Sakuya: The Slayer of Demons (2000)

I bought this as a VCD in Hong Kong for $3 (Hong Kong Dollars), which is about 50 American cents. I can easily say that it was very much worth the money! :-) I thought it would be a Chinese film with bad costumes, but found myself watching a special-effects packed Japanese manga-in-motion flick with lots of cool stuff.It's very nice computer-game-styled story, which is super-simple, but fun to watch. The slow episodes between the action are not at all bad, but instead interesting and even though they don't give the film any depth, they are as well done as the action-scenes since the actors and actresses are very good.I felt like I was watching an Asian version of WILLOW, or maybe a live-action role playing game, but I guess comparisons just don't give this film enough credit.There are really only one down-part (which is major, though!) and that's the silly STAR WARS-inspired "good demons"-dance scene. Fast forward that, and the rest is perfect.I really enjoyed the evil puppet master too, and especially his dolls! 8 of out 10. I was genuinely surprised by the quality!

OK, that was rather vague, but this movie really has the feeling of the "floating world" of ukiyoe paintings. It was the most unusual and striking thing about Sakuya, Slayer of Demons - that a simple fairy tale story would be portrayed in such a beautiful, classy, stylized atmosphere. Despite being a story fit for children, the movie is easily watchable by all ages - the effects are cool, the monsters are very interesting (being from a non-western mythological tradition), and the heroine is tough, stoic, fair and honorable.

It's the year 1707. Mount Fuji erupts to punish mankind's evil behavior. The eruption causes earthquakes and unleashes ancient monsters and demons to wreak havoc. A young girl named Sakuya Sakaki must fight these demons with the help of her magic sword Vortex and two Ninja warriors. They battle various monsters such as a Kappa demon, the ghost-cat, and dark riders until they face the leader of the demons, a giant spider woman...This is an entertaining fantasy movie made by Tomô Haraguchi, Japan's Tom Savini and specialist when it comes to make-up and gory special effects. He also worked on such great films as "Capitol Story" and its sequels, the "All Night Long" series, "Otsuyu", Daiei's new "Gamera" trilogy, and did the bloody special effects for Hitoshi Ozawa's "Kunoichi" films. The movie itself is most of the time harmless fun and shows a variety of classic Japanese monsters such as the Kappa demon (river monster), and the ghost-cat, known as "kaibyô" in Japan. And I especially like the cameo scene where a parade of monsters from Daiei studio's classic "Yôkai" trilogy ("Yôkai hyaku monogatari", "Yôkai daisensô" and "Tôkaidô obake dôchû) shows up - those films included all the monsters from Japanese folklore and legend. And there is "Tetsuo" director Shinya Tsukamoto in a supporting role. The special effects, done by "Gamera" effects maker Shinji Higuchi, are top-notch. Both the miniature work and CGI combine very well. Unfortunately, the story is very, very simple, and the movie is a bit too childish. But it's fun to watch anyway.

This marvellous gem shows how computer graphic FX can be used to make convincing shots that are exciting and artistic too! The opening shots of Mount Fuji erupting are totally spectacular and lead us into the story by way of an entrance to hell being opened. Demons are emerging from the pit and only Sakuya, teenage Slayer of Demons can stop them with her magic sword! It is set in the distant past when all you can fight monsters with is swords and gunpowder. Each of the demons that Sakuya fights takes a different form! As usual the character is based on a popular manga title. It's more exciting than creepy, but the plot certainly keeps up the surprises and demons keep on getting bigger and bigger! The film looks like a Hong Kong action movie but was shot in Japan, which may explain why the wirework in the fight scenes isn't very sophisticated. The FX team for this film have also worked on the fantastic nineties trilogy of GAMERA films (the third of which has to be seen to be believed).