Onechanbara: The Movie

I write this review 5 minutes after watching the movie, because I'm not sure I'll remember much about it in a few hours except there was a chick with a katana. Aya is on the hunt for her sister (who helped killing their father) and Doctor Sugita who created hordes of zombies. Helped by another lady with a gun, they are mowing down the zombies and then face the above mentioned for revenge - nobody could come up with a more simple story line. It wouldn't be much for a manga you could read in 30 minutes, but it is very little to fill 90 minutes of a movie. No surprise it feels a bit stretched, some fights are lasting too long.

Fortunately, it looks really good at least. I liked the digitally enhanced flash of the blade which was very comic-strip like, the little (also digitally painted) blood drops on the camera lens, the well placed flashbacks and slow motion shots, such as the moment when the girl in the white dress is shot, you see the cloud of smoke - and then, already the zombies in the background come nearer. Due to its clever style, it's fun to watch once, but regrettably not the kind of cult flick you'd want to see again and again.

This is probably another case of the description being better than the movie, but not for lack of trying. Chanbara Beauty is a video game adaptation of OneChanbara and another entry in the latest trend of Japanese over-the-top action/horror hybrids. If it's a win as a VG adaptation that has more to do with how low the likes of Uwe Boll and Paul WS Anderson have set the bar in the VG field than how inherently good Chanbara Beauty is.

The plot is thinly stretched and silly, with various subplots filling in the backstory of the characters. Not that it matters really cos it's all about the bikini splatter here, right? Sure the movie delivers lots of katana splatter as dozens of zombie extras in crude makeup get hacked and slashed, but everything is so CGI heavy it takes some getting used to. The action scenes are reeking of video effects: CGI blood, gun flashes, smoke, fast forwards and all kinds of live action anime silly SFX. There's probably some wire work involved as well and the choreography and swordfighting is surprisingly decent.

Chanbara Beauty is bursting apart in the seams but it's entertaining enough to warrant a view for exploitation hounds. If you can stomach the cheapo video SFX (which are becoming a staple in Japanese flicks lately), you'll probably have a good time, but not without a yawn or two in the middle. It plays like a less gory, less insane, less action-packed, less well-made version of The Machine Girl but if you want your fix of Japanese action/horror exploitation this one's OK I guess.

UK title - Chanbara Beauty. Japanese adaptation of a video game, that I am totally unfamiliar worth. Eri Otoguro plays Aya, a very sexy, scantily clad zombie killer who is pretty good with her sword. She has a sidekick in a comic fat guy. They team up with another hot, mysterious chick called Reiko and take on the evil Dr Sugito and his horde of zombies whilst searching for Aya's sister Saki (who is also pretty handy with a sword). As a zombie flick this is lame. The over the top, far fetched action is non stop but the special effects are pretty poor, not helped by poor lighting. The plot between Aya and Saki is the more interesting part of this movie, which culminates in a big showdown. The only really good thing about this film is Aya. She sure looks good doing her stuff and for that reason alone it may be worth a glance.

For a low budget horror / girl-buddy road picture, with two pretty girls taking on zombie hordes, this could have been worse. The budget was well used, and the camera-work was enthusiastic and imaginative, including an effect where blood spatter would appear to land on the lens. The effects were below the standard of something like Tokyo Gore Police, but good enough to convince and the massed Zombie attacks actually got more elaborate as the movie went on, as if the director got more confident with his action scene staging. The actress playing the central role of the bikini wearing samurai, Eri Otoguro, is a cipher. She handles the action well enough but gives nothing in the way of a performance beyond the occasional stern look, which frankly comes off looking more confused than anything else. The secondary lead, Manami Hashimoto as a leather clad, shotgun-toting bad girl, is an older and obviously more competent actress, and she actually winds up carrying the middle part of the picture. Very watchable, but like all Japanese ultra-violence, this one is not for the squeamish.

First of all, I don't know the game it is based on but just like Final Fantasy The Movie this is really a weird film. Weird isn't maybe the correct word. It contains to many effects like in games, she moves ultra fast and her sword gives her some kind of strong ability. That she moves in the air and so I don't mind that's typical Eastern. But it just didn't work out for me. Just have a look at her arm, she has a rose tattoo but you can easily see that it was that kind of tattoo that's being given in a surprise egg and you have to add with water. But not only that, some zombies look ridiculous, you just see that they have put black make-up around there eyes. Some zombies do look fine and are doing gory stuff (the one that's eating from a corpse) but most effects are pure CGI, even the gun shots are CGI and that was a let down for me. Of course the movie has to do it with the leading ladies and I must say, they all look gorgeous and sexy (leather suit and bikini's). It could have been really good but as most stories based on comics or games the fail to deliver some goods. Just have a look at the fight at the end, it's too long. Not my cup of tea, still I have to see part 2.