A good, loyal company man is killed by the not-so-good company he works for. During the hospital's attempt to save his life, they accidentally give him - whoops! - Count Dracula's blood! A year later, he's back from the dead, trying to right the wrongs of his life, and resisting the urge to become a full-on blood-sucker. This movie is an absolute delight, a fun, loving look at classic horror devices. Kaneko is an excellent director, and this ranks alongside his best films.
2 Reviews
One of the best and funniest modern vampire movies with the warmest heart
fertilecelluloid9 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This is truly an original vampire movie that is also one of the most beautiful ever made and one of the funniest. Director Shusuke Kaneko, who has made several contemporary "Gamera" films and the wonderful "Summer Vacation 1999", ought to be lauded for creating a fantasy that balances so many diverse elements with such precision.
Ken Ogata, a company man, is killed. Accidentally, he is transfused with the blood of Dracula and returned to life. A woman who is a Dracula expert (Narumi Yasuda) takes Ogata under her wing (excuse the pun, please) so she can study him.
This bare plot synopsis does no justice to the magic of this film. As Ogata was married with a daughter, he must confront the reality of his wife moving on without him. His daughter, the cute Hikari Ishida, must learn to accept her new father and reassess her grief. There are many weighty subjects explored here with great sensitivity and imagination.
The vampire baggage of the movie echoes both the Universal and Hammer approaches, as well as early Toho efforts such as "Lake of Dracula". The visuals are gorgeous and the music is sensational.
The romantic subplot between the resurrected Ogata and Ms. Yasuda (who is a vision of heavenly feminine beauty) is extremely moving, and the scene in which Drac puts the bite on his new love is so erotically charged it brought tears to my ears.
The final sequence, where Ogata's daughter comes to terms with her father's fate, is wonderful, too.
The Hong Kong 'vampire lite' drama "A Bite of Love" waded into territory similar to this, but failed because it refused to embrace all the elements necessary to produce such a potent brew of action, horror, romance, comedy and melodrama.
One of the best modern vampire movies out there with the warmest heart. Why it has not had a legitimate release outside of Japan boggles the mind.
Ken Ogata, a company man, is killed. Accidentally, he is transfused with the blood of Dracula and returned to life. A woman who is a Dracula expert (Narumi Yasuda) takes Ogata under her wing (excuse the pun, please) so she can study him.
This bare plot synopsis does no justice to the magic of this film. As Ogata was married with a daughter, he must confront the reality of his wife moving on without him. His daughter, the cute Hikari Ishida, must learn to accept her new father and reassess her grief. There are many weighty subjects explored here with great sensitivity and imagination.
The vampire baggage of the movie echoes both the Universal and Hammer approaches, as well as early Toho efforts such as "Lake of Dracula". The visuals are gorgeous and the music is sensational.
The romantic subplot between the resurrected Ogata and Ms. Yasuda (who is a vision of heavenly feminine beauty) is extremely moving, and the scene in which Drac puts the bite on his new love is so erotically charged it brought tears to my ears.
The final sequence, where Ogata's daughter comes to terms with her father's fate, is wonderful, too.
The Hong Kong 'vampire lite' drama "A Bite of Love" waded into territory similar to this, but failed because it refused to embrace all the elements necessary to produce such a potent brew of action, horror, romance, comedy and melodrama.
One of the best modern vampire movies out there with the warmest heart. Why it has not had a legitimate release outside of Japan boggles the mind.
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