Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Slay – review


Director: Jem Garrard

Release date: 2024

Contains spoilers

US streaming service Tubi has been putting original productions up for viewing and this vampire vehicle is a new one on their service. A simple story – siege of a bar by vampires – the twist to this was the queer storyline that sees a troupe of drag queens caught in the situation and, you know what, it works really well. Drawn for laughs, with underlying acceptance themes, it goes to show that a film doesn’t have to have a massively convoluted storyline to be absolutely engaging, it just has to be done well.

the vampire

The film starts with Rufus (Shane Kruger), a redneck delivery guy, having a pee outdoors with his truck parked up. Something rushes behind him, causing him to pee on his own shoe. He continues urinating and the thing rushes by again. He starts calling it out and then sees a vampire – this vampire has an interesting look; long tufts of hair growing from elongated ears but otherwise bald and a bat like face. Rufus shoots the creature but is got when he goes to check it. Note that it is daytime.

Heidi N Closet as Robin Banks

The vampire rushes off, across the road, and is nearly hit by an RV. The vehicle is driven by Robin Banks (Heidi N Closet), who is the manager of (and performer with) a troupe of drag queens travelling to their next gig. Also with the troupe is Olive Wood (Cara Melle), new member of the troupe and (as we repeatedly see) in creative conflict with troupe leader Mama Sue Flay (Trinity the Tuck). Also in the RV is ditzy but universally liked Crystal Methyd (Bella Da Boys). There is a level of excitement as Robin has booked them a show at a famous drag venue… however, when they pull into the parking area they discover that it is a rough bar and Robin has got the name wrong.

troupe meeting

As they cross the parking lot there is some jibes and returned sass between the troupe and a group of biker types led by Travis (Daniel Janks) – including a takedown of his motorbike. In the bar itself the queens are conspicuous amongst the clientele. At the bar they meet Dusty (Neil Sandilands) bartender and owner. He denies knowing anything about the booking, placing the blame on a staff member who is not there, but then suggests that, as they are there anyway and he has no other act, they should perform. There is a group conflab and the consensus seems to be to leave.

attacking Fatboy

However just then, with uncontained excitement, Jax (Donia Kash, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency) and Steven (Gabriel Harry Meltz) approach them. This is by far the best thing that has happened in their town (and there is an immediate attraction between Robin and Steven). This convinces all except Olive but, when Jax reveals they have seen Olive in competition, she is convinced. They agree to do the show… this leads to a performance to the track WAP and then some fine put downs by Mama when Travis runs his mouth off, before Rufus (who is late with his food delivery to the bar) comes in and ends up attacking (and biting) Fatboy (Joe Vaz, Lost Boys: The Thirst). Rufus is thrown out (and starts attacking patrons arriving in the parking lot) but, of course, Fatboy soon turns.

bitten

The film then has a siege of the bar, with plenty of entry points (and no invitation needed as there is a neon sign welcoming in all and sundry), a small army being created outside and bitten survivors turning. Among the characters we meet, that I haven’t mentioned yet, is sound and lights guy Earl (Warrick Grier) and genuinely funny barfly Shiela (Robyn Scott). There isn’t much lore (staking and garlic kill, one bite turns and they cast reflections) and it turns out that vampiric disposition is determined largely on what sort of person you were before – assholes remain assholes. When a vampire is killed it explodes into dust but, fittingly given the glam, there seems to be some glitter thrown in there.

Mama the Vampire Slayer

There are plenty of references made to other films. The setup is reminiscent of From Dusk Till Dawn and not only do we get a “what do we know about vampires” line, the film is mentioned (referred to as the foot fetish one). There is also mention of Interview with the Vampire, Blade and a couple of Twilight jokes that manage to avoid the all too cliched hate for the film. Simon Bacon has also pointed out that there is a touch of Delphine Seyrig in Daughters of Darkness to Mama's look. It is always good to see a queer facing vampire film, even better when the film works well. The themes of acceptance are well done and though the overarching story (vampire siege, try to survive, learn to work together) is simple, this was genuinely fun with great characterisations and just the right amount of glam and sass. 7 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Hellsing Ultimate – review


Director: Various

First Aired: 2006-2012

Contains spoilers


In my review of Hellsing, I gave a background that explained I had watched the original anime prior to starting this blog. Later I got the first 4 DVDs of the OVAs that make up Hellsing Ultimate, which is 10 OVAs in all and then I stalled as the further OVAs did not seem to emerge in the UK. Eventually I picked up a Malaysian set with the full OVA series and was all prepped to watch through Hellsing Ultimate.

