Death Trance (2005)

Truly the worst movie I've ever seen in a theater

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

When I read some of the other reviews for this film, I was quite excited to see this. It turns out this is probably the most abrupt about-face I've ever taken on a movie. My Beef with the crap-fest that is Death Trance:1. I love Asian movies but I hate Anime. The themes are always absurdly sensational and even downright kinky. This movie seems like it was written after an anime or maybe with a particular manga in mind. It has everything in common with anime from the extreme focus on visual appearance to the unreasonable number of static face shots. I'm looking down but up through my eyebrows while my head is tilted cockily to the side. Aren't I a bad*ss now?2. No. Despite the movie being listed under action, there is little or no real tangible action. Granted I'm a Jackie Chan fan so I"m used to seeing actual stunts and solid blows. Death Trance is full of action scenes where most of the time is spent in build up and aftermath. It's obvious how fake the fighting is. The "heroes" show minimal almost pitiful athleticism. Some parts of the fight don't even make it onto the screen when they pull stunts like "look at my face while I kill a guy" instead of "look at me kill a guy" and the classic "it was so fast even the audience couldn't see it" when the killing blow turns into a simple 2 frames; before and after.3. The main characters are simply obnoxious to look at. They are also completely unlikeable. On top of that they are almost never dynamic and never properly introduced. One of the characters has a heat seeking rocket launcher out of nowhere and we're supposed to think "How cool!" and not ask any questions like "who makes a point of carrying around a rocket launcher anyway? And in Old times magical Japan too, when everyone is using katanas still. Today a man with a rocket launcher is a terrorist or something. In the movie's setting though, it would make him Satan himself or something. This same character has God's Final Insult of a mullet. Hate it. The other hero has robes that part to show his inner upper thigh, hairless and smooth. If I'm gonna see man flesh I want it to be hairy and muscular like in 300 dammit. The third character seems to be a complete wuss in comparison because he doesn't fight, and the other 2 are eager to kill everyone in earshot of their meager "hiyaah!"s. I could not force myself to watch too far in, but judging by the first 20 minutes, the middle and end can't have been that great. Overall the highest quality went into the makeup and costumes and props. The acting was bad. The action was bad. The story was bad. Personally I'm not even into Gothic styles and all the black and white color themes grew very tiring. So even though the makeup and costumes were good, they were bad. For someone without my anti-anime bias and an open mind: 3 out of 10 Me: 1 out of 10 For those who cream themselves about anything and everything Japanese: 5 out of 10. Princess Blade and Versus were also bad but way better than this.

Phew. Well, most westerners think the same - "this movie has no plot!" But if you're into metal/heavy metal/dethklock etc ... then it's a no brainer you'll love this flick. As for me I liked it enough to give it a 10 rating b/c I could see the attention to detail given every costume as well as sound-track and location. Add to that the amazing special effects, choreography, and _beautiful_ photography as well and I had to give this a 10.Now as for the plot, what I can gather is that this is post-apocalyptic; this is fantasy; this is about (Japanese) gods and demons; ... and a coffin. The rumor is that the coffin will grant you any thing for which you ask - if you open it in the western forest. BUT the truth is very different. So the first guy steals it and sets off to open it; then he is chased after by the last monk who survived the slaughter at the temple. (Now this slaughter is weird b/c all the other fights are bloodless ... all punching and bashing with clubs ... did John Carpenter leave the building?) Then another guys shows up and chases the guy with the coffin for himself and his own interest (he's carrying a doll tied to his belt). Finally a third character shows up who can whip the snot out of everyone in the room. She is the one who helps the viewer understand about the special sword. The monk is carrying the special sword - a sword that only the chosen one (chosen by the sword) can use... why? B/c your wish ain't what's waiting for you when you open the coffin in the western forest after you get through the (secret secluded hidden mysterious) gate - opened by none other than a character who seems to have no point ... but she's always there. So just b/c the story wasn't that interesting to me I wasn't going to reduce its rating - it's definitely a 10 and a bit of a rough ride for those not use to Japanese story telling.-LD_________________________________________________my faith: http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/jbc33/

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 ;)

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.