Strange things are happening in Japan. A calf is born with a human head that bellows, "Evil is coming!" Children are disappearing and terrifying beasts made of rusty machine parts are attacking people under the direction of a sinister mistress (Chiaki Kuriyama, a.k.a. Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill Vol.1). At a rural shrine festival in the middle of this chaos, young Tadashi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is picked to assume the role of the Kirin Rider, a mythic figure meant to claim a legendary sword guarded by the Great Goblin, who dwells in the local mountain. Proving his courage, Tadashi ventures up the mountain at last and discovers that it is the home of the Yokai, who are only visible to the young man, thanks to his new status. It turns out that the wave of villainy is not the work of the Yokai, but of a dark overlord who preys on the ghosts and goblins themselves. The Yokai enlist Tadashi to help save Japan from a demonic apocalypse.
The Kappa. The Snake-Necked Woman. The Umbrella Monster. The Great Head. The Two-Faced Woman. These grotesque creatures are fixtures of ancient folklore that have found new life in Japanese pop culture via television, comic books, toys and a cycle of films in the sixties. Who has the best credentials to direct the monstrosities of the Yokai's big-screen return? Japan's master of mayhem, Takashi Miike.
In his most lavish production to date, Miike breathes new life into old spooks. Following last year's Zebraman, The Great Yokai War may be his most family-friendly film yet. The film's hallucinatory, deranged fantasy is reminiscent of H.R. Pufnstuf - but for the spurting bodily fluids and mechanized robots with chainsaw arms that threaten little children. This film is just the vehicle for inducing nightmares in a North American matinee crowd, and a dream come true for Miike's cult of Midnight Madness fanatics.
- NTSC Region 1
- 2 Disc SE
- Japanese DD 5.1 with English Subtitles
- Optional English DD 5.1 Dubbed Track
- Anamorphic Widescreen
- Two Short "Yokai" Adventures - ‘Whose hotcakes are these?” and “Who is the most annoying"
- Making of Featurettes
- Documentary of the Yokai World
- Announcement of the film completion
- Documentary of Ryunosuke Kamiki
- A Summer Vacation of Ryunosuke Kamiki
- The Great Yokai War (40m)
- Interviews with the cast (50m)
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