Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters

Unscrupulous magistrate Tajimaya (Takashi Kanda) uses theft, coercion, violence, and ultimately murder to take over a tenement house and a shrine with the intent of tearing them down. He also uses his leverage to force Ôkubi (Keiko Koyanagi), the beautiful daughter of the tenement's owner (Tatsuo Hanabu) to become his mistress. Tajimaya's actions and disrespect angers the local spirits, the Yôkai, and soon he and his minions find themselves cursed and harassed by monsters. The film, first in a Yokai trilogy from Daiei Film, is an imaginative fantasy with odd imagery (the 'umbrella monster' features prominently in the advertising) superimposed on a typical Japanese samurai adventure. The monsters (a mix of animation, puppets and costumes) are frequently quite bizarre. I am not familiar with Japanese folklore, but I gather that many of the diverse creatures represent traditional tropes (for example: the umbrella monster ('Kasa-obake') and the long-necked woman (Rokurokubi). 'Yokai: 100 Monsters' ('Yôkai hyaku monogatari') is entertaining and offbeat (at least from a 'Western perspective'), and likely a good introduction to yet another fanciful Japanese film genre. Note: I watched an English-subtitled version that, judging from some of the idioms, seems to have been made several years after the original film was released.

This is one of the three great Japanese Yokai movies that ADV has released. All the monsters in it are based on Japanese folklore and traditional art. It isn't as silly as "Spook Warfare" (Yôkai daisensô), which was more of a kids comedy, but it is still a lot of fun and has some genuinely creepy moments. The plot is about a wicked developer who is brutally trying to drive people out of an apartment building and destroy a nearby shrine. Of course this makes the the Yokai monsters angry and they retaliate. Movies like this are almost as much about the monsters though as the plot. Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters has some funny monsters and great costumes for a 60's Japanese monster flick. I recommend it.

THE HUNDRED MONSTERS is a very bizarre little Japanese film and the first part of a 'YOKAI MONSTERS' trilogy. These films were remembered in the new millennium when none other than Takashi Miike directed his own version of the story (THE GREAT YOKAI WAR). Like other period monster flicks from Japan in the 1960s such as DAIMAJIN, THE HUNDRED MONSTERS feels very much like a traditional samurai movie with added monster action.

The story is a simple and familiar one about some ruthless property developers kicking a bunch of worthwhiles out of their homes. Even worse, they destroy a sacred shrine in the process. This storyline could be told in any country or era, but at least the characters are sufficiently interesting to keep viewers watching. And then we have the monsters, which are among the most bizarre ever filmed. I can't really describe them here, but there's stuff that'll have your jaw dropping, particularly the umbrella monster. A mix of practical and visual effects combine very well to create some fantastic scenes that certainly stick in the mind.

100 MONSTERS?! What a great film title, bringing to mind one hundred yokai (traditional Japanese monsters and spirits) wreaking havoc on an Edo-period village. The real film doesn't quite live up to that promise, but it's a fun entry into the '60s Japanese popcorn horror canon.

As is the case in many Japanese flicks from this time, the bad guys are powerful landowners who push around the good guys and take their land, their women and even their lives. But after the lords fail to complete a ritual after a "hyaku monogatari" (monster story-telling) event, they are haunted and hunted down by bloodthirsty monsters.

I love yokai to death, so any cinematic representation is fun for me. And what monster action we get here is fittingly awesome; we get a long-necked woman (rokurokubi), long-tongued umbrella monsters (kasa-obake) and faceless humans (noppera-bo), all of which look fantastic. The special effects are surprisingly good and hold up perfectly after 50+ years. Whenever the creatures are the focus of the camera, the film is fun as hell.

The problem is they are not the focus very often. Instead, we're treated to a pretty basic "samurai vs. landlords" plot that proceeds in a rather cliche fashion. It makes for passable watching, but it's not too exciting and not what anybody started watching a movie called 100 MONSTERS for. This is to be expected from a budget flick from the '60s, but it does affect the enjoyment factor of the film.

Overall, though, it's an easy, fun watch with wonderful creature design and delightfully odd moments. Recommended for yokai fans or monster movie lovers, even if it won't become one of your favorites.

The story is fairly simple as corrupt, greedy, cruel officials meet with fates borne out by their own hubris. Inasmuch as there's more to it than that, the details really just come down to elucidation of the rottenness of the officials and their collaborators, and the nature of how they come to be removed as problems for the townspeople they victimize. It's worth observing that the most fantastical elements of the story are mostly reserved for the last fifth of the runtime, with only bits and pieces flavoring the proceedings before that. Still, the tale is compelling broadly, and where '100 monsters' does embrace the horror of scenario, those scenes are distinctly creepy in the way one would hope as death and madness take over. There is perhaps nothing so striking about this 1968 film as to demand viewership, and it's not the only Daiei production I've seen to struggle a little under a lumbering pace. When all is said and done, though, it's well worth watching on its own merits, and overall a solidly good time.

Setting aside the pacing, this is well made in every capacity. The sets and costume design are just as lovely as one would expect from most any period fare coming out of Japan, and the feature is very easy on the eyes, not least as the warm cinematography of Yasukazu Takemura brings out every detail with a soft yet crisp lens. The cast give admirable performances around commensurate with the material, and I find no fault in Kimiyoshi Yasuda's direction in orchestrating shots and scenes. Perhaps most importantly given the space in which 'Yokai monsters' plays, all the most intense elements of the production look outstanding as they come to bear, mostly within the last stretch. All the stunts and effects that are employed look really great, and the imagination poured into the design of the promised entities is matched only by the enthusiasm with which they were realized by the artists who created the costumes and props and the actors who played them. By and large the result is more "fun-scary" than "scary-scary," but it all comes off very well, and in its own manner provides the flavorful entertainment we anticipate.

Unless one is a major fan of Daiei, or the otherwise many monster flicks that Japan has produced over the years, there isn't necessarily a special reason to check this out. It's enjoyable, but not hugely striking, and it perhaps is not the most robustly invigorating or satisfying title one could watch. '100 monsters' is a classic that remains deserving on its own merits, however, and if one does have the opportunity to watch, this is a fine picture to check out for something comparatively light.