Director: Michio Yamamoto
Cast: Kayo Matsuo, Yukiko Kobayashi, Yoko Minazake
Screenplay: Hiroshi Nagano, Ei Ogawa
71 mins. Not Rated.

In the 1970s, Toho, the company behind Godzilla, dipped their toe into gothic horror, with a trilogy of films atmospherically heavily inspired by Hammer. The three films, thematically linked around vampires and directed by Michio Yamamoto (Terror in the Streets), would be referred to as The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, beginning with the somewhat-cobbled together gothic vampire ghost show The Vampire Doll.

Kazuhiko has left to visit his girlfriend in her country home, but when a wee passes and no one has heard from him, his sister Keiko (Kayo Matsuo, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx) and fiancé Hiroshi go out looking for him. Upon arrival, they learn terrifying details from the girlfriend’s mother, but is any of it true? Keiko and Hiroshi resolve to stay at the home to uncover the truth and hopefully find Kazuhiko in the process.

The Vampire Doll is absolutely oozing with delicious atmosphere from its fusion of Universal Gothic, Hammer Horror color, a splash of Giallo style, and with the cultural stamp of Japan, making it one of the more unique horror films I’ve ever seen. It’s dripping with mood, leaving me as a viewer completely uncertain what the next reveal would be. The combination of elements from around the world didn’t leave me with easy assumptions, and as the mystery unfolded, I was on the edge of my seat.

Birthed from the idea that director Yamamoto wanted to make a Hitchcock-inspired film that was miscommunicated into becoming a supernatural horror script, the finished film bears little resemblance to anything Hitchcock would have crafted, apart from the melodrama, which is somewhat shambled together, but really, that’s not what matters. The mystery itself plays second fiddle to the visual melodrama of Yamamoto’s film and its color design.

Sure, The Vampire Doll is a vampire film, but it also feels ripped from a classical haunted house tale, and the questions don’t necessarily need easy or simple answers to be effective. It’s haunting score and gorgeous visuals make this a treat that doesn’t need to be understood or followed, but merely experienced. I was mesmerized with the tone of Yamamoto’s film, but it’s clear that it started out as one film and evolved into another. While later entries of The Bloodthirsty Trilogy would feel more focused, The Vampire Doll is a little scattershot, but if you can get onto its moody wavelength, I think you’ll have a delightfully spooky time with this wholly unique melting pot of a movie.

3.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe