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Death Trance
- Genre: PostApoc - Martial Arts
- Release Year: 2005
- Director: Yûji Shimomura
- Writer: Chiba, Fujita, Kato, Shimomura
- Running Time: 90min
- Rating: R (violence, strange girls)
- Reviewed by: harbinger on Thu 27 Sep 07
Official Blurb:
In an unknown place and unknown time, a master Samurai known only by the name of Grave (Tak Sakaguchi) searches for the ultimate battle. Never showing fear for any fight, Grave is the one and only swordsman able to steal the mysterious and legendary coffin from the holy Tougan Temple. In this world without reason, a young girl from the temple grounds follows Grave and the coffin wherever they may go.
And so begins the deadly race to re-capture the coffin and its hidden power from Grave for good or evil.
Review:
In a time and place that is unspecified, people scour around much like in midevil Japan, however there is evidence of a more sophisticated time.. it's pretty obvious in the guns many of the people have, a motorcycle used in a fight scene, and the village that has assorted modern day chemistry equipment, and the almost silly-in-size portable bazooka used by one of the characters.
The Tougan temple has the thing of legend that everyone would like to get thier hands on. A coffin rumoured to grant the wish of the person that opens it. The catch is it has to be opened in a land fairly far away. One man, Grave (Tak Sakaguchi), alone has been able to defeat the monks that entomb in stone those that have tried in the past and take the coffin from the temple.
Ryuen (Takamasa Suga) is the lone monk that returns soon after Grave takes the coffin is charged by the dying Archbishop to stop the opening of the coffin at any cost, as what the people popularly believe is far from the truth of what happens should it be opened. Given to him on his quest is a strange sword that only the chosen one may unsheathe.
On the way, Ryuen is waylaid by bandits, one of whom has an eye-patch.. as in a eye-patch that is made from an eye, and another whom has a humongous sword. Unfortunately for Yuri, the monks are pacifists by nature.. fortunately for him, he's saved by a fohawk/pomador/mulleted-hair Sid (played by Kentaro Seagal. you might recognize the last name.. you should, it's Steven's son.. but don't worry, he's a much better actor). Sid is also looking for the coffin man for his own reasons.
... ANNDDD.. one last protagonist (that'll make a total of 4). The strange and mysterious woman, Yuri ( Yûki Takeuchi ). You don't get to find out her motives still much later in the story, so I'll refrain from telling you why she's lurking around the coffin.
The story follows these 4 players as they follow, and sometimes lead with, the coffin through various locales on the way to the place it can be opened. Regardless of who leads, a strange little girl follows the coffin, oblivious to the fact of the fighting that takes place around it. Once the secret of the coffin is revealed in the story, you can pretty easily identify roughly her role in the story.
It's a live-action post-apoc in a Japanese semi-manga style movie, but not like Akira or anything of the sort. If you liked Six String Samurai, I think you'll like this movie. If you've seen the Japanese semi-zombie movie Versus (also by the same director), you might also enjoy this film.
The version of the DVD I had came default with English voice overs, which were not to terrible. If you like subtitles, you can also watch it with the original Japanese voice track.
The Good and the Bad
The Good:
- It's semi-over-the-top wire-work sword-and-fist fun
- It has some good cinematography, and some great looking scenes. There was the thought of art that went into this, but don't worry, it's not here to beat you over the head with it.
The Bad:
- Sometimes the silly was a bit much. You learn quickly to ignore Grave's hungry pangs.
- If you don't like wire-work rich martial arts movies, stay away!
- I wanted a bit more modern relics in it.. It would have been fairly easy to substitute out all of the modern equipment for feudal japan versions if they wanted to. Don't expect to see junked out cars or oil pumps like in a Mad Max movie.
- Heavy-Metal-esque sound track.. I just don't like heavy guitar work in movies in general.
Rating:
- Genre Feel: 2
- Acting: 4
- Effects: 4
- Production Quality: 5
Final Scoring:
3.7 MegaTons of a possible
5 MegaTons
Personal Recommendation: Check it out when you get the time. If you liked Six String Samurai or Versus, you should definitely like this one. If you don't like wire-work Martial Arts, avoid!
Availablity:
DVD has English dub or Japanese Dub with English Subtitles
Netflix Amazon
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