[GoldenXtreme]

I checked out some of the Yokai Monster films! A very strange little series.

100 Monsters: This is a kind of tokusatsu film you see periodically with older stuff, where it is mostly your typical feudal Japan movie, but it also throws in some supernatural elements so they can flex their special effects work. Due to this, the yokai are pretty secondary, but its not a bad little movie. Probably my favorite part of this one was how exaggerated the villains were. Literally show up, threaten to tear down a shrine and housing to build a brothel, then beat an old man to death.

Spook Warfare: This is the most famous of the films, for good reason. While it is still a period drama, it mostly focuses on yokai fighting against an invading Babylonian demon, creating a cool monster vs. monster conflict that also connects nicely to the human drama, since the demon is going around possessing and killing people. It was also surprisingly comedic, with lots of gag scenes and slapstick.

Along With Ghosts: Definitely the weakest of the ones I watched. This one goes back to the typical period drama style of the first, but the supernatural elements are even more disconnected from the main story.

The Great Yokai War: A 2005 reimagining of the series, directed by the madcap Takashi Miike. Miike left me as gobsmacked as ever, it was an absolutely chaotic film. It has some issues, such as scenes that are just narrative dead ends and stuff that just really needed to be explained better. Still, I ended up quite drawn into it and it was pretty unique. Watch Kato Yasunori from the Teito Monogatari series get defeated by a bean! Thighs! Nightmarish machines! Kirin beer product placement! Extremely dark humor scene where a cop accidentally shoots someone in the head! Pee gag! The killing of indigenous groups in Japan! Fascinating, though I felt like it was a movie that was aimed at everyone and no one at the same time.