Stacy: Attack of the Schoolgirl Zombies

For quite some time my friends had been telling me about this nifty little Japanese zombie film called "Stacy." So the other day when wandering around a video store I noticed that they had it, so I rented it. The word bizarre comes to mind when talking about this film.

The movie starts out with three little kids poking a dead sixteen year old girl (I'd wager they thought she was asleep), the girl reawakens as a Stacy (the official word for the zombies) and kills the little kids. The movie has a rather interesting take on the zombie apocalypse. Instead of affecting everyone it only affects girls between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. To combat the threat of the Stacies the Japanese government created the Romero Repeat Kill Squad (an obvious reference George A. Romero), the Repeat Kill Squad is for those who are too wimpy to kill their own daughters. Apparently to "repeat kill" a Stacy one has to chop the body up into 165 different pieces. So to try to combat the Stacy threat people are encouraged to kill their daughters, and they even sell these implements of death in stores and infomercials, they even have a pamphlet on how to repeat kill the Stacies.

This movie has a neat concept and a pretty cool storyline, but it just sort of fell apart. The movie is just very campy, and at least it doesn't try to take itself too seriously. There are some points in the movie that you'll find yourself asking "why the hell did they do that?!" Perhaps if I read the book in which it's based the movie as a whole would've made more sense, I don't know. But as it stands Stacy is a somewhat enjoyable film that is only marred by its occasional annoying scene, and a truly annoying ending.

I watched this film thinking I was going to see another terrific, no holds barred, Japanese gore fest. Japan seems to have no problem starring 15-17 year old children in extreme horror films. I was ready for anything.

I wasn't ready for the spectacular performance by Natsuki Kato. She slips easily through extreme emotional states . I wasn't ready for the wildly off beat humour thrown in by the Drew Ilegal Repeat Kill Group. I was also quite touched by the heavy handed lecture on how society has failed its children. I don't know, maybe I'm getting old.

The viewer should make no mistake, this is a B-movie. It's over the top in its execution, but flows nicely...well except for the 5 minute puppet show! There is a lot of blood. Sadly, much of it looks like dried paint. There were some great scenes of gore. Not all of them realistic, but effective nontheless.

And I really like the bunny outfit. What a great touch. This is a film that doesn't take itself too seriously, but has a rather serious social comment. I loved it.

Its got zombies...its got chainsaws....its got Japanese Schoolgirls!!! What more could you possibly need?

My only regret is that my copy only has German and Dutch sub-titles, but who needs to know whats being said when you have the fore-mentioned ingredients???

There are enough horror film references here to keep the average fan entertained even if Japanese schoolgirls covered in blood and coming back as the undead is not your 'thing'...everything from Romero to Raimi

Gory fun.

In the best tradition of Japanese low-budget mayhem, this film delivers everything a zombiefilm should have. Splatter effects, good one-take acting, and most of all the absolutely BEST explanation of the reason zombies exist in any zombieflick to date.

The hilarious, over-the-top characters only add to the completely bizarre tone. Then there are all the references to other zombie-classics; if you're a Romero fan you _must_ see this movie!

While there is no point comparing this movie to Japanese horror, like "Dark Water" or "Oodishon" - it isn't scary for one second - it delivers everything a zombiesplatter should have.

A good round of hearty laughs!

A film named after me??! How cool is that?! I decided to go for this DVD having heard it contains 3 of my favourite things - zombies, chainsaws, and young women dressed as schoolgirls.

Typically Japanese over-the-top gore comes in dribs and drabs with more than a passing nod to greater horror flicks such as 'Day of the Dead' and 'Dawn of the Dead.' The plot is sadly lacking, and the film is pretty slowly paced, although there are some fun moments to be had, particularly with the 3-girl anti-Romero repeat kill squad. I liked them.

If you're gonna get yourself a decent Japanese zombie/gore flick, then do yourself a favour and buy 'Versus' or 'Junk' instead. THAT'S how to do it properly.

The DVD from Synapse is pretty good, with a very nice anamorphic transfer and Dolby 2.0 stereo sound with player-generated subtitles. However, I would only buy it if you're a hardcore zombie fan or collector of crazy and bloody Japanese flicks.

4/10 for some good gore scenes and a couple of chuckles.