Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness
Directed byShimako Sato
Screenplay byJunki Takegami[1]
Story byShinichi Koga
Based onEko Eko Azarak
by Shinichi Koga
Produced by
  • Yoshinori Chiba
  • Shun'ichi Kobayashi
Starring
CinematographyShoei Sudo[2]
Music byMikiya Katakura[2]
Production
companies
  • Gaga Communications
  • Tsuburaya Eizo Co.[3]
Release date
  • April 8, 1995 (1995-04-08) (Japan)
Running time
82 minutes[2]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness (エコエコアザラク -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

A mysterious cabal of red-garbed magicians have been murdering inhabitants of an unnamed Japanese city. Their latest victim is a woman who is decapitated while the magicians perform a ritual with a voodoo doll. The object of the murders to provide the five geographical points of a giant pentagram, with a high school in the nexus. The magicians' ultimate aim is to summon Lucifer himself.

Misa Kuroi, a transfer student at the school, is a witch of considerable power and has come to battle the evil magicians. However, Misa has some difficulty getting classmates to trust her.

Cast

[1][2]

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. 1 2 3 Kalat 2007, p. 271.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kalat 2007, p. 272.
  3. 1 2 3 Klady, Leonard (October 23, 1995). "Review: 'Wizard of Darkness'". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kalat 2007, p. 59.
  5. 1 2 "Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness (1995)". AllMovie. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival Archive". yubarifanta.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  7. ↑ ""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.
  8. ↑ Sharp 2011, p. 108.

References

  • Sharp, Jasper (2011). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0810875418.
  • Kalat, David (2007). J-horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond. Vertical. ISBN 978-1932234084.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.