I really enjoyed this flick. I came in with no expectations and I never watched Versus, but the concept of this film was very intriguing to me (looked it up on IMDb).
A severely wounded samurai seeks shelter at a temple which unbeknownst to him is the temple of the demon Aragami who wishes to die in combat via our unwary samurai.
The conversation is exactly what you would imagine it to be between a man and a being proclaiming to be supernatural. Skepticism and disbelief is played well in here and the scene is great. This is all shot in one room in a dark slightly tainted sort of Buddhist temple. The fact that this movie was shot in only one week is amazing (although if they had spent more time on it it could easily have been better as it is not without its flaws).
The slightly creepy serving woman is the only other real character we have on screen and she only has a few words to say at the end. What I really wonder is who she is as perhaps she is Aragami after all and she just enthralls/seduces warriors so she can watch battle after battle? I wish they played that possibility up just a tiny bit more, adding perhaps some covetous looks throughout on the samurais side and more coyness/ seductive possibilities on her part.
My only real issues with this film was that it seemed to get a little rushed at the end. The major fight could should have been done better and had slight elements of cheesy stances which were unrelated to the fighting. Also the last warrior, the future attacker could have been cooler looking. I did like the fact that our protagonist seemed to be crazy at that point (which still stands to reason that the woman is really Aragami after all). Also, the electric guitar music at the end seemed out of place. I would have liked a more philosophical ending versus one that makes you think you just finished watching your average action movie.
Summary: Very entertaining story built upon Chinese (really any ethnic background) mythology with only 2.5 actors (the woman gets a 1/2 a count since shes more just a visual portion). I just wish 2 weeks was spent on this as it could have been on a whole new level. Either way, I'd definitely recommend this.
A severely wounded samurai seeks shelter at a temple which unbeknownst to him is the temple of the demon Aragami who wishes to die in combat via our unwary samurai.
The conversation is exactly what you would imagine it to be between a man and a being proclaiming to be supernatural. Skepticism and disbelief is played well in here and the scene is great. This is all shot in one room in a dark slightly tainted sort of Buddhist temple. The fact that this movie was shot in only one week is amazing (although if they had spent more time on it it could easily have been better as it is not without its flaws).
The slightly creepy serving woman is the only other real character we have on screen and she only has a few words to say at the end. What I really wonder is who she is as perhaps she is Aragami after all and she just enthralls/seduces warriors so she can watch battle after battle? I wish they played that possibility up just a tiny bit more, adding perhaps some covetous looks throughout on the samurais side and more coyness/ seductive possibilities on her part.
My only real issues with this film was that it seemed to get a little rushed at the end. The major fight could should have been done better and had slight elements of cheesy stances which were unrelated to the fighting. Also the last warrior, the future attacker could have been cooler looking. I did like the fact that our protagonist seemed to be crazy at that point (which still stands to reason that the woman is really Aragami after all). Also, the electric guitar music at the end seemed out of place. I would have liked a more philosophical ending versus one that makes you think you just finished watching your average action movie.
Summary: Very entertaining story built upon Chinese (really any ethnic background) mythology with only 2.5 actors (the woman gets a 1/2 a count since shes more just a visual portion). I just wish 2 weeks was spent on this as it could have been on a whole new level. Either way, I'd definitely recommend this.