Higanjima: Escape from Vampire Island review (DVD) ★★★

Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Hideo Ishiguro, Dai Watanabe, Asami Mizukawa,
Koji Yamamoto, Miori Takimoto, Tomohisa Yuge, Takahiro Tsutsumi | Written by Tetsuya Oishi
UK Certification 18 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 120 minutes | Directed by Tae-gyun Kim

In Japan's Higanjima – Escape from Vampire Island, a group of high school friends, lead by the fresh faced Akira, make their way to an eerie uncharted island after being lured by a gorgeous young woman. Akira's elder brother Atsushi, who had gone missing two years prior, is the promise of the beauty as she reveals that he has been living on the mysterious island the whole time. While she's honest about Atsushi, she neglects to inform the students that the island is crawling with vampires, and that her real motive for taking them there is to serve her master up some fresh, young meat for certain bloodsucking activities. But Atsushi lives on the unknown land not in fear of the vampires, but as a man who spends his time slaying them.

Recently, blood in Asian films seems to be done two ways: either digitally, which usually looks terrible, or practically, but in exaggerated, surrealist fashion with geyser-like propelling of the red stuff from severed limbs. And, although it's a device that I usually detest, the CG blood in Higanjima is actually fairly decent and neatly blends into the genuine manga feel that the movie has. It's based on a manga series in the first place, but rarely do you see a film that pulls off the aesthetic of the source material that it's adapting. The film generally has high production values all around with visuals from a clearly competent director, and the photography is nicely done, capturing the island's forgotten and decayed stone architecture perfectly.

The vampires that inhabit the island do look a little silly and not incredibly intimidating with their conical hats, but Masa on the other hand, the leader of the fanged foes, bears more of an affinity to the archetypal vampire with his pasty white face and heavily romanticised, almost effeminate mannerisms. The legions of creatures themselves are not alone in their rather non-ghoulish of appearances however, as Atsushi far from lives up to his reputation physically. He is indeed a well-equipped warrior who is seemingly a veteran of slicing, dicing and blowing up vamps, but as a short fellow with round spectacles, he doesn't much look the part. Though you could of course argue what the problem is with the look of the vampires when they're continuously blown apart in fiery showers of crimson, and their hunter is almost always covered in the blood of his kills.

Higanjima – Escape from Vampire Island is a skillfully made feature that is only really lacking in remarkable performances. It's an overlong watch at two hours, failing to sustain the running time with unnecessary scenes that roughen up the viewing experience, as well as not providing enough spectacle to sink your teeth into, no pun intended, but with a number of high-octane action scenes and a satisfying abundance of sword-wielding nosferatu, it's perfectly decent horror from the Orient.

EXTRAS ??? Countdown Promotion: interaction with the audience at a New Year's Eve screening of the film and the countdown to 2010; Vampire Promotion: men and women dressed as the vampires from the film tour the streets promoting the movie; Kojinsha Screening; the antics from the screening in December 2009; Pusan International Film Festival: the star of the film is followed through the 14th annual PIFF; Premiere; Stage Greeting: an appearance by the key cast on the film's opening night on January 9, 2010; and the original Japanese trailer.