Site
Index
Conversion
Atelier
Scale
Comparisons
Miniature
Reviews
General
Frothings
Contact
& Disclaimers
Links
|
Vampirehunter
D: Bloodlust
First
of, what is it and how is it relevant to the froth?
Vampirehunter
D: Bloodlust is a masterful Japanese Anime movie. A must for any fan of
Gothic atmosphere in general and vampires in particular. It's potential
as sourcematerial for a RPG or Skirmish game is easily perceived, combining
romance, gothic horror, science fiction and bloody action. The setting
is an interesting one and shows us a post-apocalyptic world which is at
times reminiscent of the Old West and the Victorian era. The year is 12.090
AD. This is a world where vampires are a known threat and for a long time
it has been theirs to rule. But now their race is dwindling and many vampirehunters
have risen to end what they see as the plague of vampirism. One of them
is the solitary vampirehunter D...
The
tables turned,
The secrets revealed,
And the hunters have become the Hunted.
This is Vampire Hunter D -
and all is not as it seems... |
The
story:
The story begins
when Charlotte, a young woman who's part of a wealthy family is abducted
in the night by the vampire Meier Link. Her family offers a huge reward
to the person who will bring her back and one of those to answer their
call is the mysterious Vampire Hunter D. However, he is not the only one
and will have to face the tough competition of the Markus Brothers, a
highly skilled team of bounty hunters.
But Meier
Link is no fool and sets many traps on the road for those who would pursue
him. And it is not all clear whether Charlotte's abduction happened against
her will. There is more to this hunt than meets the eye and it remains
uncertain who are the pawns and who is the player...
 |
The
impressions:
The mood is
set from the opening scene where we see rows and rows of gothic crosses
flashing by in the night, one by one being bent and distorted by an unseen
power. It is only when the camera zooms out that we realise this is not
a graveyard, but that the crosses are mounted on rooftops. Down to the
groundlevel then, where a black coach races through the streets, emanating
a subtile threat. When we finally get to the abduction scene, this is
only shown as a reflection in the mirror and vampires cast none... These
first few minutes of the movie breathe a splendid gothic atmosphere, one
that will be a recurrent theme throughout the movie. For instance, D's
entrance on his first encounter with the Markus Brothers must possibly
be the coolest any character ever made in a vampire movie. The soundtrack
does a good job of accentuating these moments as well.
But
this movie is more than just another gothic vampire tale. Many scenes
invoke the feeling of the Old West and should appeal to fans of games
like Deadlands or Gaslight. There is a good dose of science fiction with
the Markus Brothers' armoured vehicle or the fact that all horses seem
to be living machines. But these bits are never overwhelming and are more
discrete touches than anything else. Another thing that sets this world
apart from the classical vampire stories are the weird creatures that
inhabit it, from the gigantic sand manta's living in the desert, over
the mysterious clan of madmen and mutants hired by Meier to stop his pursuants,
to the parasite living in D's body and talking to him through his left
hand.
D
himself is not your average bounty hunter, but a Dunpeal, born from the
union of a vampire and human and blessed with eternal youth, but continuously
struggling to preserve his humanity. There have been many movies before
exploring the theme of humanity and who is more human, the whole or the
half, so yo could say it's running a little on the beaten track, but it
never goes too far. And as the parasite tells D in the movie, he's not
bad, he just dresses bad.
The
only possible complaint is perhaps the fact that there's not much depth
to the female leads, but then again I'm not sure if more was required
anyway. The level of animation is virtually irreproachable and there are
no cheap "filler" scenes. Everything scene looks just as good
or better than the last. It is in this point that Bloodlust exceeds the
original cult classic "Vampire Hunter D". Fans of the original
movie will say the story of the new movie doesn't measure up, while the
new fans will defend Bloodlust as the superior movie. Let's just accept
that both movies are different in what they're trying to do and keep it
at that. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a classic in it's own right and
more than "just a sequel".
The official
website: http://www.vampirehunterdbloodlust.com/#
For a large number of independant opinions, visit Amazon.com's customer
reviews here.
|
Technical
information:
Full
title: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Feature Length: 103 min. approx.
Origins:
Japan, 2000
Language:
English (this is the original version!)
Production:
Madhouse Animation Studios & Urban Vision Entertainment
Producers:
Mataichiro Yamamoto & Masao Maruyama
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Composer/Audio Producer: Marco D'Ambrosio
Audio Post Supervisor:- Terri D'Ambrosio
Sound Effects Editor: Scott Strain
Sound Designers: Nick Peck & Larry the O |
|
