Zeiram II

Zeiram II
by Keita Amemiya

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Movie Reviews of Zeiram II

Movie Review: Noh Theatre Monster
Summary: 5 Stars

I have to say Zeiram is a great monster. Its design is obviously inspired by noh theatre aesthetics, including the ultra-creepy, pasty, rouge-lipped noh mask face attached to a long, snakelike neck that serves as a feeding mechanism. This part of Zeiram devours chunks of whatever organic creature it encounters and manufactures a "capsule monster" out of its genetic material: shades of Ultra Seven! Every time Zeiram makes appearance it is accompanied in the soundtrack by rumbling male chorus and percussion, as if it is a supernatural presence in a noh play. The relationship between two bumbling electricians and Iria, the rogue investigator and arch-enemy to Zeiram, is also highly unusual in a science fiction setting, in that it is a genuine friendship (between male and female) developed from mutual admiration for each others' abilities and resourcefulness. Although these two guys, Kamiya and Teppei, are inserted in the series as kyogen (comic noh) figures, here they get to reveal different shades of their characters. All these human dimensions are completely missing in the anime version. (Who (...)needs to know about Iria's brother?)

Media Blaster's DVD transfer is generally good. I suspect that the source material was Japanese laserdisc, which tends to have little depth in black levels, so the resolution does suffer a bit during nighttime sequences in the last 10 minutes of the movie. You may have to adjust brightness and contrast levels of your TV set to get the best picture. However, no compression noise or artifact problems seem to be present, at least overtly noticeable ones. Subtitles are much better than usual, and English dubbing is pretty well done as well. Far superior to the original Fox Lorber edition on this count. However, it is disappointing that the "Making of Zeiram 2" featurette, a very enjoyable and personable account of low-budget science fiction filmmaking, is not available as an extra. It came free with the Japanese VHS, never mind laserdisc! Don't stint on the extras please!

Summary of Zeiram II