Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl

Ah, Japan: last bastion of truly gonzo gorefests. The latest bizarro flick to wash up on our shores is the instantly descriptive Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. Yes, with a self-explanatory title like that there’s little point in reviewing the plot, so let’s get right into the creative ways the directors cooked up the film’s increasingly insane and hilarious comic mutilation.

The movie starts on a high point with Vampire Girl (Yukie Kawamura) facing off against a trio of undead schoolgirls where she skins one of their skulls like she was peeling an orange, then throws it at zombie #2 where it proceeds to latch onto its nose and somehow slowly pulls the skin completely off its head while levitating in mid-air. Zombie 3 eventually ends up skinned as well, leaving Vampire Girl with a neat stack of skulls for a nice foot stomp. And that’s just the opening scene. By the movie’s end, we’ve witnessed Frankenstein Girl (Eri Otoguro) removing one of her own arms to install it on her head as a helicopter rotor, an epic showdown atop and all over Tokyo Tower, and the introduction of innovative vampire powers such as sentient blood that seeks out human hosts and also solidifies into deadly arm blades at will.

Most of the action takes place at a typical Japanese high school, with its requisite girl clubs pumped up to the most extreme of fringe groups that act as warring cliques. The loli-goth club is the most normal, although Frankenstein Girl is eventually created from its deceased leader. The wrist cutter club is a not at all subtle poke at the teen suicide and self-mutilation subculture, with the girls meeting solely to practice their wrist-slashing techniques together. And then there’s the tanning club, the most patently racist thing in a movie in probably the last 50 years unless you understand the culture (and possibly even if you do). These girls take their desire to be black to the furthest extremes, with the darkest tans, huge (and I mean HUGE) noses and lips, afros, and attire. If Oprah ever gets a whiff of this movie it will be permanently banned in the US.

When the school’s resident mad scientist learns of the special powers of Vampire Girl’s blood and finds the host body for Frankenstein Girl, he goes on a whirlwind killing spree to enhance his creation with the best of the school clubs, namely the extremely strong arms of the wrist cutter club girls and the athletic legs of the tanning club girls. There’s also a sex-crazed school nurse and a hellish sumo wrestler along for the ride, as well as an innocent boy student who becomes the object of Vampire Girl’s affections, but for the most part the film is all about the Japanese school girls. It’s wildly creative, well-paced, and ultimately one of the better entries in this peculiar genre to come along in the last few years.

The movie was very loosely based on a comic book of the same name, although apparently the stars never face off against each other in the book. The co-directors liked the comic book cover image and title and basically made everything else up themselves. Those directors are separately famous for such cinematic landmarks as Tokyo Gore Police (Yoshihiro Nishimura) and Zombie Self-Defense Force (Naoyuki Tomomatsu), so they’re operating well within their comfort zones this time around.

Surprisingly, the image quality of this low-budget effort is quite good on Blu-ray, although it maxes out at 1080i instead of 1080p. For a few extra dollars, it’s worth the bump up in quality from DVD. The sound mix is nothing special, but the subs are well done. The extras include footage of a Q&A session with the directors and stars at a theatrical screening, as well as a couple of brief behind the scenes featurettes.

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl is now available on Blu-ray and DVD, just in time for your Halloween viewing needs.

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl on Blogcritics.

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season

Seriously? Another vampire show? Aside from being a blatant attempt to cash in on the inexplicable vampire craze of the last few years, The Vampire Diaries seemed like an ill-advised concept from the start, offering precious little originality in its take on what basically boils down to a supernatural love triangle between a woman and two vampire brothers. Didn’t get your fill of the Twilight books and movies? The many books but shorter seasons of True Blood just aren’t enough to quench your thirst? You don’t get BBC America so you’re shut out of Being Human? You’re too young to have watched Angel? If so, you’re the target demographic. Me, not so much, which is why I flatly boycotted this show during its first season tv broadcasts, but based on good reviews from a couple of co-workers who should know better, I forged ahead with a full season marathon thanks to the new Blu-ray box set.