Alucard

Before that I re-watched Hellsing, wrote a review (and subsequently sat on it for quite some time) and then started watching the OVAs. For the first four, everything was running smoothly but then, in the Malaysian set, the subtitles changed from the professional translations used in parts 1 to 4, to literal translations and, with the series almost watchable, I stalled again. Recently, I found that a UK Blu-ray had been released of the 10 OVAs (including loads of extras) and I got back to it…

Sir Integra

And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Every episode was properly subtitled (and voice acted if you prefer a dub) and the print quality was (as you'd expect) so much better on Blu-Ray. The Hellsing Ultimate storyline follows that of the Mangas much more closely than the original series and this means that whilst the first couple of episodes follow the earlier anime story fairly closely it soon diverges – with a story that sees the Last Battalion – World War Two, vampire Nazis – both behind the initial events and the focus of the episodes going forward, whilst the Incognito storyline is completely expunged.

the Major

The OVAs soon have an invasion of the UK going on and a counter invasion by the Iscariot Organisation on behalf of the Vatican, which they deem a crusade, one where they are as happy to kill British civilians as the vampires are. The leader of the vampires, an unvampirised Nazi Major (Nobuo Tobita) has very specific reasons for invading, partly the song of war and partly to do with Alucard (Jôji Nakata). The series is very bloody, much more rounded and has better character backgrounds.

Walter and Seras

One of my thoughts, rewatching Hellsing, was how unrounded Walter (Motomu Kiyokawa), the butler and assassin, was. He is better rounded in this, though in truth we get a tad more from the additional Hellsing Dawn, which were three short episodes, of which the first is an extra in the set (why the other two are missing is a mystery and a shame). Likewise, Seras Victoria (Fumiko Orikasa) was still used for both comedy and some low-level fan service, but was given a character development, had a dark background that was exposed late on and had much more in the way of kick ass moments. Seras did not become a ghoul when turned by Alucard because she was a virgin, and only virgins will turn into full vampires – a lore position that feels challenged later in the story by implicit elements.

Alucard and Anderson

The character that really did benefit from the longer run was Alucard himself. Definitively exposed as Count Dracula, and Vlad Ţepeş, there is perhaps less focus on his “locked” power levels – though they are still there. He is almost chthonic, able to become inchoate and, we eventually discover, he holds the souls of every victim – and there are many – each adding to his power. This is not a unique idea but the scale of this in Hellsing Ultimate is wonderfully chilling. We discover that Mina Harker was the one person whose blood he drank and then allowed her to drink his (Seras is offered his blood early on but does not take it). The better character and story development, coupled with superior animation does make this version the ultimate one in my eyes. 7.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On DVD @ Amazon US

On Blu-Ray @ Amazon UK

Friday, March 22, 2024

Hellsing – review


Director: Kohta Hirano

First aired: 2001-2002

Contains spoilers

This is a review of the first Hellsing Anime series – the series of OVAs that followed/rebooted the story would come under Hellsing Ultimate. First a little background. Although I am posting this review in 2024 (and, as I'll explain in a forthcoming review, wrote the review some time ago), I actually first watched (and had the DVD set) of Hellsing before I started Taliesin Meets the Vampires. I never re-watched the series, after the blog started, for review and therefore didn’t review it.

Alucard

Following the series, OVAs were released and I had the first four on DVD but wanted to review the run of OVAs when they came to an end – in all there were 10 OVAs produced. Eventually I found a Malaysian set containing the original series and all the OVAs. For completeness for the blog I decided to re-watch Hellsing (reviewed here) and then the OVAs (reviewed separately).

Alucard and Sir Integra

All that background leaves me in a place where I am sad to report that had I reviewed Hellsing when I first watched it, I think it would have got a much higher score than I am giving in this retrospective review (or maybe I just have rose tinted glasses). Main character Alucard (Jôji Nakata) is all kinds of cool but the show itself is lacking. Set in the UK, the Hellsing organisation is a secret, private agency run by the Hellsing family – currently headed by Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing (Yoshiko Sakakibara), the fact that she should be Dame Integra, not Sir, is idiosyncratically cool.

