Director – Go Ohara (Geisha vs. Ninjas)
Starring – Rina Akiyama (Einstein Girl), Ruito Aoyagi (Frogs on Screen), and Asami (Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead)
Release Date – 2010
Rating – 3.5/5
Recently I watched the Asian splatter flick Helldriver (read the review here) and I fucking loved it. After I took out the DVD for that film I quickly turned to Netflix to see what I could find that was similar to that one and I found a slew of films. I couldn’t make my mind up so I just closed my eyes and whichever the cursor fell on would be my next movie.
That movie just happened to be Gothic and Lolita Psycho. This movie was one I had never heard of before but if it was similar in anyway to Helldriver then I had to give it a go. The poster did not look as silly as the one for Helldriver. It made the movie seem like it was a little more serious and that intrigued me even more.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a young girl who lives with her loving mother and father. They have the picture perfect family until one day a gang invades their home and kills her mother and leaves her and her father for dead. However, her and her father survives and she turns to the gothic lifestyle and vows revenge on those who took her mother away from her.
She wields her black (and sexy) ensemble and a deadly umbrella and sets out to kill all those responsible. Each person she kills is represented by a tarot card and she hunts them in order often culminating into a fight scene. She makes her way through all the killers until she reaches her final fight where her father’s life is on the line. You will have to watch it to find out what happens.**Spoiler Alert**
I don’t understand why there are no American films like this. Sure, we have our own share of splatter flicks like those by the Godfather of Gore, Heschell Gordon Lewis, but none are comparable to those being made in Japan. The closest thing I can think of off the top of my head anywhere close to this that was made in America was the damn play scene in the 1991 film The Addams Family where Wednesday and Pugsley sword fight. Anyway, I think Asian splatter is starting to become a new obsession with me. I have instant queued every film I can find on Netflix and made several trips out to buy them on DVD and Bluray with this movie only adding to that obsession.
This movie is entertaining from start to finish. Within the first 15 minutes the viewer is treated to a noodle eater being disemboweled and a beautiful women is ripped apart by an umbrella. The acting is the the same most other Asian splatter films. It is over-dramatic, zany, and over-the-top making it fun as hell to watch. The story is your typical revenge tale but this film is a little more serious than Helldriver, Machine Girl, and Mutant Girls Squad. Don’t get me wrong, it did make me laugh but as an overall film it is a lot more serious.
Finally, this film has some of the best practical effects I have seen out of the Asian splatter flicks. The kills and gore look great and will satisfy even the most stubborn critic. However, there is a few scenes that utilize CGI and it is very noticeable. I’m not saying that it looks bad but it sticks out. Overall, this is fantastic film filled with fight scenes, blood, beautiful girls, and tons of gore. I highly recommend.