The show’s weak stab at a differentiator is its focus on high school characters, adding teen drama to the vampire theme. That makes it a good fit amongst its similarly-aged CW neighbors such as Gossip Girl and 90210, but doesn’t add much to the concept. The show also marks the return of Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson to a teen-centric series, although he admits in a bonus feature that he consciously molded these characters far from the wise beyond their years Dawson’s gang, so as a result there’s not much noticeable trace of his previously distinctive stamp to be found. Instead, we’re left with a group of very pretty, humorless, and not particularly intelligent people grappling with the impact of vampirism on their lives and afterlives.

Regrettably, after watching all 22 season one episodes I can report that my initial misgiving was spot on. My wife, normally a genre tv junkie, gave up after about six episodes, finding the proceedings entirely too melodramatic and sappy (not her exact colorful term). These sexy kids mope around their small town pursuing typical high school activities and occasionally find themselves in some minor supernatural peril, but that peril never boils over into drama compelling enough to warrant continued viewing. The plot moves quickly, frequently bounces back into the past to add some historical impact to the love triangle, and has no qualms about summarily introducing and dispatching characters, and yet I found myself frequently struggling to care enough to stay awake even within my normal viewing hours. You’d think a show with vampires and witches could produce some fantastic situations brimming with suspense and excitement, but instead we’re mostly left with emo wusses going through the motions of their small town high school lives with brief supernatural interruptions. Also, the music is mostly terrible, with a soap opera score and unappealing pop rock tracks from minor acts that overshadow and ruin any forward momentum the plot may have managed. After hearing two weak modern covers of classic 80s new wave songs within the span of the first three episodes, my wife had already mostly checked out.

I will readily admit that Nina Dobrev is an inspired choice for the lead actress, although apparently that choice caused great dismay among fans of the novels based on the literary character’s frequently mentioned blonde hair and Dobrev’s brunette mane. It’s a delight to watch her develop her skills throughout the season, especially given her relatively young age that almost lets her legitimately pass as a high school student. As for the vampire brothers, I’m sure they’re not hard on the eyes but they didn’t do much for me. Ian Somerhalder gets to show much more range than his stint on Lost, but I never really buy him as a slimy antagonist no matter how many smirks he employs. Paul Wesley just seems like a boring cardboard cutout as the stoic brother fighting to keep his blood lust in check while also pining for Dobrev’s character, although he finally gets to emote a bit in the final episodes of the season.

The series is crammed onto four Blu-ray discs, so those who like to blaze through a disc at a time are in for a 4 ½ hour marathon per disc. Each of the first three discs contains a few deleted scenes relevant to the episodes on those discs, while disc four (with only four episodes) also houses other bonus featurettes where the cast and producers mostly talk about how awesome it is to work with everyone else. My favorite bonus was the inclusion of the original casting footage, showing the actors in their pre-fame state struggling for their eventual roles. The bonus features also include a few webisodes and a seemingly out of place gag reel. Thankfully, the show doesn’t scrimp on its production quality so the Blu image absolutely sparkles, with any given still pristine enough to be suitable for framing. The sound mix is right in line with what one would expect…if you can get past the “music”.

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season is now available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download.

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season on Blogcritics.

True Blood: The Complete Second Season

The sleepy, swampy town of Bon Temps, LA, gets a fresh infusion of weirdness in season two of True Blood. Sure, the vampires and werewolf are still there, but this time around a fanatical church has set up shop with the aim of eliminating the vampire threat by any means necessary. That doesn’t mean the humans are any safer, since the town also get visited by a near-immortal succubus-type creature who works her way into the community as a brainwashing party starter coercing the citizens to do her bidding while also throwing all of their inhibitions and clothes out the window.