Father Alexander Anderson

The Agency has its own private army and its sole purpose is to hunt down freaks – or vampires. The family have a secret weapon in that the powerful vampire Alucard is a sworn servant of the head of the family. In some of the episodes we see the protestant organisation at odds with vampire hunters from the Vatican – the Vatican make it very clear that they do not use vampires as Hellsing do.

Serras Victoria

In the first episode there is an infestation in Cheddar village and the police sent in have all been turned into mindless ghouls (the victim of a vampire can be fully turned into a vampire or left as a zombie-like servant of the vampire who killed them) bar the young female police woman Serras Victoria (Fumiko Orikasa) – I assume, with Serras, the writers used the Japanese standard of placing the familial name first. At the end she is held hostage by the vampire priest who faces off against Alucard.

Incognito

Alucard gives Serras a choice – dying as he shoots through her to kill the vampire (his guns use silver bullets smelted from a church cross) or living on as a vampire. She choses the latter and the series primarily looks through her lens at the events that then unfold. The story meanders somewhat, starting with artificially created vampires (turned using freak chips – bio-engineering chips implanted into the host), through traitors in the ranks (low and high level) to a powerful ancient vampire, Incognito (Takumi Yamazaki), trying to summon a demon to destroy England.

black arts

In the last paragraph we have the two main issues I have with the anime – story and characters. Alucard is, as I say, all kinds of cool and we do get a conflation of him with Vlad Ţepeş at the very end of the show. We know (because the reversed name is almost clichéd) that he is Dracula. What we do not know is the extent of his powers (he has restraints on his power that he releases in levels dependent on the power of his foe) or why he is sworn to the Hellsing organisation. We get zero background.

Walter

We do get some backstory for Sir Integra – though it fails to round the character and just about every other character is so two dimensional as to be entirely without character. The retainer Walter (Motomu Kiyokawa) is another who needed expansion desperately (and was cool despite lack of characterisation). As for Serras she is simpering at best, more often than not looking dumbfounded and whispering “Master” than actually doing anything. The catholic vampire hunter Alexander Anderson (Nachi Nozawa) again is cool but we never find out why he is a human regenerator (healing rapidly from terrible wounds) and he vanishes from the story almost without a trace.

Ghoul army

The stories all kind of peter out. The freak chip – is the big main thrust, a lab is found in Hong Kong and then they just kind of vanish out of story. The storyline is addressed in an intertitle at the end, but only to say that there is no conclusion. The fact that Incognito also has a human master is not addressed (so we know he has one, but not who and why they have sent the vampire to destroy London. The whole anime also has quite an outdated feel to it also, it just doesn’t feel like it has stood the test of time.

All kinds of cool

Despite the negatives, perhaps born out of age and when compared to newer anime, one cannot take away the cool factor. Alucard is all kind of cool and, whilst we might not know the full extent or source of his dark powers the effects are great in their graphic rendering. There is a nice layer of gore through the animation, it just could have been so much more (and did seem so a couple of decades ago). 6 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On DVD @ Amazon US

On DVD @ Amazon UK

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

The Takeover – review


Director: Trent Harris

Release date: 2022

Contains spoilers  

I did try with this sci-fi, dystopian vampire film but I just couldn’t divine anything particularly coherent out of it. The film sets itself for a sequel, so might have been keeping its powder dry for that, but over all I just didn’t think it allowed itself to be followed particularly well.

It seems to be in a world where the vampire-apocalypse has taken place, but the end credit area further suggests this is with an eye on Covid-19. There was a lot of inter-personal politics and double-crossing going on but this wasn’t necessarily meaningful either.

breaking news

So, there is a news report at the beginning were the newscaster suggests that, following attacks on humans, President Harris has broken the Treaty of Clement (not delved into) and handed control of troops to General O’Brien (Dojo Turnbull). People are advised to stay in their homes… the channel seems to be hijacked by O’Brien. The film cuts to a man, in the woods, who has to keep moving because nowhere is safe. He reaches a house and enters it because, obviously, he just said he had to keep moving! It is suggested that he has the last sample of Renegade 43 (whatever that is). He is attacked by a vampire – there seems to be normal ones and feral ones; the ferals are called davvers.

