- A Film Review by Robert Bailey Halloween, 1966. A series of strange deaths
have occurred in and around the United States Airforce Base at Yokota, Japan.
The local Police are at a loss to offer an explanation, but a secret Agency
is only too well aware of what has happened. Chiropterans - shapeshifting, bestial
blood-drinkers, are preying on the people of Yokota. An undercover agent, Saya,
is sent to investigate and eradicate the problem. But Saya's links with the
Chiropterans are possibly stronger than with the people she is protecting. For
Saya is the last original Vampire………
Originally released in Japan in 2000, "Blood" is a striking film in many respects.
In comparison to so many Japanese animated films (or "Anime"), which dwell on
luridly spectacular sex, violence, and technology, "Blood" is resolutely atmospheric
and melancholy, with as much implied as shown or explained. We never find out
why, for instance, Saya feels it her duty to hunt down the Chiropterans, or
what her relationship with them is. It is clearly a task she takes no joy in
- nor does she seem to feel any great compassion for those she is ostensibly
protecting. Rather than detracting from the story, this lack of information
only adds to the feeling we are glimpsing a part of the world it were perhaps
best we were not aware of.
The
1960's background is used to full effect rather than just being window dressing,
and the brief allusions to the beginning of America's involvement in the Vietnam
War only add to the bleakness of the story. That said, there are some givens
of Anime that the filmmakers seem unable to avoid - Saya does spend most of
the film wearing a Schoolgirl Uniform - but given that she is operating undercover
at the Yokota Airbase School, this only makes sense!
What does make "Blood" stand out is its combination of animation and computer
generated imagery. Whereas all the characters are represented by traditional
hand drawn animation, virtually all the backgrounds and other moving images
(such as Aircraft and vehicles) are created via computer. These two very different
kinds of images are meshed together almost seamlessly, and create a depth, realism,
and grittiness that either alone might not have been able to achieve. It is
a clear demonstration of how computer generated images can contribute so much
when they are used to serve the narrative, rather than when the opposite occurs,
something I think we are all too familiar with…..
In summary, "Blood" is a strange and melancholy film. But it is superbly atmospheric,
and most definitely worth seeking out.
