Yokai Monsters Collection

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968)

One part horror film and one part "Teletubbies" video, this off-the-wall Japanese shocker follows a greedy merchant who opens a brothel on the site of a religious shrine. A storyteller’s painted screens come to life, releasing a bizarre array of beings from Japanese folklore--from rubber-necked ghost Rokuro-kubbi to Karakasa the one-legged umbrella beast--who teach the wicked businessman a lesson. Jun Fujimaki, Miwa Takada and Mikiko Tsubouchi star. 90 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. C/Rtg: NR

Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare (The Great Yokai War) (1968)

A vampiric Babylonian demon, accidentally freed from his 4,000-year imprisonment, makes his way to feudal Japan, where he kills and takes the form of a local magistrate. It’s up to Kappa the duck-billed water imp and his supernatural compadres to defeat the evil interloper, in this creature-filled follow-up to "100 Monsters." Takashi Kanda, Akane Kawasaki, and the comedy duo of Hanji and Kenji Wakai star. 90 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. C/Rtg: NR

Yokai Monsters: Along With Ghosts (1969)

The third and final entry in the "Yokai Monsters" series offers a more traditionally spooky tone than its predecessors. When criminals kill a little girl’s grandfather on sacred ground as they search for incriminating documents the child has, they unwittingly unleash a slew of vengeance-seeking spirits. Masami Burukido, Kojiro Hongo star. 90 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. C/Rtg: NR

The Great Yokai War (2005)

Shock auteur Takashi Miike ("Audition") shocks once again--this time by turning his talents to a family fantasy adventure. A remake of the 1968 Japanese cult hit known in the U.S. as "Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare," this spectacular film finds a troubled young boy recruited to lead an ancient spirit army against a beguiling assortment of bizarre monsters from Japanese folklore. Ryunosuke Kamiki, Bunta Sugawara, and Kaho Minami star. 124 min. In Japanese with English subtitles/Dubbed in English. C/Rtg: NR

Widescreen; Soundtrack: Japanese mono; Subtitles: English; photo gallery; interviews; audio commentary; bonus shorts; documentary; theatrical trailer