Credited cast: | |||
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Midori Fujita | ... | Akiko Kashiwagi |
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Chôei Takahashi | ... | Dr. Takashi Saeki |
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Sanae Emi | ... | Natsuko Kashiwagi |
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Shin Kishida | ... | The Vampire |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Tadao Futami | ... | The Truck Driver |
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Mika Katsuragi | ... | Patient , Farmer's Daughter |
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Setsuko Kawaguchi | ... | Nurse Kondô |
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Tatsuo Matsushita | ... | Professor |
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Yasuzô Ogawa | ... | Angler |
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Haruo Suzuki | ... | Guard in the University Hospital |
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Fusako Tachibana | ... | The Dead Body in Front of Piano |
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Kaku Takashina | ... | Kyûsaku |
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Michiyo Yamazoe | ... | Young Akiko Kashiwagi |
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Wataru Ômae | ... | Angler |
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Hideji Ôtaki | ... | Old Man |
After a coffin is delivered to a sleepy little Japanese town, one of the locals discovers that its occupant isn't dead yet. Unfortunately, the only witness to the vampire invasion gets bitten, along with several other people in town. Only one woman, Akiko, knows the truth, but even she doubts what she is seeing. Can the village be saved before it's too late? Written by Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>
The movie's strengths include the vaguely Wizard Of Oz-like opening sequence, persuasively evocative of a little girl's dream; its desaturated/pastel color scheme (which I guess could just be a sign of a decaying print, but anyway lends it an intriguingly muted quality at times); the occasional interesting composition; and the overall interest value of seeing standard vampire plot gambits and mythology at play in an unusual setting. These virtues wear out pretty fast though, and the movie quickly becomes over-reliant on coincidence and contrivance, with the heroine experiencing one narrow escape too many; the tone becomes repetitive, and the mythology lackadaisical. Needless to say, the dialogue (at least in this dubbed version) and acting are seldom more than functional. The movie also suffers from excessive decorum, with the erotic aspects of vampirism severely downplayed (especially given the final plot twists).