"Ashurajo no Hitomi" ****

Fans of fantasy samurai action are in for a treat with the new film
from Yojiro Takita, who did the colorful "Onmyoji" films and the
excellent swashbuckler "When the Last Sword is Drawn."

After a wobbly start, Takita handles this weird amalgam of kabuki
spectacle, gothic horror and fantasy romance with assurance. In this
parallel Edo, demons with green blood live side by side with
Tokyoites, and all have the same fondness for leopard prints in
clothes and furniture fabrics.

Kabuki scion Somegoro Ishikawa is a demon killer turned kabuki star
in love with waif-like acrobat Rie Miyazawa, who's got an ominously
throbbing camellia scar on her back, while all hell breaks loose
around him - literally. Fellow demon-hunter Atsuro Watanabe, looking
like a drug- ravaged singer from a glam metal band, has swapped
sides, and is now working to bring demon queen Ashura to power.

This is over-ripe stuff, and Takita plays it full tilt, bringing
impassioned performances from his cast despite the cheesy CGs, loud
Osakan bad taste, and way-over-the-top finale.

Review by John Wilmot