Wartime

Perhaps a perfect double feature for The Promise is The Great Yokai War from director Takashi Miike. Miike has done everything from trashy gangster vehicles and straight-to-video exploitation to arty horror flicks and super commercial swordsman movie. This one falls under weird kids movies, kind of like his Zebraman effort.

Like a live-action Miyazaki flick, The Great Yokai War features a timid son of divorced parents who has been moved from the city to the shadow of bullies in the countryside. He is chosen in a festival to be Kirin Rider, a defender of freedom who is asked to get a magic sword from Goblin Mountain to battle evil spirits.

It's a story that's been told a million times, but this one is interesting for a number of reasons. First, Miike isn't afraid to be silly. The ghosts, goblins, and creatures range from scary to goofy, and it's okay if they don't look realistic. Kind of like the odd animated parts of Happiness of the Katakuris; they didn't fit in that movie at all but they were so weird it didn't matter. Another hallmark of Miike has been his unflinching attitude toward violence, gore, and violent gore. Yes, this kids movie has cuddly, furry yokai, but Miike isn't afraid to show them being sliced, crushed, and squished with yellow pus coming out. Why don't American kids movies show this sort of thing? They dig it.

There are also some aspects that make it worth watching for post-kids. The yokai war is caused by unhappy spirits of items such as used shoes, which are tossed with no care after being used by humans. Humanity not giving a shit is ultimately the cause of the suffering. In one scene, it is revealed a grown-up is able to see the ghosots only after drinking a beer! You won't see that in a Disney movie. There is also some sexual tension provided by Chiaki Kuriyama (of Battle Royale and Kill Bill fame) who plays the cruel and cool assistant to the main villain. Yes, she's hot and when she goes around turning yokai into mecha-monsters it's very cool.

The movie is dumb, predictable, and anything but perfect. Yet it's great because that's all you expect. Too bad Chen Kaige doesn't get those breaks for his foray into fantasy.