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........................... Nov. 02 - Nov. 15, 2001
OTHER ISSUES .................... |
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| This Vamplre Hunter Is No Buffy | |
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Perhaps the first issue that should be addressed is the movie's format. Those who are familiar with anime can feel free to skip this paragraph. "Anime" is the shortened term for Japanese animation. To label anime "cartoons" is oversimplifying. Anime covers many genres that American cartoons do not. Anime soap operas, horror, space epics, and adult humor are all common. Gore, foul language, and sex are nearly as common in anime features as they are in American movies. That said, VHD is fairly clean. There are a few bloody moments, but they are not extreme.
VHD is set in the distant future, when human society has self-destructed and rebuilt itself in fits and starts. The landscape looks like eighteenth century Europe, but D, the title character, rides a DL4 cyborg stallion down the cobbled streets. As a side effect of whatever destruction took place, magic, monsters, and mutants are part of the landscape as well. Vampires are no myth - and as it turns out, they never were.
Doris Lang and her little brother Dan live on a ranch not far from a small town. Dan guards the livestock with a laser, protecting it from amorphous, floating blobs. Doris has an electrified whip; when we meet her, she's running down a werewolf with it. Unfortunately, the ranch, the town, and the night are all under the shadow of Count Magnus Lee. One of the oldest and most powerful of the vampiristic lords, the 9,000-year-old Count interrupts Doris's hunt and bites her.
Doris is not yet a vampire, but the Count could return to finish her off at any time. Greko, the mayor's loudmouth son, threatens to tell the town Doris was bitten unless she sleeps with him. She refuses; he tells his daddy. The mayor and sheriff contemplate locking Doris in an asylum for the safety of the townspeople. It is into this situation that D, a wandering vampire hunter, rides on his iron horse.
D is what might be described as the strong, silent type. He doesn't speak unless he has something to say. D agrees to guard Doris and take on Count Lee. The battle involves Rei Ginsei, Count Lee's fanatically ambitious minion; Lamica, the Count's snobbish daughter; and what just might be the wedding of the millennia.
Due to the age of the film, the animation style of VHD might be described as old school. It has very clean lines and fast motion. It takes a little getting used to, but it works very well. The voice actors are outstanding.
VHD may not be the best movie I've ever seen, but I will certainly watch it again. More interesting than scary, it's a good movie with some really surprising plot twists here and there (none of which are included in this review). It's great to see a classic and get a quality DVD re-release. I recommend VHD to anyone who's wondering what to watch on Halloween.
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| by Erin Balha | |
Vampire Hunter D (VHD) is an anime horror classic. It was originally released in 1985 to wide critical acclaim. Yoshitaka Amano, one of Japan's most respected fantasy artists, did the character design and much of the concept art. The film was increasingly difficult to find in the U. S. until Urban Vision re-released it on DVD earlier this year.
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