Aka Vampire Doll, Fear Of The Ghost House: Bloodsucking Doll
Coming back home to Japan after a trip abroad for 6 months, Kazuhiko Sagawa is desperate to see his girlfriend Yuko Nonomura so he travels down to her secluded home which is in a remote area. Upon arriving, he is shocked to find out from Yuko’s mother that she has died in a car accident. Staying the night, he is woken up by a storm. Walking to the closet and opening the door he is shocked to see Yuko there before he is knocked out by somebody from behind. Upon waking up again and looking out of the window he sees Yuko outside in the garden. He dresses and runs after her into the nearby woods. After catching up and questioning Yuko, he is stabbed in the back of the neck with a knife by her. Kazuhiko’s sister Keiko and her fiancée Hiroshi become concerned when they do not hear from him and head over to Yuko’s house. Her mother concocts a tale that he was fine when he left after spending the night there. However alarm bells start ringing when they discover a cufflink belonging to him near Yuko’s grave. The pair decide to start investigating to find out what has really happened to him with Mrs Nonomura’s man servant Genzo determined to stop them from prying any further.
This was the first in the 70’s Toho Studios vampire trilogy which centred on the Dracula legend and is actually the best of the trio. Whilst the other two (Lake of Dracula/Evil of Dracula) movies focused on a Dracula-like person (not the actual count himself) and were a bit campy, this tale shouldn’t really be touted as a vampire story as nothing vampiric takes place. Whilst Yuko looks like a vampire bride (pale face and glowing gold eyes), she doesn’t have any fangs and doesn’t go around biting people’s necks. She’s more like a restless and vengeful spirit rather than a bloodsucker.
As I mentioned in my reviews for the other two stories in the trilogy, Toho was trying to copy elements from the Hammer horror movies of the 50’s and 60’s and on some level it succeeds – certainly on the scares and atmosphere which this has in droves. The story plays out more like a mystery thriller than an outright horror in which Keiko and her fiancée play detective by questioning people and looking through town records to uncover a secret about a tragic event that took place at Yuko’s house 20 years earlier and the viewer is aware that Yuko’s mother is hiding something from them.
It’s a shame that the story is a little bit confusing considering it looks great visually (the gothic look is very well done especially the sets inside the spooky Western-style Nonomura house) and has fine performances from the cast. The main problem is with the character of Yuko herself – what has she turned into? If not a vampire, is she a ghost? But how do ghosts come back from the dead as Yuko’s body has been replaced in her grave by a mannequin? So she’s a vampire then? Well no as she doesn’t behave like a normal vampire. A zombie perhaps – who knows? I don’t think director Michio Yamamoto even knows but what the viewer does know is that Yuko’s mother has asked the local doctor to use hypnosis as an aid to keep Yuko alive. Everything is sort of revealed in a plot twist close to the climax though there are still questions that need to be answered such as what eventually happened to Kazuhiko after he was stabbed in the neck by Yuko and who disposed his body?
Despite the issues with the story, I would definitely ask you to check this out as it is a good movie and the blending of Asian and Western horror themes combined with the eerie/creepy atmosphere and suspense that’s generated work well. These ideas are developed further in the next 2 movies of the trilogy.
Sadako’s Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Sadako's Movie Shack 
Leave a Reply