Oneechanbara: The Movie (2008)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Yôhei Fukuda

Writers:

Yôhei Fukuda (screenplay)
Yasutoshi Murakawa (screenplay)

Genre:

Action | Horror

Plot Keywords:

Stabbed To Death | Warehouse | Dismemberment | Female Nudity | Slashed To Death

Cast

Eri Otoguro	...	Aya
Tomohiro Waki	...	Katsuji
Taro Suwa	...	Dr. Sugita (as Tarô Suwa)
Manami Hashimoto	...	Reiko
Chise Nakamura	...	Saki
Ai Hazuki	...	Maria
Satoshi Hakuzen
Hiroaki Kawatsure
Sari Kurauchi	...	Asami
Tomoya Nagai
Tetsu Watanabe

Also Known As:

Chanbara Beauty (International: English title) (festival title)
Chanbara Beauty: The Movie (Hong Kong: English title) (DVD box title)
OneChanbara (Japan) (promotional title)
Onechanbara - Zombie Bikini Squad (USA) (DVD title)
Oneechanbara (Japan) (working title)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 (cable rating)

Company:

Geneon Entertainment

Goofs:

Continuity: When she places the sword on her sister's grave, Aya still has the bloody cut on her face that she received during the final sword battle. A few seconds later, the cut is gone and remains gone for the rest of the scene.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Oneechanbara: The Movie - Vortex (2009) (V)

Bikini babes vs the zombies

This is probably another case of the description being better than the movie, but not for lack of trying. Chanbara Beauty is a video game adaptation of OneChanbara and another entry in the latest trend of Japanese over-the-top action/horror hybrids. If it's a win as a VG adaptation that has more to do with how low the likes of Uwe Boll and Paul WS Anderson have set the bar in the VG field than how inherently good Chanbara Beauty is.

The plot is thinly stretched and silly, with various subplots filling in the backstory of the characters. Not that it matters really cos it's all about the bikini splatter here, right? Sure the movie delivers lots of katana splatter as dozens of zombie extras in crude makeup get hacked and slashed, but everything is so CGI heavy it takes some getting used to. The action scenes are reeking of video effects: CGI blood, gun flashes, smoke, fast forwards and all kinds of live action anime silly SFX. There's probably some wire work involved as well and the choreography and swordfighting is surprisingly decent.

Chanbara Beauty is bursting apart in the seams but it's entertaining enough to warrant a view for exploitation hounds. If you can stomach the cheapo video SFX (which are becoming a staple in Japanese flicks lately), you'll probably have a good time, but not without a yawn or two in the middle. It plays like a less gory, less insane, less action-packed, less well-made version of The Machine Girl but if you want your fix of Japanese action/horror exploitation this one's OK I guess.