Yokai Monsters
Yokai Monsters is a trilogy of Japanese horror/fantasy films written by Tetsuro Yoshida and released in the late 1960s. The films were produced by the Daiei Motion Picture Company.
There were originally three movies made:
- Yokai Monsters: One Hundred Monsters (March, 1968)
- Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare (December, 1968)
- Yokai Monsters: Along With Ghosts (March, 1969)
While not canonically linked, all three were thematically joined by their inclusion of a group of creatures from Japanese mythology known as Yōkai (妖怪, lit. "Strange things").
Influence and legacy
Receiving little attention outside Japan, the films are notable mostly for their special effects, which include a lot of puppetry, suitmation, and even traditional animation. The films are also notable for their realisation of famous Yōkai, based on traditional illustrations from Japanese history. The puppet used for the Kasa-obake in particular has become a recognisable rendering of the creature.
In 2005 Takashi Miike directed a remake of Spook Warfare titled The Great Yokai War. The film is not officially related to the Yokai Monsters trilogy, but draws a lot of its influence from similar sources: notably the legend of Momotarō and Mizuki Shigeru's GeGeGe no Kitarō series of the same name.[1] Mizuki himself appears in this film version, though neither the remake nor the original films make use of his Yōkai creations, preferring instead to feature more traditional creatures.
See also
References
- ↑ Papp, Zilia (2009). "Monsters at War: The Great Yōkai Wars, 1968-2005". Mechademia 4 (War/Time): 225–239. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
External links
- One Hundred Monsters at Allmovie.com
- Spook Warfare at Allmovie.com
- Along With Ghosts at Allmovie.com
- Yokai Monsters: One Hundred Monsters at the Internet Movie Database
- Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare at the Internet Movie Database
- Yokai Monsters: Along With Ghosts at the Internet Movie Database