The second season also continues its exploration of the central romance between Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and Vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer), but the subplots and supporting character focuses completely change from season one, making the show feel entirely new. Where season one got lots of mileage out of flamboyantly gay cook Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) and Sookie’s brassy, sassy best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley), season two finds both of them almost completely toothless, with Lafayette captive, unglamorous and scared in the early episodes and Tara brainwashed in love all season. While it’s really a shame to see them so underutilized and out of character, it opens the show to fresh directions rather than falling into a total rut.

Sookie’s dimwit brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) still gets to burn up screen time with his comedic antics, this time in service to the church, while Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) continues his shape-shifting second life, but there’s a void in the previous supporting framework that gets filled by the arrival of prime baddie Maryann Forrester (Michelle Forbes) and the towering emergence of returning season one character Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard), a vampire rival for Sookie’s affections. Out of all the characters and subplots fighting for attention in this heady gumbo, Skarsgard’s Eric rises to the top as the most fascinating of all, making this season a truly star-making turn for him.

The True Blood DVD box set includes all 12 season two episodes along with a couple of bonus features that expand on the mythology of the show. “Fellowship of the Sun: Reflections of Light” gives viewers more insight into rules to live by from the fictional church leaders Steve and Sarah Newlin, while “The Vampire Report: Special Edition” is a faux news magazine that spotlights the year’s top stories in vampire culture. The box set also includes audio commentaries with cast and crew including creator Alan Ball, Paquin, Moyer, and Skarsgard.

True Blood: The Complete Second Season is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download on May 25th, 2010.

Article first published as DVD Review: True Blood: The Complete Second Season on Blogcritics.org.

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True Blood: The Complete First Season

True Blood creator Alan Ball is no stranger to HBO, having previously crafted the moderately successful series Six Feet Under. While that series handled some fairly weighty material at times, par for the course in its funeral parlor setting, his latest offering is a pop confection that is firmly focused on entertainment, not intellectual stimulation. It’s also riding the wave of the current vampire boom ignited by the Twilight book series and movie, as well as its own source book series by author Charlaine Harris, but don’t hold that against him.

The series follows the denizens of a Louisiana backwater as they come to terms with the public emergence of vampires as ordinary citizens. These vampires want rights, seeking to be treated no differently than their human counterparts with the ability to date and marry humans, vote, move freely in public, etc. This generates conflict in the community as the humans pick their side, with the majority coming down firmly against the vamps. The story is nothing new, bearing blatantly obvious overtones of the civil rights and gay rights movements as well as parallels to other fictional works such as Marvel’s X-Men comic book saga. The vampire theme is also overused and long in the tooth, so to speak, but the creators stir in enough fresh blood to give viewers sufficient reason to keep coming back for another serving.

The main plot revolves around Civil War-era vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) and his budding relationship with human empath Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin). He’s a Southern gentleman, she’s a sweet girl who loves the fact that she can’t hear his thoughts, and together they attempt to define their relationship while navigating the court of public opinion. To add a romantic triangle, Sookie’s boss Sam also has deep feelings for her and deep feelings against Bill, but he’s not exactly what he seems. There’s also a season-long arc regarding a mystery serial killer in their midst, and while its resolution is nothing special, it does give the characters added friction as they explore their feelings.

As Sookie bounces back and forth between her paramours throughout the season, their supporting characters also get significant exposure, primarily Sookie’s prickly best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley), their flamboyantly gay co-worker Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), and Sookie’s gonzo brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Kwanten in particular gives the show a welcome jolt as a lovable dumb jock who gets in one comedic mess after another, usually at the expense of his character’s dignity, similar to Stifler in the American Pie movies. Aside from these three characters, the rest of the supporting cast is uniformly unremarkable during season one.

The True Blood DVD box set includes all 12 season one episodes spread across five discs. Special features include six audio commentaries with cast and crew, a faux documentary examining the integration of vampires into the human world, “Tru Blood” beverage ads extolling the wonders of the synthetic blood imbibed by discerning vamps in the show, Public Service Ads by the human coalitions on both side of the Vampire Rights Amendment debate, as well as vampire-centric product ads for a variety of essential goods and services.

True Blood: The Complete First Season is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download on May 19th, 2009.