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Geki-mation Horror Films Released Today
posted on by Andrew Osmond
Third Window Films has released the Blu-ray The Weird and Wonderful Wolf of Gekija today. The two-disc set includes two feature films by the director Gekija; they are both horror films in which the characters are painted cardboard cut-outs and the action is filmed in-camera, a process called Geki-mation.
One of the feature films is called Burning Buddha Man, made in 2013. Third Window describes the story:
"There is a series of Buddha statue thefts in Kyoto. Beniko, a high school girl, gets the Buddha statue at her family's temple stolen and has her parents killed at the same time. She needs to know what caused the death of a parents and dreams of revenge. She goes on a fantastical journey to ultimately face the demon."
The other film is called Violence Voyager, released in 2018, and it was previously described by the Leeds festival:
'Despite warnings from hermit Old Man Lucky – Monkey, Bobby, his friend Akkun and Derrick the cat explore the local mountains, where they discover a mysterious alien invasion-themed amusement park. Little do they or we know the truly deranged horror and grotesquery awaiting these innocents. Filmed live in ‘Geki-mation’ - painstakingly hand-painted cardboard cutouts with in-camera effects - this colourful fairytale aesthetic erupts in a torrent of grotesque mutilation, child-robot hybrids, bodily fluids and forest animals.'
The extras on the Blu-ray set will include an 20-minute interview with Ujicha; three of his short films; and a feature-length commentary on Violence Voyager by Ujicha and his producer.
