the leading man is my tpye

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

This film had to have some sort of source material as the movie seemed to need some back story or something. You are introduced to Misa and it just seems you should already know who she is or something. Well I shall tell you what she is, she is a witch that uses her powers for good, but is not really all that effective in this movie. Which is a huge problem, the movie plays like a sequel, like you should have already been introduced to this character and that you should have seen her in action because in this particular film she is hugely ineffective. This Misa girl is a new student at a school, she is there to try and prevent these awful things that are about to happen. Strange things are going on as a strange ceremony is about to take place and gruesome murders are about to take place. The movie has a good deal of witchcraft and they try to throw a few surprises at you along the way. Granted I thought that it was relatively simple to figure them out, but I could not see the ending coming. Who could? It made no sense, one minute you see the hero dispatched the next she is back saying "I told you it would not work." No explanation on why things did not work or anything. Then the movie ends. It has its moments and for the most part I enjoyed it, I liked the kills and I liked that the one guy I thought they were going to make the jerk turned out to be okay. There is a bit of sexual scenes in the movie, but nothing that really lasts all that long, just adds a hint of spice. The main problem with this film though is the fact it just seems to be a sequel, that we should have been introduced to this character and seen her in all her glory. She is made out to be so powerful, but she does not really do a whole lot in the entire movie other than be held captive like all the other students. It was an okay movie, but I do hope the other two parts are a bit better at presenting themselves.

Misa Kuroi (Kimika Yoshino) comes to a new school and is challenged by kids dabbling in magic. Her skills in the dark art don't fail to impress the others, but a much more dangerous master seems to be around. Misa can't find out who it is. Soon after, a lot of the kids are trapped at school. All doors are locked, and then mysterious killings begin... Unfortunately, the first movie of the series contains a few blunt scenes of lesbian sex and molestation that should better be left to the tentacle monster flicks. The 3 sequels have hardly anything of this way of exploitation. Apart from that one little complaint, we have an effective teen horror movie here, cheaply shot in the narrow spaces of a few corridors and classrooms, but with vicious shocks and the bizarre surrealism of a nightmare. Voted 7/8/5/6 for part 1-4.

Version: Japanese, with English subtitles (by SBS)With my knowledge of Japanese horror movies limited to the 'Ringu' and Takashi Miike's 'Audition', I caught this on SBS one night. I really liked 'Audition', but I found the Ring movies to be rather boring, so I watched this few expectations. When it was over, I was pretty impressed.Misa Kuroi (Kimika Yoshino) is a witch, her secret means she gets transferred from school to school. Rumours constantly follow her - they say that people in her presence are prone to dying. Naturally, dark forces at work at her new school, and one night, Misa and twelve other students (that makes 13, get it?) are locked in the school. They will all die unless Misa can protect them.Story wise, it isn't very original, but its still rather interesting. Horror wise, it is pretty good. Dealing with the occult and supernatural, 'Wizard of Darkness' is stylish and gory. Nice special effects, and what surprised me was the fact that there were good actors in what is essentially gory teen-horror.It gets a bit Japanese at times, and if you've seen a few Japanese horror or action movies, you'll know what I'm talking about, e.g. unusual situations involving lesbians. If you don't like these movies, then maybe its best to avoid 'Wizard of Darkness, as it features unusual situations involving lesbians, among other things.8/10 - Check it out if you like Japanese horror, or horror in general.

Based on the Shinichi Kogo comic. Mika (Kimika Yoshino) is a new student who hopes to protect 12 other students from being killed by a Satanic cult. At first glance the film would seem to be your basic supernatural hack & slash. To an extant I feel that it is, but the film plays with such style it's rather hard to fault it for lacking originality. Violence, blood, gore, a touch of nudity, a pretty good (if unoriginal) story, what more could a horror fan want? Oh and Ryoka Yuzuki, who plays Kuzumi has a pretty damn nice bodyMy Horror Grade: B+DVD Extras: Making of; Interviews with the director, Shimako Sato, and star, Kimika Yoshino; Film Premeire footage (a meager 10 seconds!); Theatrical trailer; Trailers for "Eko Eko Azurak 3: Mika the Dark Angel", "Kunoichi Lady Ninja", "Pyrokinesis" and "Versus"