimura and Tomomatsu had reined in the excess and self-indulgence just a smidgen, and had approached the concept and its realization with more genuine, mindful care, then maybe 'Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl' would have earnestly been better. For all the possibilities of the premise, for all the good cheer of the splatter flick ideations, for as much as all involved were very apparently enjoying themselves, and for what wild, wacky fun the picture does have to offer, there would be more lasting value here if equal skill and intelligence had been applied uniformly throughout the runtime. As it is, the result comes off far too much not as the wholly frivolous but merry B-grade romp that it could and should have been, but as a dodgy, dubious, low-born creation that wasn't shaped with enough of the discerning eye that would have allowed its best imagination, creativity, and hard work to flourish. I actually do like this, but because its profligacy wasn't modulated, my favor is.

For what the title does well, I want to like it more than I do. For what the title declined to have conjured or executed with more thought or judicious consideration, maybe I'm being too generous in my assessment. We get what we came for and 'Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl' never pretends to be anything that it's not. I just also see how it could have been readily improved: probably by more fully leaning into the unmistakable inspiration and predilection for tangible creations that we see from Jackson (in his early years), Brian Yuzna, or especially Stuart Gordon; possibly by giving it treatment not as a "live-action" movie, but instead as a gnarly anime in which anything and everything would have been more feasible; but almost certainly not by mixing the bottom-dollar CGI, green screen artificiality, and production values with the extravagant practical effects and special makeup, and with the unfettered cartoonishness that so much of the endeavor represents. It's okay, when all is said and done, but overbearing, and the problem is that it could have been fantastic. Alas. Don't go out of your way for this, and be well aware of the nature of what you're getting into, but if nothing I've noted has set off your alarm bells, then maybe 'Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl' is just the lark you want for a lazy day.

There's some good, some bad, and a lot of ugly to be found in Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. The ugliness is the point. It's trashy and obscenely gory and all made in very bad taste. Well, the bad taste kind of leads to the bad, actually. I think it went a little far in being provocative with some side characters, and some of its humor would be the kind some might excuse teenagers making (then again, maybe not), but it's just kind of sad to see a film made by adults go there. The tiniest amount of slack can be cut for the bad taste being the point, but still, there are barriers here some won't overcome. I half thought about not going on with it, even though the opening scene was incredible.

The final act kind of justifies the heinous stuff. It doesn't justify that stuff well, but there's something approaching a point to it all. And the final act is fun in a similar way to the opening scene. It delivers on showing a fight between Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (over a boy they both love, at that); that can't be denied. Seeing the assistants of the monsters get their own fight was fun, too. It would be funny to travel back in time and screen this in the 1930s or '40s, to a crowd of people expecting a Universal Monsters versus movie, just to see how people would react (and count how many people would pass out).

Probably don't watch this, if you're most people. It's almost kind of good in so far as delivering what it promises in the title, and for having some genuinely insane stuff. The gory violence is wild, and some of the monster designs are quite impressive. I think some of this film is awful, but some of it's quite funny and entertaining. Enter at your own risk.

And then some. This movie is definitely not something for the faint hearted. It also is not politically correct and some might call it on some racism issues (especially how Africans are depicted in this movie). But that wouldn't be what this movie is about. It makes fun of everything it gets it's hands on (even suicide gets a "stab", no pun intended).

And this will define, how much you dis/like the movie. Can you handle all that craziness or do you want your movies more straight forward? If you are one of the latter kind, you shouldn't really watch this movie or at least not expect too much from it. Some crazy ideas and almost entirely over the top, this is made for fans of Machine Girl and other recent Japanese Horror fare/thrillers (or those who are on the verge of becoming one)