Dragon Blue (2003)
Mayuko is a feng shui expert who, in a nearly absurd rush of exposition in the first scene of Dragon Blue, discovers that she is the blood heir of the Dragon Clan and a born demon hunter. It's a completely unmotivated but thoroughly spooky encounter between Mayuko and a demonic ghost, and she's saved by an ancient priest spirit who explains her legacy. "Why does this always happen to me?" she ponders before flying off to a remote island to investigate an ancient curse and battle a legendary Sea Demon. Mayuko befriends a burly, chivalrous detective and a little orphan boy nicknamed "the Devil's Child" who hides his own dark secret.
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Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
While "Babe takes on Hideously Deformed and Horny Demon" movies are almost an entire subgenre in the land of the Rising Sun, "Dragon Blue"is a cut or two above the norm. Director Takoya Wada has clearly been influenced by European genre masters like Mario Bava and Lugio Fulchi, learning the most important lesson of suspense films:timing is everything! Rather than focus on piling up the transgressive stuff early, which some Japanese genre directors seem to relish, Waba allows his story to build dramatically. While it is difficult to take a movie about a big blue sea monster who kills men and rapes and kills women altogether seriously,Wada uses the setting (an isolated island far from mainland Japan) well to bring out the normal hopes and fears of the characters. Even the demon is not just a typical heavy,but a sympathetic character who actually represents enlightenment over the superstious villagers who would hunt him down. The young lady who plays the part of the Feng Shi master destined to kill the demon is not only eye candy, but an accomplished actress, turning in a surprisingly understated performance.