Shimako Sato Movies

This follow-up to Shimako Sato's cult favorite Eko Eko Azaraku is in fact a prequel. An undercover witch-cum-high school student in the first installment, Misa Kuroi (played again by Kimika Yoshino) is a fresh-faced normal teenager. One night, while returning to a party after a beer run, she discovers all of her friends hacked into a bloody pulp by a murderous creature dressed in white. His intended victim was Misa, however, and soon he is hot on her trail. Just as this otherworld assailant is about to get the schoolgirl in his bloody clutches, she is saved by a shadowy character in a black trenchcoat (Wataru Shihodo). Though she does not initially trust her savior, who seems just as otherworldly and weird as her would-be murderer, Misa warms up to him a bit after he saves her a second time (from a gun-toting zombie) prompting him to divulge some dark secrets. Saiga, as the man in black calls himself, is the sole survivor of a family of magicians from the 1880s. Not long before the murders, a team of archaeologists unearthed their burial grounds, accidentally freeing the spirit of an evil witch, who is intent on possessing the body of Misa to gain enormous occult powers. Only Misa, with her trusty magical pendant, can save herself and stop the witch. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Set in South London, this surreal and atmospheric low-budget film takes an interesting approach to the vampire genre by focusing almost exclusively on the emotions of its tormented central character: reclusive, intellectual vampire Alex (Julian Sands). Alex chooses to prey only on criminals and street derelicts, devoting more of his time to pursue a greater hunger for books on the occult, a passion surpassed only by his tragic love for a beautiful woman whom he lost to his ancient rival, the vampire-hunting Edgar (Kenneth Cranham). Alex's past returns to haunt him in more ways than one: as he enters a tenuous relationship with a quiet, morose librarian (Suzanna Hamilton) whose sad-eyed beauty reminds him of his lost love, the still-vindictive Edgar -- now a vampire himself -- returns to settle the score by abducting her. Though leisurely paced, this seldom-seen sleeper is driven by excellent performances, gorgeous photography, and a simple but compelling script that artfully combines subtle chills with bittersweet romance (including fitting excerpts from Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee"), all draped in a fog-bound Gothic ambience of dripping candles, billowing curtains, and crumbling stone pillars. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide