Evil Dead Trap (Japanese: 死霊の罠, romanized: Shiryō no wana, lit. 'Trap of the Dead Spirits') is a 1988 Japanese supernatural slasher film directed by Toshiharu Ikeda and produced by Japan Home Video.
| Evil Dead Trap | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Toshiharu Ikeda |
| Written by | Takashi Ishii |
| Produced by | Satoshi Jinno Michio Ôtsuka |
| Starring | Miyuki Ono Aya Katsuragi Hitomi Kobayashi Eriko Nakagawa Masahiko Abe |
| Cinematography | Masaki Tamura |
| Music by | Tomohiko Kira |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Joy Pack Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Plot
editThis article needs an improved plot summary. (November 2016) |
TV show host Nami asks her viewers to send in home movies; she receives a snuff film shot at a disused military base. She takes a camera crew out to investigate, and they are murdered one-by-one in a grisly fashion until only Nami remains.
Cast
edit- Miyuki Ono as Nami Tsuchiya
- Yuji Honma as Daisuke Muraki
- Aya Katsuragi as Masako Abe
- Eriko Nakagawa as Rie Kawamura
- Hitomi Kobayashi as Rei Sugiura
- Masahiko Abe as Akio Kondou
- Shinsuke Shimada as Harada
- Hiroshi Shimizu as the captive man
- Noboru Mitani as the detective
- Mari Shimizu as the voice of Hideki
- Terumi Niki as the voice of Hideki's mother
- Kyōko Hashimoto
Production
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2016) |
Special effects were by Shinichi Wakasa who would go on to a career as a monster-suit maker for several Godzilla films.[citation needed]
Hitomi Kobayashi who plays the supporting role of Rei Sugiura was a top star for Japan Home Video (JHV) under their adult video (AV) label Alice Japan. JHV financed the film as a vehicle for Kobayashi. However, director Toshiharu Ikeda, unsure of Kobayashi's acting ability, instead put Miyuki Ono in the starring role.[1]
Release
editEvil Dead Trap was released theatrically in Japan as 死霊の罠 (Shiryō no wana) on May 14, 1988.[2] It was later released in Japan on VHS on September 25, 1988[3] and as a DVD on June 23, 2000.[4] On November 7, 2000, the film was released on DVD in the United States by Synapse Films. The release included the original theatrical trailer, and audio commentary by director Ikeda and special effects manager Shinichi Wakasa.[5]
Reception
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2016) |
Evil Dead Trap received positive reviews from critics, with praise highlighting the film's mixing of giallo and slasher film genres, cinematography, and special effects, while most criticism was directed at the film's ending.
Jon Condit from Dread Central rated the film a score of three out of five, highlighting the soundtrack, story, and cinematography as being reminiscent of Dario Argento's giallo films. While calling the film "fun and well crafted", Condit criticized the film's weak ending.[6] Niina Doherty of HorrorNews.net also criticized the film's ending while commending the cinematography, special effects, and mixture of elements from slasher and giallo films.[7] Empire's Mark Dinning gave the film four out of five stars, praising the film's cinematography, gore effects, and style, calling it, "an effective and bloody slasher let down only by its last act".[8] In their book Japanese Cinema: Essential Handbook, authors Thomas and Yuko Weisser awarded the film four out of four stars, calling it the best of contemporary J-Horror cinema, while also noting Argento's films as obvious inspiration.[9]
Legacy
editEvil Dead Trap was followed by one sequel. Evil Dead Trap 2 (also known as Hideki: Evil Dead Trap 2), was directed by Izo Hashimoto and released in 1992. The film is a loose continuation of the first and follows a theater projectionist, Aki, who sees visions of a ghostly boy named Hideki while Aki thinks she might be a serial killer that targets women.
The 1993 film The Brutal Insanity of Love, directed by Evil Dead Trap director Toshiharu Ikeda, was released internationally under the title of Evil Dead Trap 3: Broken Love Killer. In the film, a policewoman investigates the apparent suicide of a college student. The film has no connection to the first two in the series.
References
edit- ^ Galloway, Patrick (2006). "Evil Dead Trap: Shiryo no wana". Asia Shock: Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press. p. 165. ISBN 1-933330-12-0.
- ^ 死霊の罠(1988) (in Japanese). All Cinema. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ "死霊の罠 [VHS]" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. 25 September 1988. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ "死霊の罠 [DVD]" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. 23 June 2000. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ "Evil Dead Trap - Synapse Films". Synapse Films. n.d. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ Condit, Jon (July 6, 2005). "Evil Dead Trap (1988)". Dread Central. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Doherty, Niina (March 15, 2020). "Film Review: Evil Dead Trap (Shiryô no wana) (1988)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Dinning, Mark (January 1, 2000). "Evil Dead Trap Review". Empire. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Weisser 2003, p. 91-92.
Bibliography
edit- Thompson, Nathaniel (2006) [2002]. "EVIL DEAD TRAP". DVD Delirium: The International Guide to Weird and Wonderful Films on DVD; Volume 1 Redux. Godalming, England: FAB Press. p. 254. ISBN 1-903254-39-6.
- Weisser, Thomas. (1998). "Asian Cult Cinema Report: Film, News and Gossip", in Asian Cult Cinema, #22, 1st Quarter, 1999, p. 4-6. (American premier of Evil Dead Trap)
- Thomas Weisser; Yuko Mihara Weisser (2003). Japanese Cinema: The Essential Handbook : Featuring Japanese Cult Cinema Since 1955. Vital Books.