Dojo Turnbull as O'Brien

At a secret camp Silver 5 are being trained – O’Brien’s elite vampire hunters one assumes. Two recruits, Cortez (Christina Fuentes) and Granger (Joe Swift), are in class and are rather negative about it all – given the vampires are faster and stronger. The teacher shows off the latest weapon that will paralyse a vampire (or, set on high dose, kill it) but they can’t have one whilst in training. Jim (Anthony Porrey) enters the room late, cocky as he is O’Brien’s son. Class is dismissed but he has one of the new guns and suggests they go out to hunt a vampire.

Wes Holland as Ellis

Maya (Mary Tabor) goes through the woods to meet her adopted father (he is the head of a vampire family and she is his adopted vampire daughter, the other children would appear to be his and so vampires, presumably, can reproduce). After the meeting there is a scene where she fights with some davvers, then is shot with the human’s vamp-tranquillizer. Jim argues with his fellow recruits and shoots Cortez in the head. Maya is (very quickly) able to move again and kills Jim and a further vampire, Ellis (Wes Holland, Vampire CEO) gets involved. Maya, later, can’t find records of Ellis.

Mary Tabor as Maya

The film then meanders through plots and politics. O’Brien has clear anger issues and likes to punch his wife Stephanie (Samantha Wesley Schanz). Details are given of O’Brien losing his son and daughter from a previous marriage and believing them dead (who turn out to be Maya and Ellis) and him releasing a genocidal compound, which I think ended up being behind a massive population wipeout and the creation of the davvers. But the film struggled to carry me with it as a viewer and I’ll be fair and suggest that it might have tried to explain everything in its narrative and the fault might be with me, but I was genuinely bored by what I was seeing and so may not have taken the nuances in. The film, quite simply, lost me. For me 2.5 out of 10, you may think this unfair if it held you better than it held me.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Monday, March 18, 2024

Use of Tropes: Shake Rattle & Roll Extreme


It is always great to get a new entry into the long running Philippine horror anthology series, Shake Rattle & Roll. This new one from 2023 recently dropped onto UK Netflix. The first segment, Glitch, is a great demonic entry and I was also rather taken by zombie-esque final segment Rage with people turned by space parasites, and the segment carrying the fun conceit that the more violence they commit the more powerful they become.

The segment that has led to this article is Mukbang, directed by Jerrold Tarog, which was interesting because it moves directly into the world of internet influencers. However, whilst the creatures in it are not named as such, I did get a bit of an aswang feel.

Jane Oineza as Ms Vee

We see a motley crew of different influencers arrive at a mansion. We have Adelle (Esnyr Ranollo) and their assistant Beyoncé (Phi Palmos), Ashley B (AC Bonifacio) and her assistant Hannah (Jana Taladro), Ms Vee (Jane Oineza), and Chef Kino Javier (Ninong Ry) and his assistant Issac (Ian Gimena). They are meeting Robin (Paul Salas) and Reye (Elle Villanueva) who have set the whole thing up to hit a million subscribers. The viewer notices that each influencer character is introduced with their followership levels. Late is Lionell (RK Bagatsing), Vee’s boyfriend and influencer in his own right. Also there is caretaker (and, we later discover, butcher) Mr Isko (Francis Mata).

influencers

It is a collaboration, including a Mukbang and Mr Isko will provide the meat. Beyoncé is the first to change. We see them wandering, meeting Robin, something indistinct with glowing eyes appearing behind them and then Beyoncé acting odd in scenes thereafter. The general plot is that there are monsters in the mansion. Now aswang is a term meaning monster (and can be very generic) but aswang are mentioned once later when Adelle puts on makeup and pretends to be one.

what's behind Beyonce

The monsters themselves are referred to as kindred and the plot is one of world domination. A kindred will rip the heart of a victim out and eat it, in doing so they take on their appearance. The rest of the victim is then butchered by Mr Isko who gets Chef Kino to ignorantly cook it for the Mukbang, with the villains amused that the human influencers are tricked into cannibalism. The disguised kindred needing to eat the flesh to consolidate their appearance and regain strength. The idea is to take over the influencers, gain their platform, and then start inviting followers to further events.

one of the Kindred

It is the association with aswang (even in the generic monster sense, and we can note that the kindred are credited as monsters), the eating of the heart to gain a victim’s shape and the cannibalism that leads to this mention. This is the most comedic of the three segments and the influencers are not really drawn as pleasant. Unkind (in cases) to their assistants, cheating, more concerned with content than safety to the point of doing an advert for a sponsor whilst being attacked. The two who come off better are revealed to be villains of the piece (Robin and Reye) and, in some respects, the influencers themselves might be said to be vampires.

