Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters

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 first film in a series that inspired the recent Great Yokai War. Directed by a veteran of the Zatoichi series and the excellent samurai/horror/kaiju film, Daimajin, this film is ably done and moves along at a good pace. The plot isn't much as it's a rather typical samurai and upper classes oppress the poor story. It's the yokai element that gives the film something to watch.

The yokai are all clearly rubber marionette puppets or actors in suits so you have to watch with different expectations, sort of a stage show with puppets. It's the design and spooky atmosphere that makes this fun. The final dance of the yokai as they go off into the sunrise is a great scene and made the movie for me.

Not a great film but fun.

This is the first movie in the Yokai Monsters Trilogy, currently all 3 movies are now on Shudder Canada as of August 22nd 2022 (I do not know about other regions)

This is a fun movie, the movie functions similarly to Kaiju movies like Godzilla & Gamera but it's a bit different than those movies as well.

The human story is kinda dominant & generic but the monsters are still very entertaining when they come in.

The effects are primitive by today's standards but it's the 60s & they might not have had the highest budget but personally I'm okay with that but I'd say lower your expectations just in case,so you don't walk away disappointed.

It takes place in Fuedal Japan which is a good setting for the movie & brings a strong cultural feel to the film.

The yokai are really fun & also at times genuinely creepy,this movie has some great atmosphere at some points.

If I'm not mistaken,this movie actually unsettled me enough to have some weird nightmares the night I watched it.

Overall,lower expectations & have fun with it. It has subtitles so forewarning but it's a pretty fair 80 minutes.

Definitely a movie of quite noticeable ups and downs.

To start with the cons/get through the negatives first, it's a bit of a slog at times thanks to pacing issues, the story is unfocused, and there's not enough monster shenanigans.

The pros are that when the monsters do appear on screen, they're a lot of fun, and the effects are quite creative. It's also anti-landlord, which is always good to see, and there are a few very visually appealing and eerie shots here and there.

Plus, the final 15 minutes does admittedly go pretty hard. Just feels a little slow-going to get there at times.

The first in Daiei Film's Yokai Monsters trilogy, 100 Monsters is a bizarre mix of samurai movie and the supernatural, its weird and wonderful monsters (or yokai) based on traditional illustrations from Japanese folklore.

The film sees a ruthless lord and a corrupt magistrate resorting to underhand methods, including murder, to get their hands on some valuable real estate currently occupied by a shrine and tenement buildings, their plan being to tear down the existing structures and build a brothel. Ronin Yasutaro (Jun Fujimaki) stands up to the bad guys, but more unusual help comes in the form of the yokai, ghostly monsters who appear on the scene after the land-hungry villains fail to conduct a curse eliminating ritual after a story-telling ceremony.

Using old-school techniques to bring the fantastical creatures to life (men in manky costumes, some puppetry, and crude animation), the film is unlikely to wow modern viewers with its special effects, but there's an undeniable charm to the lo-fi approach and the sheer silliness of the monster designs is endearing (a long-necked woman, a one-legged umbrella and faceless people). Sadly, there just isn't enough of the yokai throughout the film, the bulk of the movie focusing on Yasutaro's run-ins with the bad guys - routine samurai drama that fails to excite.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for the giant slit-mouthed floating head - now that was genuinely creepy!