I felt that this movie - which I quite enjoyed, let me say - had something of an identity crisis going on. I was aware of its manga / anime origins, and that's what I expected to see.
Well. those origins are here, but so are Japanese horror movies, The Matrix, Blade, Crouching Tiger and a variety of other influences.
Saya is a centuries old vampire with a dose of humanity. She is working with a clandestine agency to wipe out the humongous number of vampires who are knocking around 1970s Japan, because they in turn will arrange access (I'm not sure how) to Onigen, the demon who wiped out her family all those years ago. Wrapped up in this is Alice, the daughter of the local US general who takes a dim view of the agency arriving at his base unannounced to clean up the remains of Saya's extensive vampire slaughtering.
The story is slight but OK. The wire-fu / action sequences are fine. The colour is garish and art direction generally is good. CGI effects are pretty ropey - the flying demon is not very good at all. And the performances are good - Gianna Jun in particular convinces as a deadly centuries old supernatural being dressed up in a Japanese schoolgirl sailor suit, alternating between intense murderousness as she deals with vampires, and distress as, in flashback, she recalls the deaths of those she loved.
This movie is not a great work of art but, for an action / Japanese horror / Matrix / Blade / Crouching Tiger hyrid, it delivers what you would expect from such a film.
Well. those origins are here, but so are Japanese horror movies, The Matrix, Blade, Crouching Tiger and a variety of other influences.
Saya is a centuries old vampire with a dose of humanity. She is working with a clandestine agency to wipe out the humongous number of vampires who are knocking around 1970s Japan, because they in turn will arrange access (I'm not sure how) to Onigen, the demon who wiped out her family all those years ago. Wrapped up in this is Alice, the daughter of the local US general who takes a dim view of the agency arriving at his base unannounced to clean up the remains of Saya's extensive vampire slaughtering.
The story is slight but OK. The wire-fu / action sequences are fine. The colour is garish and art direction generally is good. CGI effects are pretty ropey - the flying demon is not very good at all. And the performances are good - Gianna Jun in particular convinces as a deadly centuries old supernatural being dressed up in a Japanese schoolgirl sailor suit, alternating between intense murderousness as she deals with vampires, and distress as, in flashback, she recalls the deaths of those she loved.
This movie is not a great work of art but, for an action / Japanese horror / Matrix / Blade / Crouching Tiger hyrid, it delivers what you would expect from such a film.