Source: The Associates press release Official Movie Site: Higanjima (Japan)
From the TWILIGHT movies to television’s TRUE BLOOD, screen vampires have never been hotter than they are right now, so it should come as no surprise that Asian filmmakers would be keen to add a bit of spice to the genre with their own unique style and sensibilities. That’s certainly the case with HIGANJIMA - ESCAPE FROM VAMPIRE ISLAND, a brand new live-action horror movie based on the best-selling manga series by Koji Matsumoto, coming to DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom in October 2010. Brought to the screen by the South Korean director of VOLCANO HIGH, Kim Tae-gyun, and faithfully adapted by the Japanese screenwriter of the DEATH NOTE movies, Tetsuya Oishi, HIGANJIMA - ESCAPE FROM VAMPIRE ISLAND takes the vampire genre and its myths to new extremes, adding samurai sword action, undead mad scientists, fearlessly devoted vampire slayers, winged harpies, a bunch of hapless teens and, yes, a whole island chock full of vampires to its crazy mix of unadulterated, blood-splattered horror madness. The film is a Japanese/Korean co-production released earlier this year in Japan as HIGANJIMA and in Korea as PI-AN-DO. Two years after his older brother, Atsushi (Dai Watanabe), goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Akira Miyamoto (Hideo Ishiguro) meets a beautiful young woman, Rei Aoyama (Asami Mizukawa), who is in possession of Atsushi’s ID card and claims he is still alive and can be found on the remote, uncharted Japanese island of Higanjima. Desperate to see his brother once again and to solve the riddle of his disappearance, Akira talks several of his friends into joining him on a trip to the island in search of Atsushi.
Arriving in Higanjima on a small boat piloted by Rei, the friends are shocked to learn that they have been lured there as fodder for the island’s inhabitants, a race of extremely bloodthirsty vampires ruled by their ancient but well-preserved leader, Masa (Koji Yamamoto). As the vampires begin to descend upon their newly arrived prey, Akira makes a startling discovery – Atsushi really is alive and on the island, having devoted himself to becoming a vampire hunter intent on slaying Masa’s legions of the undead. Finally reunited, the two brothers and their friends join forces with two simple goals in mind – rid Higanjima of its entire vampire population and find a way to escape from the island without being bitten in the process! HIGANJIMA - ESCAPE FROM VAMPIRE ISLAND (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Manga Entertainment on 4th October 2010. Label: Manga Entertainment Release date: 4th October 2010 Release type: DVD, Blu-ray Certificate: 18 Running time: 120 mins Pricing: DVD £15.99, Blu-ray £19.99 Genre: Eastern cinema Director: Kim Tae-Gyun Stars: Hideo Ishiguro, Dai Watanabe, Asami Mizukawa
