Eko eko azaraku III (1998)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Katsuhito Ueno

Writers:

Sôtarô Hayashi (screenplay)
Kengo Kaji (supervising screenwriter)

Release Date:

15 January 1998 (Japan)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The dark angel has landed. (literal translation)

Plot Keywords:

Based On Comic | Third Part | Sequel | Based On Comic Book | Black Magic

Cast

Hinako Saeki	...	Misa Kuroi
Ayaka Nanami	...	Aya Kinoshita
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bang-ho Cho	...	Satoru Kuroi
Chika Fujimura	...	Yoko Hino
Yuki Hagiwara	...	Hikaru Kazami
Hitomi Miwa	...	Mami Mizushima
Ayumi Takahashi	...	Kaori Dokite
Yûko Takimura	...	Yuki Kawai
Sakae Umezu
Erena Yamamoto	...	Hitomi Kamata
Kimika Yoshino	...	Misa Kuroi

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and gore.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Japan:R | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Tsukishima, Tokyo, Japan

Company:

GAGA Communications

Movie Connections:

Followed by Eko eko azaraku IV (2001)

lesbo-erotic witch story

I got the first three of these films in a set and thought this the big finale, but apparently more episodes have come out - I'm not sure why....

Although the word "homoerotic" ought to include art concerning lesbians as well as gay men, it is usually used for the latter, so we will have to coin a new word here, "lesbo-erotic".

The "Eko Eko" series is a lesbo-erotic witch story about a young white which battling the dark forces of Satan and his kin. Earlier entries had explicitly sapphic material, this operates a little more implicitly and will be more accessible for main-stream audiences.

I also found the story easier to follow and easier to bear here. The series as a whole is amusing at best, but let's face facts - it's trash. Considerable effort has been made to duplicate the old Hammer Vampire films of the early 1970s. Well, there's nothing wrong with that, that's why this series is amusing; but "art"? The best horror film you're likely to see in quite a while? Afraid - not.

Although the story is tighter than the other entries, the fundamental problem with these films altogether is their lack of coherence. You will get confused here - very confused.

What the hell is Satan doing in Japan anyway? And how did H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu suddenly pop out of nowhere here? And why am I watching a Japanese direct-to-video remake of Hammer horror films from the early '70s?

well, I had a couple hours to waste....

well, that's about it, folks; you could probably do worse, you can certainly do better.