Customer Reviews

Zeram [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In Zeram a weird creature from outer space escapes from somewhere (it dosen't realy say.) and flies to Earth. A female bounty who is played by the same actress as the Ornthalogist in Gamera The Gurdian Of The Universe, is sent to destroy it. She comes with a computer called bob, that looks like a hour glass. While she is battleing the creature Zeram she acidently traps to men in another dimension with Zeram. She then has to save them.He has a humaniod head on a nerve that tries to eat the 2 men.I realy liked the movie, I thought it was as good as most of the Godzilla and Gamera Movies.

Those reviews are about the Fox Lorber release which is dubbed. This is not that DVD. This is the Tokyoshock release with it's original language and subtitles.

It’s been a while since I have had this much fun watching a low-budget Japanese movie. We’re not really talking cheesy production values fun or lame acting fun. I am talking about straight up legitimate movie viewing fun! Think of it as a live action anime and that will get you closer to the experience that is Zeram.

The plot is pretty simple, but it is executed in a solid manner. There are really only a handful of characters in Zeram so there was a nice amount of subtle development involved. The two electricians, though tend to be a little like Laurel and Hardy or Abbot and Costello at times, have a charming dynamic going between them which helps ground the whole story. Yuko Moriyama also does a good job being the beautiful yet bad to the bone bounty hunter Iria without taking if over the top.

Special effects aren’t bad considering the budget. A few people in silly rubber suits come in, but Zeram itself looks really nice. The rest of the effects are obviously of the lower quality caliber, but they use them so very well. The cinematography in some scenes emulates what you would see in an action packed anime, which again works very well. Props are cool, but I noticed Iria’s base of operations is loaded with props that are actually various electronic drums machines from Roland, Korg and Yamaha. Only a drum machine fan would get that though.

Zeram is simply a fun movie. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. In spite of the apparently low budget it comes off as a top-notch, though eclectic, movie. If you are an anime fan I recommend the experience. If you like the cyberpunk sci-fi I recommend it also, just don’t expect another Bladerunner. This is, after all, light fare.

As other viewers have stated, this harkens back to the (now nearly archetypal) world of Japanese rubber-monster movies. It sports a great monster, a lively female hero and two bewildered, would-be heroes who find themselves in the thick of things and are forced to come to terms with the situation.

Zeram is an invincible monster who has just escaped prison (even though he's being assaulted by more fire-power than you'll find in most third-world countries)and now has a bounty on his...hers...it's head. Enter the female bounty hunter and her computer sidekick Bob. Bob has a droll sense of humor while she is a hard-hitting, armed to the teeth, walking death machine. (She does look nifty in her tight-fitting, Star Wars type get-up though). Together they need to snag Zeram, put him back in the slammer and collect the dough, all while keeping a low profile and dealing with a couple of not too bright earthlings who mistakenly stumble on the entire mess.

This is not a great film but it's great fun. The characters are noteable, the monster is cool (he sems to be controlled by this rather phallic looking organ that emerges from his head and has a face on it. (A nasty Kibuki looking one at that). There are some rather deformed looking baby monsters present as well. They resemble the mutant offspring in Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, and manage to cause a degree of mayhem while in the picture. On top of that you have some great fight scenes and some nail biting tense moments. The look of the film is pretty good as well. The opening scenes of Zeram's escape sport muted (almost black and white) tones, and a lot of misty fog. It actually looks like a more serious western hemisphere sci-fi feature. Then it switches to the more primary colorful and sharper edged visuals seen in many Hong Kong flicks. And when the dust has settled in the end, you feel as though you've been through this excruciating escapade along with the characters.

I'd bump this up another star but the normal movie viewer (whatever THAT is)wouldn't get it. But it's a definite 4 stars for fans of this sort of thing. There are much worse ways to spend 90 minutes of relaxation time.

Zeram is pure fun, a low-budget thriller staring a cute girl bounty-hunter, two goofy power company workers and a damned-near unkillable, biomechanical monstrosity set in an empty section of a city transported to another dimension.

How does all this work? Very well if you're a science-fiction or manga lover; not as well if you're not.

It isn't brilliant filmmaking and there are no surprises in it--hero/heroine-versus-monster; guess who's going to win--but the manga-style costumes, armor, devices and equipment are fun to see realized in a live-action feature as they are in this movie. Zeram's category might be 'foreign low-budget,' but it is made in a spirit of genuine homage to its source material and here that means loving attention to visual and conceptual details.

Like all good action-adventure stories, the point is not the destination but the ride and the bumps in it and Zeram provides jaw-dropping action, jaw-dropping surprises and lovingly crafted touches by the bucketful. I genuinely enjoyed it. I hope you will.

Wow this is one of the best live-action Japanese scifi's that I've seen. I have all three of the Iria: Zeiram the Animation series (Based on Zeram and Zeram 2) and I recently bought Zeiram on VHS. I love this movie. Basicly, this undestructable alien wepon, Zeram, crashes into earth. The only person that can stop him is Iria, a galactic bounty hunter. Joined by two silly but smart earth guys, Iria takes on Zeram to save the Earth, and herself!

Nice reissue of the Zeiram movie with Japanese track and English subs for those who don't care for dubs. Nice compliment to Zeiram II and the animated version IRIA

Although I am glad to have this highly entertaining Japanese sci-fi on DVD, widescreen format, it would have been nicer to have the original Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles. Fox Lorber should be aware that when they are releasing DVDs for purchase they are dealing with DISCERNING CUSTOMERS. The movie is very low-budget but full of charm; reminiscent of ULTRAMAN and other TV heroes and monsters of the bygone era ('70s, to be exact) but with a nod toward strong female protagonist. Moriyama Yuko kicks butts! (By the way she is NOT the ornithologist in GAMERA, that's Nakayama Shinobu. I know, I sometimes can't tell the difference between Gwenyth Paltrow and Meg Ryan, either) It would be very nice if some enterprising company releases Zeram 2, an even better film, and Moon Over Tao, where Moriyama gets to show her true acting abilities (She plays 3 aliens) on DVD, with SOME EXTRAS, and in ORIGINAL JAPANESE SOUNDTRACK. By the way the animated version (IRIA) is a travesty, reducing one of the coolest heroines in Japanese science fiction into just another cute anime character, avenging her brother's death, or some such nonsense.

Dubbed voices, cool action, stop motion animation, and a monster that JUST WON'T DIE turn this movie into the stuff that cult classics are made of.

Grrr.

If you like Keita Amemiya films( Moon over tao, Hakaider, Cyber Ninja, Zeiram2, Mikazuki) Steer clear of Fox Lorbers featureless grab at your wallet.

Grrr.