Director: Takashi Miike
Year: 2015
Country: Japan/France
Alternate Titles: Gokudô daisenso
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Joining a ruthless yakuza gang, a man finds that his boss has incurred the wrath of a former associate who wants him back in the gang and tries to kill him, only instead causing his boss to bestow vampiric powers to the guy and causes him to set out to take down the group in vengeance for his boss.
Review:
For the most part, this was an incredibly fun genre effort. One of the film's best aspects here is the way in which this one manages to mix together the best elements of his past work into one singular work. From the very start, we're plunged into a prototypical mileu with the opening scene showing the rival gangs at war is a perfect drop into this story, as the hand-to-hand and weapon-filled fighting is a brutal, dynamic sequence filled with great bloodshed during the battle. With the focus on the relationships between the yakuza members, especially the hazing over his skin condition that the other members went through, brings out a sentimentality to the gang that is usually featured in his work. Throwing in the oddball comedy from time-to-time, such as the meetings between bosses that are conducted while they're all knitting sweaters or meeting up with the Kappa-like member of the group which just speaks of his quirkiness and sense of humor.
After that, the film manages a lot of enjoyable straightforward horror elements. With the concept of the vampire running around turning innocent civilians into vampires after being bitten, there's some solid work on display here with the first scenes of the couple stumbling upon the crime scene being bitten and themselves turning the other witnesses into vampires or the later fun of the vampires running amuck in the community abusing their authority. The outrage caused by them as well as the rampage caused by the suddenly-in-control vampires running over the Yakuza there to hassle them down not only gives this some nice laughs as well but gives this some great gore effects and martial arts action. The main fights allow for a nice extra inclusion of action as well due to the hard-hitting, bone-breaking fights mixed alongside, really giving this a lot to enjoy.
As is typical for a Miike film, we have a colorful assortment of characters here even if they fall short of the memorable characters from his past. Lead Hayato Ichihara as Kagemara who ends up becoming a vampire does a decent job when he's asked to fight, but beyond the idea of him having sensitive skin preventing him from getting tattooed nothing else is learned or given about who he is. His calm, collected boss Kamiura, played by Lily Frankie, is a fun character being a yakuza member with a sense of ethics only to be dropped from the film way too early on. The main villain Kyoken, played by Indonesian martial arts expert Yayah Ruhian, offers an imposing character who wanders around kicking butt with a backpack full of maps during his fights yet there's not much else to him. That's the main thing with the film, fine characters but not a whole lot really known about them.
Beyond these fun elements, 'Yakuza Apocalypse' has a few minor problematic areas. The main problem here is the overly-long running time that really makes this one far longer than it really should be. The final half is especially guilty of this one flaw, lasting through an over-developed storyline which offers up too many new ideas that aren't necessary. Introducing the concept of beginning a garden in order to grow new civilians in order to replace the ones turned into vampires in the final half of the film is a silly idea that's worthy of being a part of the movie from the beginning yet is dropped into this one at a point where it's not really needed to be included. The idea of a martial artist in a frog costume being brought into the film offers some goofy elements which fits into the tone of the proceedings yet really gives this some extra time that's really not needed. There's not much else to be said here, other than not being a fan of the over-the-top atmosphere being present here.
Overview: ****/5
Despite having a few minor flaws present, there's plenty of other enjoyable elements throughout here which makes the film a highly entertaining entry in the main's discography. Dive right in if you're a fan of his other works or have a strong fascination with the horror/crime hybrids he created in the past, while those who aren't fans of this or find the flaws too overwhelming should heed caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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