Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness
| Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness | |
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| Directed by | Shimako Sato |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Junki Takegami[1] |
| Story by | Shinichi Koga |
| Based on |
Eko Eko Azarak by Shinichi Koga |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Mikiya Katakura[2] |
| Cinematography | Shoei Sudo[2] |
Production companies |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 82 minutes[2] |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness is a 1995 Japanese horror film directed by Shimako Sato. The film is based on the manga Eko Eko Azarak, and stars Kimika Yoshino as a transfer student to a new school, who is secretly a witch travelling from school to school in order to dispel the work of the devil.
The film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1995. The film was followed by two sequels, starting with Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard in 1996.
Plot
Eko Eko Azarak is set in an unnamed Japanese city. A mysterious cabal of red-garbed black-magicians have apparently been cursing the local inhabitants. The film opens with a woman, inexplicably running in terror from an unseen pursuer. Elsewhere, in a secretive corridor draped in satanic iconography, the spooky cabal chants about a voodoo doll-like fetish. When the cabal leader thrusts a knife into the head of the doll, a large metal beam falls from high atop a nearby construction site and beheads the woman.
Later, it appears the first victim was the last to die in a series of such curses, the object of which was to provide the five points of a giant pentagram, with each victim murdered at a particular point. The pentagram is meant to summon Lucifer himself and the high school is the nexus.
The story follows transfer student Misa Kuroi, a forthright and bold girl who is actually a witch of considerable powers. She has been "transferred" from one school to the next, presumably fighting black-magicians on earlier adventures at each respective location. She makes no attempt throughout the film to conceal her identity as a witch. Though rather tacit throughout the film, Kuroi is at least familiar with all the occult proceedings happening in the city, and demonstrates on many occasions that she is at this particular school for the very purpose of fighting the satanic conspiracy. To make matters worse, Misa has some difficulty getting the curse-fodder classmates to trust her. Only one student truly mistrusts her, the insecure Misuno, who hunches, poses, glowers, and lashes out so as to otherwise appear unsympathetic. As the film progresses, he becomes even more so. So while there is some dissent concerning Misa's intentions, it is not the main conflict.
The words of the spells contain frequent references to pagan gods (namely Cernunos and Aradia).
Cast
- Kimika Yoshino as Misa Kuroi
- Miho Kanno as Mizuki Kurohashi
- Miho Tamura as Maki Yoshida
- Kanori Kadomatsu as Kazzumi Tanaka
Production
Shimako Sato, the director of Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness, had previously filmed Tale of a Vampire (1992) in the United Kingdom.[1][4] She returned to Japan with the desire to make a film about witchcraft and magic.[4] She recalled the manga series Eko Eko Azarak from the 1970s, and began adapting it for cinema.[4]
The film was shot in two weeks, and featured the cinematic debut of Kimika Yoshino.[4] Yoshino received her script a day before shooting had started and before she had even met the director.[4] .
Release
Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness was released in Japan on April 8, 1995.[2] It was shown at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1995.[3]
A DVD of the film was released by Tokyo Shock on December 16, 2003.[5] The disc included footage of the films premiere, the trailer, and interviews with the director and Kimika Yoshino.[5]
Reception
Variety gave the film a positive review, referring to it as "high-octane, modestly produced occult thriller is top-notch genre fare", and that "obviously plowing a familiar celluloid field, director/co-writer Sato demonstrates not only a visual flair for the genre, but a wicked sense of humor that deftly counterbalances the per force conventions of this type of story."[3]
The film won the Minami Toshiko Award at the 1995 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.[6] It was also selected for the official competition for best film at the 1997 Fantasporto.[7]
Aftermath
Shimako Sato returned to the direct the follow-up film Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard (1996).[4][8]
Notes
- 1 2 3 Kalat 2007, p. 271.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Kalat 2007, p. 272.
- 1 2 3 Klady, Leonard (October 23, 1995). "Review: ‘Wizard of Darkness’". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kalat 2007, p. 59.
- 1 2 "Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness (1995)". AllMovie. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival Archive". yubarifanta.com. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ↑ ""Bound" and "Unhook the Stars": Winners of the two competitive sections Of Fantasporto'97". Fantasporto. Archived from the original on August 1, 1997. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
- ↑ Sharp 2011, p. 108.
References
- Sharp, Jasper (2011). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810875411.
- Kalat, David (2007). J-horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond. Vertical. ISBN 193223408X.
External links
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