Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

I got hold of this film because it was directed by the same guy who did Tetsuo, and after having my senses bludgeoned and rearranged by that freak fest I sat down to this expecting a similar fun filled tale of gory man / machine transformation, self mutilation and object rape. So I was disappointed with this film, but if I watched in with an open mind my opinion might be different.This film has more in common with the recent horror of Hideo Nakata than Tsukamoto's earlier work; you actually know what the hell is happening and you are actually given a chance to get familiar with the characters. If it had gone for this type of standard-fare horror it would have worked pretty well; but the story of decapitations and goblins sits rather uneasily beside frequent outbursts of slapstick humour and comedy. Again, this would have worked in the same way as the likes of Ghostbusters if it wasn't for the frequent outbursts of blood and gore, and severed heads walking around on spider's bodies (The Thing, anyone?). The music, to, sounded nice on its own but just didn't work with the film.So really this film is a case of ice cream on pizza. It has many good elements, but they really shouldn't have been mixed. I would have liked to see a gory Japanese horror about a school on the gates of hell. I would have liked to see a Japanese comedy / horror about a bumbling goblin hunter. This film does both of these very well, and for that it is worth a watch. But they should really be on the same piece of celluloid. You could watch it with an open mind, but defiantly do not expect anything like Tsukamoto's other work.

I decided to purchase the film before seeing it. It was a "blind buy". was it worth it? Yes. That's not to say that the film isn't without it's faults however.The story (like many people have already said) is somewhat confusing. I'm not going to go into the basic plot of the film, because you can look that up yourself...lol. I'll tell you that the plot IS interesting though, if maybe a tad to complex for it's own good.I'm just going to point out what i liked and didn't like, so that you'll be able to make a decision on whether or not the film would be worth your time.The effects were OK. This is obviously a low budget flick. That being said, there were only a couple really cheesy effects. Of course, the main gimmick is the whole "heads with spider legs" thing, and that's pulled off pretty well for the most part. I gotta say, they do look pretty creepy and some of them shoot large tongues out their mouths (reminded me of Uzumaki to a certain degree).The film doesn't really know if it's serious or slapstick. Now by slapstick, i don't mean there's scenes like you'd see in "the naked gun" or movies of that type however. One of the main characters runs around with quirky inventions made of household items. he carries a can of aerosol spray that evidently the goblins don't like. There's a lot of tongue in cheek events and scenes in this one...but there's some good horror elements as well.in fact, there's actually quite a few scenes that gave me goosebumps. there was also 2 or 3 moments where i actually jumped a little bit. it's just too bad that it seems like the last 3/4's of the film loses the "horror edge" and makes the film seem like a bad Japanese Indiana Jones ripoff in comparison to what we see earlier in the film.Oh yeah, there's some pretty violent scenes in this as well. so if you aren't a fan of gore and blood...then this might turn you off. however, the violence isn't "shocking" or anything that would upset the squeamish.The premise is interesting, but i honestly think this would have been a much better flick if it was straight horror...and dropped the goofy comedic tone found in many scenes. Overall though, it's a pretty fun ride...and there's really not much out there that has the feel the film has. I'm a big time horror fan, and it floats my boat and was worth the blind purchase.RATING: 7/10

HIRUKO: THE GOBLIN (1990) Surprisingly fluffy supernatural adventure film from the director of the TETSUO movies, Shinya Tsukamoto, perhaps done to prove he could apply a mainstream touch to lighter material. As such, it's still got his trademark bodily aberrations and spurting blood. An archaeologist uncovers an burial mound he believes to be some sort of an appeasement to ancient gods, but he and a student are killed by the critters within.Meanwhile, his colleague (Kenji Sawada), now conveniently a goblin hunter, teams with the man's son to seal off the tomb under the mound before more deaths are caused by the free-roaming goblin, which looks like a human head with spider legs and hypnotizes its victims into a state of tranquil bliss that makes it much easier for them to saw off their own heads. Speedy fun, played with just enough tongue in cheek. Based on a book by Daijirao Moroboshi. I watched the R2 British edition of this. I give it an 8.

I found a copy of this film without the benefit of English subtitling, but was able to figure out the story... vaguely, anyway. I have been a fan of this director's work for many years, particularly the excellent TOKYO FIST, so I was very happy to find this obscure little film.It seemed at first to be much more mainstream than the rest of Tsukamoto's films, but it did have its share of bizzare scenes... It is essentially a cross between EVIL DEAD II, THE THING, and THE CHURCH... but in Japanese. Mainly enjoyable, and a must for anyone interested in this guy's work. It is very strange indeed...