Requiem From The Darkness
Publisher
MVM
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
13 episodes / 25 minutes
Year
2003
Requiem From The Darkness Volume 1: Turmoil Of The Flesh
By otaku_kei
26th Aug 06  What is this? Though the post a week or so back I receive the first volume in a new show from MVM, a show that I have never heard of and cannot remember being on MVM's release list. Well we get another release into the horror genre with this latest show. But this is no generic vampire show, nor is it the mind bending oddity of shows such as Boogiepop Phantom. All of the horror in this volume comes from the cruelty that man can inflict upon his own people, and how superstitions are built up around the evil that men do. Caught up in all of this is a young author trying to write his 100 ghost stories, but sometimes reality can be stranger than the imagination. So let us delve deep into the dark underbelly of human depravity as we watch Requiem From The Darkness! I don't know what I was expecting when I started to watch this show. Possibly ghosts, goblins and oni demons ravishing the countryside and visiting untold amounts of terror upon the human population. Possibly the protagonist is going to end up in haunted house situations that could range anywhere from Scooby-Doo hi-jinks, to Amityville Horror levels of terror. But the horror on offer in Requiem is much more in the vein of the psychological terror and horror that populates most of the cinematic horror output from Japan in the last few years. Sure the demonic ghosts in The Ring and Dark Water were supernatural in nature but the result of human tragedy and cruelty. But does Requiem actually have any ghosts and goblins in it? Or does the horror come more from the ghosts that certain people carry with them; ghosts that drive them mad and haunt their every waking moment? The art style of this show compliments the stifling atmosphere of unreality that the plot is trying to create. From the discordant colour schemes during that reflect the mental state of some of the players on this stage, to the grain across the picture again to make the audience question what is happening onscreen. Think about all the little visual tricks used in games like Silent Hill to ramp up the tension and shocks. The camera angles are also used creatively to enhance the skewed vision of humanity that Requiem From The Darkness presents! A dark vision that covers child murders, cross-dressing serial killers, incest and madness! This opening volume of Requiem From The Darkness debuts with confidence, each story being firmly routed within the mythology of Japan and yet being universally true of humanity. These tales demonstrate the worst in humanity, the depravity of which we are capable, and one man's witness to all these truths tumbling from the guilty. The episodic nature working well as each terrifying tale wraps up neatly within the allotted 25 minute running time. For horror fans that have really taken to the asian horror style coming out in the past few years, then this show certainly has a lot to offer. For those of you who are after something a little different with some rather dark plotlines then this show may also be right up your alley. I have to say that I am intrigued to see how the rest of this show plays out!
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English Language 2.0; Japanese Language 2.0; English Language Subtitles; Textless Opening & Closing; 2 Art Galleries; MVM Trailers
Release information: Coming Soon - 11th September 2006
Notes: This latest release from MVM recieves all the usual benefits of the quality that they lavish on their shows. The A/V standard is superb and we get a few extras to complement the series. All in all a fine addition to MVM's range of shows.
-- otaku_kei 26th Aug 06
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