Gôsuto sukuwaddo

Because this is hands down the worst movie ever made by Noboru Iguchi, worst even than Robogeisha. Take all that makes the works of this director a joy to watch (namely the stunning action sequences, the gore and the imagination), remove and replace it with the same soap-opera crap that was present in Robogeisha and with amateurish, snooze-inducing action sequences not even worth a cinematography student's project and you have the perfect recipe for failure. The only interesting element of this I see is that the subject of women being raped is finally treated with the due respect and seriousness and not in the usual over-the-top japanese way, albeit in the frame of some lesbian and fanservice innuendos. Unfortunately, albeit I applaude the stronger maturity of Noboru in that sense, this does not make things better overall. I'd honestly rewatch Robogeisha more happily than ever touch this thing ever again.

Yes, it's low budget, and the acting is just adequate, but it is sort of fun. There is a lot of comedy, but it does contain some serious subject matter, that isn't graphic but does touch on some stuff that might affect some people negatively, so there is your trigger warning. What is graphic is the gore, it is not too bad, but it might be something you don't want to see, most of it is at the end.

Just when you think you have a handle on the rules, something changes, which is probably a good thing, you never know what to expect. The girls are made up in white make up to appear as ghosts and have blood trails on their faces which sometimes change places. It does help you imagine that they are ghosts.

The movie is at least 15 minutes too long, and you can tell where they stretched out some scenes. They also spent more on special effects than on scenery, the special effects are good though.

This movie is enjoyable, it is weird and fun.

(there should be a trigger warning for those who might be affected by the serious subject matter and the gore)

At first, he was director for porns.

Then, he was director for movies which are so weird that you have to ask: "Was it made on drugs?" I mean movies like Dead Sushi, Zombie Ass or Robo Geisha. But then came Ghost Squad and I'm impressed how improved Iguchi's work is. Sure, some widget moments here and there has this film, too, but it's far more serious than his previous works and some scenes are real heartwretching tearjerkers, which you wouldn't expect from this man who is known for crazy stuff like the aformentioned films.

As an Iguchi-fan, I'm accustomed to his narmy, absurdly, funny, silly and over-the-top "art", but here, he is able to show that he can make me not only laughing, but also dealing with more emotional topics.

I'm surprised. Should this be a great step for Iguchi's career as director or will he go back to Sukeban Boy?

I tend to love this director's work, but it usually works so well because the whole thing is over the top craziness. Here we have this ultra serious plot, which grinds gears hard when we get to things like the "baby gun" Neither part is bad, they just don't mesh well.

Initially I must admit that I had expected a tad more from "Ghost Squad" (aka "Gôsuto sukuwaddo") than what I ended up watching on the screen.

With that being said, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that "Ghost Squad" is a bad movie. It was entertaining enough for what it was, but it wasn't a particularly outstanding movie in the Japanese cinema.

The characters in the movie were for the most parts actually funny enough, but they weren't really given enough space to unfold themselves, given the limitations of the script and storyline.

As for the acting in the movie, well it was adequate. Especially when taking into consideration the type of movie that "Ghost Squad" is. Don't expect any outstanding award-winning performances here, though.

"Ghost Squad" is crammed with odd humor and weird effects, that is often seen in Japanese movies of this type. And it can be somewhat of an acquired taste, either you like it or you don't. Luckily I do like it.

However, there was just something missing from "Ghost Squad" to lift it up and out of the mediocre gutter. I can't really put my finger on what it was, but there was just something crucial missing from this movie. And as such, my rating of "Ghost Squad" lands on a very bland five out of ten stars.

"Ghost Squad" doesn't really have the contents to support a second viewing.