Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare (1968)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good concept, poorly executed.

good back-story, and good acting

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Yokai Daisenso is a peculiar funny movie about an old vampire and the brave Japanese monsters. The vampire is woken up by treasure hunters, goes to Japan, kills a wealthy man and takes his form. But he needs fresh blood regularly and the Japanese monsters who live peacefully there, not disturbing the people, unite forces and fight the vampire. This movie is recommended for the lovers of the weird, funny movies and everybody who likes the old horror movies. Yokai Daisenso is not entirely a horror movie, because it's not only funny because it's old but it also contains ironic elements, for example the Japanese monsters look up the existence of a vampire (who came from Afrika) in a picture book which contains every ordinary Japanese monster/ghost. I give it 9 points out of 10 with the comment that people who - after reading this - know that they wouldn't like this movie, shouldn't watch and vote it.

When the Babylonian evil known as Daimon (Daemon) is unearthed from his underground crypt, he begins his reign of terror by traveling to feudal Japan to conquer its people. Standing in his way is a veritable army of strange and bizarre Japanese "Yokai" (ghosts) each with unique personalities and supernatural powers. While I liked much of the creature effects for this film, I wasn't too thrilled with the story. Unlike Daiei's "Majin" movies, "Yokai Daisensou" is a bit too comical and goofy for my tastes. There were some genuinely creepy scenes and the gyokaih costumes are inventive and interesting.

As a fan of world mythology and Japanese monsters/legends, this film was right up my alley. The monsters look exactly like they do in the old woodblock prints and watercolor paintings that depict them, and kids will totally dig this (if they have the patience for subtitles).Strangely, the monsters that I'm familiar with from the old stories seem to be pretty friendly in this film. For example, the water demon-a kappa as he's known in Japan-is rather nice, but his type of demon are known for preying on people and horses. They love to eat fresh livers, which they obtain by reaching up the victim's anus and ripping out the tasty organ. Now THAT would have been interesting to see done

A Japanese horror movie that mixes bloody neck biting and comedy-relief ghosts represented by acrobats and little people - reminiscent of the inhabitants of the sixties TV series H.R. PUFNSTUF. I believe this is a sequel to HUNDRED GHOST STORIES as it features many of the same ghosts (e.g. the snake-necked woman and the umbrella ghost). A marvellous vulture-like vampire arrives in ancient Japan and hides in the body of an important land-owner and starts to put the bite on his subjects. The local ghosts are the only ones who know what is truly going on and try to oust the demon. Their efforts lead to a spectacular climax as the demon grows to giant proportions... While the ghosts costumes are unconvincing, one gets used to them, especially when you know they are based on old Japanese legends. The scenes featuring the bad-guy are both fierce and atmospheric - the lighting effects are quite remarkable - and the blood-letting is far too explicit to be aimed at a juvenile audience. But it's well made, fast-moving and a fascinating trip into the mythologies of a different culture than the usual western ghosts and vampires.