The imdb page is here.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

You Shouldn't Have Let Me In – review


Director: Dave Parker

Release date: 2024

Contains spoilers

A Tubi original, I put this on with low expectations but it managed to be more than expected and revealed itself as a neat little vampire film with an unusual vampire type (spider based) and a neat bit of lore that was used really well. Of course, the name is a riff on the John Ajvide Lindqvist novel/filmic spin offs (where the US vehicle uses the alternative Let Me In rather than Let the Right One In) and seems to have slowly crept in as a trope, for instance being the baseline for Let the Wrong One In.

Brianna attacked

It starts in a club and a woman, Brianna (Giulia Nunnari), engaged in a passionate kiss with a fella (Andrea Melis). She breaks off the kiss and determines to leave, he appears to follow. Walking across a town square she is clearly drunk and gets a phone call. She denies to Jenny (Anastasiya Bogach) that she is drunk. However, her instincts do click in and she starts to think she is being followed and starts to drunkenly run. Reaching steps, she loses her heels and gets to a gate but it is padlocked. She is approached (we don’t see the person(s) in detail but perspective suggests from left and right) and a clawed hand slashes over her face.

Blake and Kelsey

A train going through Italian countryside and onboard Kelsey (Diana Gardner) is on her phone and Blake (Nathaniel Ansbach) is bored. He suggests she stops doing work as they’re on vacation – pointing out that the world won’t end if the assistant to the assistant goes offline. They are there for the hen night and then wedding of mutual friend Rochelle (Isabella Egizi). It becomes apparent that Kelsey has a hangup as groom-to-be Richard (Davide Nurra) is Kelsey’s ex, who cheated on her and then got together with Rochelle. Blake suggests she concentrates on Italian hunks, that’s what he’ll be doing.

friends at the beach

They have to go straight to meet Rochelle and Jenny at the beach. Rochelle is an influencer and Jenny is stage managing her wedding as an event. It is interesting that this used the influencer phenomena and I watched it just a few weeks after doing my chapter for a forthcoming book, my piece touching partly on influencers in the vampire genre (more on that when the book comes out eventually), as this uses that trend well as a plot device and key element. Things aren’t going quite to plan, Brianna has not turned up and simply texted an excuse and Kelsey is not in the choreographed beachwear expected. It is organiser Jenny who seems more Bridezilla than the bride, Rochelle just suggests not posting pictures of Kelsey whilst off-brand (she has sponsors, she’s sure her friend will understand).

in the book

Kelsey takes the opportunity to look around the town and, as she does, comes across Brianna’s shoes (not knowing they are hers, of course) and then a rose at the gate where the woman was subsequently attacked. Picking it up, she pricks her finger and when she puts it back down there is blood on the white petals. She is accosted by a woman (Laura Mura) with a photo. She works out that the woman is looking for a missing person (presumably her daughter) and she notices a red centred broach the woman wears. She then gets to a shop and, inside, sees a pendant with the same red centre. The shop owner Dario (Riccardo Angelini) explains that the centre is blood of a martyr and the legend of a hypnotic spider who used to prey on the village, which the blood is said to protect from. He gives her the necklace. Blake arrives and, after Dario is told that Blake and Kelsey are not boyfriend/girlfriend, flirting occurs with Blake, who gets Dario’s number. Dario has said Kelsey looks familiar and there is a book he has with a sepia photo that looks just like her.

Victor and Kelsey

They get to the villa they are staying in, which has been donated for their use by Victor (Fabián Castro). There is an aside of seeing Brianna’s room festooned with cobwebs but nothing else is done with that. Kelsey wears the expected outfit but also the new pendent, which Jenny makes her remove as it doesn’t go with the look. A text from Brianna summons them to a club recommended by Victor, who is (of course) the vampire and is waiting for them. 

hypnotic eyes

It isn’t a spoiler really to tell you that he is after Kelsey (who closely resembles his lost love) but this vampire is not depicted romantically or misunderstood, rather he manipulates, enforces his will hypnotically (and through blood, which can also cause controlled hallucinations) to force consent, is a predator and drawn evil – all of which is great. Towards the end we hear that he drew them to him, offering the free accommodation, having seen the pictures of Kelsey posted by Rochelle and that makes this spider’s web the internet as well as having physical webbing (there is also a moment where rose petals are laid out in the form of a spiderweb).

