Death Trance

I personally enjoyed this movie a lot. The best way to look at it is to go in with expectations of watching something basically the same as Versus. Don't expect some great story, because its non-too deep, however it does keep you entertained and interested. The action scenes are once again amazing, thanks to Tak and Yuji, both great at what they do. Any major fan of Tak will love this movie. Also, I have to say the ending is quite entertaining and original. Plus the soundtrack adds a good affect, since its pretty much ALL Dir en grey songs. It includes the new single "CLEVER SLEAZOID" by them, which goes along very great with the film. In all, any fan of Kitamura or fans of Asian cinema should enjoy this film, if only for a fun flick.

The hero drags a coffin behind him, an overwhelming number of enemies attack him, but only when the coffin is opened, hell really breaks loose... sounds like the summary for "Django" with Franco Nero, but actually it's "Death Trance" with Tak Sakaguchi. This rare coffin motif is something that will make you remember a movie which otherwise is fun, but not outstanding. Lots of fight scenes in a fantasy world where sticks and swords meet guns, motor bikes and an ultra-cool rocket launcher. Calling it a "historical costume movie" as its star did in an interview is not quite true, but few in the audience will care about history as long as it is fun. And it sometimes really is, e.g. when Grave (Sakaguchi) enters a "saloon" followed by a maybe 6 year old girl, orders a big glass of milk for himself - while the child drinks a whiskey. Or when Grave kills vampires by biting their necks in turn. No grave yet for Grave. Don't expect a masterpiece as "Death Trance" hasn't got the depth. Still worth a look if you like such kind of things.

So what can I say about Death Trance, personally I loved it. I am huge fan of anime and most importantly of the final fantasy series and to see someone have the balls to pull off this sort of genre is a statement in itself. Unfortunately we do get the bad apples like "ultraviolet". The overall story is comprehensible to a certain point, only real problem I see was there was not enough back story to support what is going on. It's like being kidnapped and strapped onto a roller-coaster with a blind fold on, you know what's going on around you but you're not exactly sure how you even got there in the first place. Tak Sakaguchi does well as Grave, his demeanor suited this character more so than his counter part in "versus". The supporting cast do a great job of filling the void of this somewhat empty world and in typical Sakaguchi fashion the fight scenes can be somewhat lengthy. But seriously seeing a lone samurai smacking the crap out of Zombies with a stick in a forest full of vampiric spidermen is just classic. The heavy metal music sets the mood for the battles and fit in perfectly. It's not the greatest movie in the world but I guarantee you play this at a party and people will have their eyes glued. Death Trance's special fx is without doubt AMAZING, no ands ifs or buts. If the lack of story is what hinders the movie, the SFX more than make up for that. If you're looking to run through a quick final fantasy-esquire like story then rent it at blockbuster. If you really like it then keep it and pay the rest. That's what I'm doing, this is definitely a good "unknown" movie to pull out on your friends. Overall I dig this movie, they stepped out and tried something new with this movie and I think they pull it off nicely.

9/10

and that's the final word.

I have seen a lot of Asian films and understand that genres get mixed together a lot. But this one takes the cake. Think of putting in John Woo, Billy Idol (!), Wuxia, Kiss Me Deadly, Hellraiser, Evil Dead 2, and Mad Max into a blender and add in a heavy metal soundtrack, and this will give you just some idea of this movie.

This is directed by the person who did the fight scenes from Versus and it shows. Almost all of the fight scenes take place in a forest. Hmmm..

interesting is that there is very little bloodshed. A lot of fighting with the blunt edge of the sword!! Not sure why this was done except to cut back on some special effects.

Saw it's Southeast premiere and the audience seemed to really enjoy it too. Lots of 'ooh', laughter and clapping.. Can't remember the last time I remember that in a theater.

Forget the plot (what little there is), and marvel and sheer audacity of some of these scenes. Very enjoyable, very 'cool' and in some cases, very very funny. Just don't expect anything meaningful.

I think this movie was really great. First of all, unlike the previous comment, I love both Versus and Death Trance. Unlike him I realize Death Trance is NOT Versus 2, it is a completely different movie with its own plot, which I found highly interesting. Both are action movies and both contain unique plots, but in Death Trance there is not nearly as much gore.

The thing that hooked me was the visuals of this movie. It is highly stylized. The costumes especially are amazing. And yes, there is also a ton of action but not much gore, which I guess if that is all you are looking for don't check this movie out.

I really don't want to give anything away because I think it is definitely worth checking out. So if you like an interesting story line, some over-the-top action (minus ungodly amounts of blood), amazing visuals, an obscenely awesome soundtrack (it's all Dir en Grey-good stuff), and one hardcore actor (haha, what can I say, Tak Sakaguchi is bad ass) then you should probably get a hold of this film. enjoy ;)