Blood: The Last Vampire DVD

On an American military base in Japan, a new kind of vampire emerges: Teropterids. They are monstrous shape-shifting creatures that can only be killed with special swords. A ...    Full Descriptionmysterious girl named Saya is the last "original," the only person capable of dealing with the menace of these monsters. Posing as a student at the base's school, Saya races to hunt down the beasts before they turn an ordinary Halloween bash into a bloody massacre. Production IG, known for their pioneering digital effects, describes BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE as a full digital animation movie, which means that even though many sequences were animated using pencil and paper, the artwork was digitally scanned. Inking and coloring were completed by computer, as were several other special effects. Hiroyuki Kitakubo was chosen to direct the project because of his digital experience (he oversaw the movie sequences in the GHOST IN THE SHELL game for the Sony PlayStation.) The film is also notable for the participation of screenwriter Mamoru Oshii, who helmed GHOST IN THE SHELL and has written a novel that takes place in BLOOD's universe. Despite its resemblance to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, BLOOD succeeds in creating its own gloomy, chiaroscuro world.

Theatrical release (Japan): November 18, 2000 The project took three years to complete. The complexity of the animated effects partially explains why the film is only 48 minutes long. The film cost $4.5 million to make. Some of the money came from the Japanese government, to help push the digital techniques being developed at Production I.G. Because the film takes place on an American military base, approximately 75 percent of the original dialogue is in English. Oshii has said that he likes his films to read like Mayan glyphs. This in part explains the lack of back story in BLOOD. BLOOD inspired a novel and a Sony Playstation video game featuring Saya.

Blood: The Last Vampire Reviews:

"...A movie that seems destined for cult status....[It] presents some of the most visually detailed characters ever seen in an animated film not aspiring to photo-realism..." -- Stephen Holden, New York Times

"...The film is certainly a visual treat..." -- Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

"...An extraordinary achievement in the genre, meticulously conceived and executed..." -- Wade Major, Box Office

"...Feeling like a distant cousin of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, BLOOD makes you wish it were longer..." -- Marc Bernardin, Entertainment Weekly   Hide Description

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