Plot: What’s it about?
The college of Shibuya has numerous female students, most of which lead normal, innocent lifestyles. These girls attend classes, do all the required work, and maintain moral social lives, but a darkness is soon to descend onto this campus. The schoolgirls at Shibuya are moral, pure young women, which is what has attracted an evil presence to the school, a demonic force which seeks to feed upon that innocence. Even the girls who live wild, sex charged lifestyles, such as Miki, Eiko, and Ryoko will find themselves stalked by the evil presence. These girls sell their panties to local stores, dabble in all kinds of depravity, and soon enough, an evil demon known as the Injuu will begin to torment them. The Injuu is able to take possession of the girls’ schoolmates, friends, and even teachers, then use their hosts to unleash a wave of sexual torture. Once the girls have been seduced, the Injuu reveals its true self and begins to fondle, grope, and penetrate the young women with its tentacles. The girls find themselves in immense amounts of pleasure, but there is an evil to the sexual gratification. They are driven to enjoy this pleasure from the Injuu, but at the same time, the girls can sense the darkness that consumes them. Can anyone manage to stop the Injuu, even a holy man of the cloth?
Sex, passion, and demonic possession, these are the elements promised in Angel of Darkness, a five volume collection. As based on the anime series of the same name, Angel of Darkness is as close to a live action manga as you’ll see, complete with schoolgirls, bizarre sexual content, and tentacles to burn. Yes, I said tentacles and that means weird demons using these tentacles to grope, ensnare, and even penetrate. As you should be able to tell by now, Angel of Darkness is not a series for young audiences, prudes, or even those with weak constitutions, as it deals with some dark, often disturbing subject matter. Angel of Darkness contains images of graphic, violent sexual acts, as well as some more general horror style violence. So in other words, these flicks have blood, sex, and supernatural overtones in ample amounts. The question is, are these Angel of Darkness worth a look, even for fans of the anime series. I found the storylines to be thin, but on par with the anime series, while the performances were more than acceptable. These are by no means masterpieces, but they’re unique and interesting productions. I couldn’t recommend these movies to everyone, but for fans of the bizarre, Angel of Darkness is worth a look. I had a hard time finding the DVDs, but you can purchase them from The Right Stuf International (www.RightStuf.com), which also stocks tons of other cool anime and cult live action releases.
Video: How does it look?
The films are presented in full frame, as intended. The movies seem to be shot on video, so don’t expect a refined visual presence. But you can tell these were made on less than generous budgets, so its hard to be that critical in this case. I wasn’t let down at all, as the visuals have a clean and crisp texture, though some flaws surface. I noticed some jagged edges and shimmering at times, nothing too serious, but enough to warrant a quick mention. This is probably due to the shot on video approach of the production, which also lends a softer presence to the visuals, though sharpness is still quite good. I found colors to be bright and vivid, especially the green and red hues, while flesh tones seem natural as well. The contrast is good also, but the video stock keeps the black levels from being as stark as I would like. But when you consider the material, you can’t expect too much more here, so I see no reason to complain that much.
Audio: How does it sound?
The original Japanese soundtracks have been preserved here, which is good news, of course. The audio scope is not as broad or rich as the reference level tracks out there, but I was never let down with this treatment. As with a lot of Asian films from the early-to-mid 1990s, the mixes here seem a little thin at times, but never forced and a result, the sound is natural throughout. All of the strange noises, including the hilarious moans and such, all come across well here. The vocals are presented in clean, clear form and the music sounds good also, no real complaints there. You can enable English subtitles on each film also, which is most welcome, since most of us probably don’t speak Japanese.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The discs each contain a unique selection of still photos, presented in a slideshow, which makes for a simple viewing experience.
