For those of you who have been dutifully following the "Teito Monogatari" film series in all it's various incarnations including that ever-so-popular anime "Doomed Megalopolis" (yeah, "lots" of fans), you might be surprised that this last entry in the cinematic series is actually not so much a sequel, but rather a revision of the chronology of the series. Hence the subtitle "Gaiden" denoting it as a separate story independent of the main chronology, and actually taking place in an alternate universe. This final entry was not distributed by Toho, unlike its two predecessors "Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis" and "Teito Taisen". It was directed by Izo Hashimoto, of "Evil Dead Trap 2" fame and is VERY loosely based on another of Hiroshi Aramata's own novels ("Teito Monogatari Gaiden" or "Karakuri Doushin"). Coming from a director like Hashimoto, this is the sleaziest and perhaps goriest entry in the entire series; even sleazier than the infamous anime adaptation (whose content was already bordering on hentai). Endless sex scenes, instances of necrophilia, and even the phallic-headed worm from the anime are all on display in this erotic nightmare. Fancy camera-work and an ever-present aura of blue hue permeate the depressing atmosphere. It's hilarious that the primary antagonist of the series, Yasunori Kato, would next be used in the family fantasy film "The Great Yokai War".
The plot is a rewiring of the ending sections of the first "Teito Monogatari" movie. If you seen "Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis" or the entire "Doomed Megalopolis" OVA series, you should have a solid grounding plot-wise for this film. I can't understand Japanese, and the movie hasn't been subbed, but this is what I've been able to glean: In this universe, Keiko (the valiant shrine maiden) failed to stop Kato. Yoichiro Tatsumiya stopped Kato and ended Masakado's curse by committing seppuku. Depressed (or maybe just lost), Keiko lives the rest of her life in poverty as a homeless person. In 1995, a male nurse who's a necrophiliac working at a Tokyo mental hospital becomes obsessed with Kato's spirit and curse of Masakado. Slowly he becomes possessed by the evil spirit of the demon, who wants to use him as a host for revival. One of the patients of the hospital is Junichi Naru-taki, one of the unfortunate heroes from the first film and the anime. He realizes something evil's afoot and goes to rouse up Keiko and get her to do her priestly duties. There's also the nurse's sex therapist(?) Michiyo Oshima, who's actually a character from the books (a reincarnation of the famous writer Yukio Mishima). She has some spiritual ties to Masakado, but exactly what, I wasn't able to glean. Inevitably, Keiko and nurse-possessed-by-Kato have another battle and the spiritual war starts up again.
This was obviously a low-budget flick, as it has none of the grand sets or Tokusatsu-level SPFX from the previous two movies. We see some explosions and a lot of blood, but that's about it. The sex comes in huge doses and never lets up. I won't rate this movie simply because I'm not a big fan of sleazy exploitation flicks and so I don't want my biased opinion to have any weight on this record. For fans of sleazy cinema and exploitative horror flicks, this is right up your alley. This is more explicit than any of the two movies preceding it or even the notorious anime. You might need a translator as the movie hasn't been subtitled yet, but even without it, there's plenty of grotesque action on display here. It's a well-made pure horror flick which (from what I understand) killed off the "Teito Monogatari" films because it was too, well, nasty. For horror and sleaze fans, that's fine; but anyone familiar with the whole series will know that there's A LOT MORE going on in the story than just sex and gore. Apparently, the producers of this film didn't understand that.
The plot is a rewiring of the ending sections of the first "Teito Monogatari" movie. If you seen "Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis" or the entire "Doomed Megalopolis" OVA series, you should have a solid grounding plot-wise for this film. I can't understand Japanese, and the movie hasn't been subbed, but this is what I've been able to glean: In this universe, Keiko (the valiant shrine maiden) failed to stop Kato. Yoichiro Tatsumiya stopped Kato and ended Masakado's curse by committing seppuku. Depressed (or maybe just lost), Keiko lives the rest of her life in poverty as a homeless person. In 1995, a male nurse who's a necrophiliac working at a Tokyo mental hospital becomes obsessed with Kato's spirit and curse of Masakado. Slowly he becomes possessed by the evil spirit of the demon, who wants to use him as a host for revival. One of the patients of the hospital is Junichi Naru-taki, one of the unfortunate heroes from the first film and the anime. He realizes something evil's afoot and goes to rouse up Keiko and get her to do her priestly duties. There's also the nurse's sex therapist(?) Michiyo Oshima, who's actually a character from the books (a reincarnation of the famous writer Yukio Mishima). She has some spiritual ties to Masakado, but exactly what, I wasn't able to glean. Inevitably, Keiko and nurse-possessed-by-Kato have another battle and the spiritual war starts up again.
This was obviously a low-budget flick, as it has none of the grand sets or Tokusatsu-level SPFX from the previous two movies. We see some explosions and a lot of blood, but that's about it. The sex comes in huge doses and never lets up. I won't rate this movie simply because I'm not a big fan of sleazy exploitation flicks and so I don't want my biased opinion to have any weight on this record. For fans of sleazy cinema and exploitative horror flicks, this is right up your alley. This is more explicit than any of the two movies preceding it or even the notorious anime. You might need a translator as the movie hasn't been subtitled yet, but even without it, there's plenty of grotesque action on display here. It's a well-made pure horror flick which (from what I understand) killed off the "Teito Monogatari" films because it was too, well, nasty. For horror and sleaze fans, that's fine; but anyone familiar with the whole series will know that there's A LOT MORE going on in the story than just sex and gore. Apparently, the producers of this film didn't understand that.