Blake and Dario

Dario is the last of a line of vampire hunting knights and is searching for a vial of martyr’s blood that will damage Victor (much like holy water). The martyr blood aspect was the neat bit of lore and was used really well. Other rules are standard – lack of reflection, stake through the heart and the need for invitation. This extends to his own house as the guests have signed a rental agreement and Jenny (the signatory) is the one who must invite him. He has a couple of minions and there is a fabulous moment with one of them that I won’t spoil.

spider form

The film is fairly standard plot wise, with the spider element and the martyr’s blood adding its own twist to a familiar story, but it is well done. The cinematography works and nothing looks too cheap, despite it being a budget production. The characters seemed natural, the queer elements are not forced but rather they fit organically, and the pace bobbed along without dragging. I liked the influencer (and related abuse of the influencer by the vampire) themes. Is it the greatest film – of course not. But it is certainly worth a watch. 6 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger: Papa wa Kyûketsuki!? – review


Director: Katsuya Watanabe

First aired: 1992

Contains spoilers

Power Rangers may have been a popular franchise in the US and UK, but they were based on a Japanese series called Super Sentai, with new live action footage, including actors, cultural references and plot. This episode of the Super Sentai series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Dinosaur Squad) saw aspects cut into a couple of the Mighty Morphin’ episodes and the vampire aspect, which had Japanese actors, was lost in that. The episode title translates to Papa's a Vampire!?

hiding in foliage

A young girl is walking in a park when, within the foliage, we see a monster emerge named Totpat (voiced by Shinoda Kaoru). He bemoans that he has vampire blood but has never drunk human blood and goes after the girl. When he springs out on her she cries ‘Monster’ and this is heard by a young girl called Michi (Fujita Miki) who runs up, baseball bat in hand, and the monster flees.

prone to exaggeration

Dan (Fujiwara Hideki), who is one of the Zyurangers, is walking along when he sees Michi chasing a policeman (Iba Takashi) with her bat, shouting that there was a monster as the policeman denies any such report. Dan asks the girl if she really has seen a monster but the policeman intervenes and says that he is Michi’s father and she is a good girl but prone to exaggeration. Dan, however, goes off with Michi believing her story.

Papa's a Vampire!?

Meanwhile, Bandora (Soga Machiko), the evil witch who is the enemy of the Zyurangers is presented with her new monster, Dora Argus (Tokumaru Kan). She sends him to Earth to harm children and to help Totpat to be able to suck as much blood as he wants. Dora Argus is made up of eyes and he lures Michi away with a floating eyeball until she is alone and isolated and confronted by a giant eye (the monster’s primary one). He pulls her into a world of hallucination. Within this world she sees a vampire sucking blood from a victim. He looks up and it is her dad.

Zyurangers

She emerges back into the real world and walks, trance like, with Totpat ready to strike until she is nearly knocked over by Zyurangers Boi (Hashimoto Takumi) and Mei (Chiba Reiko). Michi cries that her father is a vampire. Most of the Zyurangers are sceptical, bar Dan who believes her tears. He and Michi are left as the others investigate and they are confronted by the eye, this time both of them being pulled into the other world and Dan seeing the vampire for himself. Will they get out and will Michi trust her (innocent) father again?

convenient cross

There isn’t a lot of vampire lore in this, but we do get a smidge. The vampire’s cloak acts of its own volition, fighting with Dan and knocking a cross (that Michi conveniently carries) out of the young girl’s hand when she tries to ward 'her father' with it. Of course it would be a case of belief in vampires, if not for Totpat who is a vampire (though perpetually incompetent at sucking blood, it seems). The episode itself is primarily geared towards the fight between the Zyurangers and Dora Argus, and the subsequent fight between the latter in kaiju form and the mecha of the Zyurangers. The Michi story is interesting but throwaway. That said it does work, albeit that it vacillates between simplistic and overly convoluted (as a plan to suck blood). 4 out of 10 for the episode as a standalone.

The episode's imdb page is here.

The complete series on DVD @ Amazon US

The complete series on DVD @ Amazon UK