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“Vampire Doll” was released in 1970 at the height of the European Horror boom and on the surface appears to have all the trappings of the Gothic Horror that had been so successful over the proceeding decade by the likes of Hammer. With the movies gaining an audience at the time in Japan, it was perhaps inevitable that this style would be adapted. It was the first of a loose trilogy by Michio Yamamoto who was to follow it up with “Lake of Dracula” in 1971 and “Evil of Dracula” in 1974.

The prologue begins with a raging storm as Sagawa makes his way to the Mansion to meet his fiancé Yuko. Upon arrival, lightning crashes around and the door is answered by the deaf mute Genzo. Greeted by Yuko’s mother, he learns that Yuko has died two weeks ago in a car accident. Staying the night at the mansion,...

John Frankenheimer ended a three year hiatus following his 1979 environmental horror/creature feature Prophecy with a commendable martial-arts effort, The Challenge (1982). Starring Scott Glenn in his first lead performance, the curiosity was co-written by John Sayles and also stars Japanese legend Toshiro Mifune (who had previously appeared in Frankenheimer’s 1966 film, Grand Prix). Though it ultimately proves to be a nonsensical narrative in its clash of East meets West and traditional values threatened by the consumer cravings of the modernized world, some fantastic fight sequences (a pre-fame Steven Seagal served as technical advisor) and superb lensing from famed cinematographer Kozo Okazaki mark the title as worthy of recuperation for its conglomeration of vintage components.

In 1982 Los Angeles, a down and out boxer, Rick Murphy (Glenn) is approached to transport a sacred sword to Kyoto in order to restore it to its rightful owner, a master samurai, Toru Yoshida (Mifune). Apparently,...